Hotel Makeovers Done Well: Holiday Inn's swanky new look

While some hotels are trying to stay competitive in this tougher-than-ever market by rolling out creative packages, offering quirky-cute amenities, and renovating individual properties ('tis the age of the flat-screen TV -- anything else is officially outdated), some big-name chains are getting busy on a much larger scale and revamping their entire image.

One of the most radical (and impressive) cases of rebranding we've seen in the last two years has been Holiday Inn. The old iconic wallet-friendly standby's parent company, IHG, launched a billion-dollar overhaul of the brand in 2008 to give a whole new look to every part of the brand's image -- from the logo to the entrance lighting -- and the new modern touches are slated to be in place across the chain by the end of 2010.
Meanwhile, new-build Holiday Inn properties have been popping up with a totally new, sleek look that certainly isn't the musty old Holiday Inn we once knew.

Check out these shocking before and after shots of a pre-revamp Holiday Inn -- The Holiday Inn Port of Miami Downtown -- next to shots of the swanky new Holiday Inn 6th Avenue in Manhattan. Radical difference, no? It warms our hearts like seeing the before and after shots on The Biggest Loser season finale.