Holiday Inn Express & Suites Branson 76 Central in Branson, MO

We just returned home this afternoon from a five day/four night stay at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites on the 76 strip in Branson. We found a lot of positives for this location. The breakfast/common area is well maintained and is continually being monitored and cleaned throughout the day. The room size (king bed) is much larger than other comparable IHG properties. The front desk staff is quite friendly and extra accommodating. Coffee, tea, and water are available 24 hours per day. About midway through our reservation, we decided to add an extra night. We wanted to use points from a previous IHG stay at a different property, and I wanted to handle the transaction in person, as opposed to using the app or calling customer service. It was then that we met Mahaylia, the property manager. She was so sweet and patient. She willingly handled the transaction -one that probably should be handled through the reservation line- from start to finish, and she was so happy to be of help. Just as an FYI -- There's one thing to note about this property that seemed rather confusing to us. When you enter the property by way of the main entrance, you are on floor (3) three. This is unusual, since the online pictures show a three story building, so I'll explain. Floors number one and two are accessible at the rear of the property, as the back of the property is sloped downward. So, technically, the 'first' floor that you are seeing in the photos, truly is floor three. This is a five story building, although only floors three, four, and five are seen from 76 strip and in the online photos. The welcome desk is on floor three, as well as the breakfast area and drink area. I hope this helps, because I was totally confused to learn that a three story building had five floors. :-)

The Holiday Inn Express in Branson is a perfectly forgettable hotel — which, to be fair, is mostly the point of the Holiday Inn Express brand. You check in, sleep, grab breakfast, and leave. Nothing aggravates you, but nothing stands out either. Front-desk staff skewed young but were polite and reasonably responsive. I received a text on the morning of arrival saying I’d been upgraded and asking about my arrival time. Whether that came from an actual employee or an AI chatbot is unclear, but it accomplished the task. At check-in, I did receive the upgrade through my IHG elite status, though the usual elite-choice benefit of points or a market item wasn’t offered. Nor was I handed a bottle of water — a small but noticeable miss. The upgraded room was a proper two-room suite with a living room and a separate bedroom behind closing doors, rather than one of the fake “junior suites” too many hotels try to pass off as upgrades. The bathroom had a standard tub-shower, and both rooms had their own balconies overlooking the parking lot and a small patch of woods. There was a very high degree of cleanliness. Housekeeping does an excellent job. In the bathroom, there were the usual lower end Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express toiletries mounted on the wall. Dove isn't a great product. No bar of soap was provided. The hotel itself is clearly an older property that was converted to a Holiday Inn Express at some point. It doesn’t resemble the purpose-built versions of the brand. That said, renovations have brought it up to one of the newer design iterations. Furniture and decor are in good shape, outlets work, and everything was clean. Noise, however, was an issue — slamming doors and hallway chatter carried. Curtains also failed to fully black out the room. A major privacy note: the exterior-facing windows are not tinted. Rooms along the building’s facade face the parking lot and highway, and it is absolutely possible to see into guest rooms at night when lights are on. If you value privacy — or modesty — request a room on the side or rear of the property. Breakfast was a standard Holiday Inn Express free buffet. The space is small, so get there early. My biggest complaint is curb appeal. The parking lot at the main entrance is in rough shape and detracts from the otherwise refreshed interior. Pulling in from the highway feels shabby and a little sketchy — hardly the first impression a newly renovated hotel should project. The pantry near the front desk was another disappointment. Half the drinks were sold out, and the snack selection was barren. No nuts, no mints, not even Tic Tacs. Overall, the rates are fair and the hotel is clean, functional, and generally well-run — but Branson has plenty of similarly priced options. A repaved parking lot and a better-stocked pantry would go a long way toward elevating the experience.

Stayed for 3 nights,the breakfast was hot and well stocked.Staff was friendly and room was clean.Elevator could be a little faster but over all a good stay.

The front staff was not friendly at all. The rooms were amazing. The breakfast was amazing. The pool was great ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….,,,……………………………………………………………………..

I enjoyed my five night stay, would recommend this place and I'll probably be back. One thing that would be nice to see is drinking water in the lobby (especially in the heat). There's no water cooler to fill your bottle nor is there a drinking fountain or complimentary bottles of water available. There's water at the juice machine but not available after breakfast. Otherwise everything was perfect as far as a nice outdoor pool, great breakfast, awesome beds, very clean property and very friendly staff.