There's no holiday at the inn -- the Holiday Inn Parkway East -- this year, washed away by a torrent of water from a broken service line early yesterday.

Among the 67 guests in the predawn evacuation of the Holiday Inn, only one man and his family found the emergency a positive experience.

"I got evacuated for Christmas! I can't wait to tell everybody," said Matthew Beatty, a substitute teacher and volunteer worker from Charlotte, N.C.

His wife, Tracey, and 7-year-old daughter, Madeline, confirmed that he was not being facetious.

"It looks like I'll be spending more time with the in-laws," he added.

The water problem was first noticed by hotel guest Frank Meikle, of Beardstown, Ill., who called the front desk after he was awakened at 3:50 a.m. by water dripping onto his face. He found about two inches of water pooled on the floor.

Mr. Meikle is in town visiting relatives in North Braddock.

Within the hour, as the staff tried to make arrangements to move Mr. Meikle and his family, more calls came. By 5 a.m., water was streaming from the stairs into the front lobby.

Edgewood Fire Chief Dave Andrews said his crews were summoned just after 5 a.m.

"When we got here it was already pouring out of the front door," Chief Andrews said.

The hotel is situated just off the parkway on Brinton Road on property that overlooks parts of Edgewood, Braddock Hills and Wilkinsburg.

The broken line also was reported to the Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority, which sent a crew to shut off the water supply.

The crew had been on its way to the basement when the elevator got stuck for about 45 minutes, the chief said. More firefighters were sent in to rescue them while the water authority dispatched another shut-off crew.

Chief Andrews said the 5-inch water line runs above the 11th floor of the hotel. It carried water for the building's sprinkler system.

Mary Beth Simpson, the hotel's bookkeeper, said she arrived for work yesterday at 5:45 a.m. to find firefighters already evacuating the building.

"It's a mess. It's going to be shut for months," Ms. Simpson said.

As she spoke, representatives from at least two companies had arrived at the scene to assess the damage and recommend restoration measures.

"We're here to dry this up," quipped one restoration worker, prompting a bystander's reply, "You're going to need a bigger truck."

The hotel had made arrangements to transfer its guests to the nearest Holiday Inn, in Monroeville. Some preferred to stay with friends or relatives, while others were to check out yesterday to return to their respective homes.

No serious injuries were reported, though some guests reported slipping and falling in the hallways and stairs as water, sometimes as high as six inches, rushed around them.

The fate is unclear for the approximately 85 employees at the Holiday Inn.

The hotel's owner, Adarsh Dhupar of Franklin Lakes, N.J., declined comment.