When I went to college in Rolla, MO, they had a shirt that said, “Rolla: In the Middle of Everywhere.”

I get that feeling with the Holiday Inn Express halfway between Denver and Brighton. It is about 40 minutes to downtown Denver, about 15 minutes to Brighton, and about 10 minutes west to Northglenn, where the nearest full-service restaurants are.

There has been no doubt that Holiday Inn Express is a very consistent brand. This hotel meets the standard in most places but disappoints in three areas.

The bathroom in the room I stayed in showed its age. The showerhead was in need of some Lime-A-Way. The spout where the water came out pulled away from the wall when I lifted the valve to operate the shower. The toilet was too close to the door and too close to the tub. The door could not be opened all the way, and the shower curtain tries to grab anyone who uses the restroom.

Parking at this hotel is constrained in the front. Where it looks like you can drive around the hotel on the south side, the asphalt stops, there is about two feet of hill, and then it drops to the curb and parking lot for the west side. I suppose I could have run it with an SUV, but I had to back up almost all the way out to the road, then turn to go around the other way.

Third, the laundry was not same-day service. The company they outsourced the laundry to did not fold my clothes, although the shirts and pants were dry-cleaned and neatly pressed. Good thing I kept two sets of clothes back.

Now on to the good news. I got a King suite upgrade. The bed is a little soft from use but still comfortable. If I move a coffee table, there is good room for exercise. The desk has three available outlets and one’s choice of wire or wireless networking. Both worked fine. The TV had about 20 channels including the Encore offerings, but some of the other channels did not receive properly. The DirecTV serviceman was working on the hotel’s problem Wednesday.

The air conditioner worked, but it showed some age. The thermostat showed 64 but it must have been 70 or 72. The housekeeping staff turned the air conditioner off after they were done cleaning the room, so the room was always hot when I got back from work.

The room’s microwave and refrigerator worked without any problems, and I had good counter space both inside and outside the bathroom.

The fitness room had good air conditioning for its elliptical, treadmill, and recombinant bike.

The breakfast buffet was a little on the small side but usable. The “local speciality” was biscuits and gravy for three days running. It reminded me of summer camp.

Access to the hotel is a little tricky coming from the west. If one is on I-25, one has to exit on 84th Street, then cut up to 88th and go east from there. If one is coming from the airport, I-70 West to I-76 East to 88th is the best way. Once on 88th turning north on the west-side frontage road to I-76 is required.

HAL has a corporate rate of $89/night for this hotel. Given the distance from everywhere and some work that needs to be done, it’s a little high, but such is the demand. If staying in Brighton I would see if the Comfort Inn there has finished remodeling.