TLDR:
I felt unsafe. Rooms dirty and unkempt, hotel in need…read moreof maintenance. Unprofessional staff don't wear uniforms or name tags. Front desk staff hostile, argumentative, and yells.
The long version:
At check-in, the front desk staff honored my choice of room -- King Suite -- but the condition of the room left so much to be desired, I nearly left.
Entering room 423, I was met with stale, stuffy air. The second thing I noticed was dirt and a piece of plastic on the floor between the couch and kitchenette sink. The couch had stains on it. The bed sham had stains on it. The walls had stains on them. The walls had abrasions or impact marks that stood out white against the neutral beigeish paint. Other areas had been touched up with off-color neutralish paint.
The body gel bottle bolted to the shower wall was empty. The overhead light on the bathroom flickered and seemed likely to induce seizures.
The carpeting was gross. I could see a dark spot through the thankfully brilliant white pillow case; investigating, it appeared someone had a nose bleed on the pillow. It wasn't much of a stain but it was still gross.
I decided to read the reviews and that's when I discovered other negative experiences. I went to the front desk to get bar soap since the body gel was empty and noted that at least two fire doors in the stairwells were crooked in their doorframes and unable to close.
The gal suggested I discuss my concerns with management in the morning but appeared surprised and sympathetic by the pictures I showed her and offered to switch rooms. On the way to move my belongings from one room to another, I encountered an unusual and not particularly tidy man shuffling down the fourth floor hall playing with his phone. I said that he looked lost but he said he works here. As he wasn't wearing a uniform, I asked him what he does and he said he was a housekeeper. I asked if he was working now and he said he recently moved here from Philly "to try something new" and was staying in room 315 and dismissed me by telling me to have a nice stay.
Entering 406, I called the front desk to verify this fella was actually an employee (and he was) and not some random strange person wandering a nearly vacant hotel at 10:30 at night. Room 406 was better than 423 but had two queen beds vs. the king but seemed slightly cleaner so I moved my items down the hallway.
The new room lacked much light with just one lamp in the front corner of the room, one on the wall between the beds, and one on the desk. The dark flooring combined with the overall impression of dinginess was not lessened by the lack of light.
Breakfast was a available at 6am and was the usual Holiday Inn fare of eggs, bacon, sausage, and a tray of cinnamon rolls and their pancake machine.
After my shower, I could heard a loud speakerphone outside my room and observed Mr. 315 through the peephole pushing a utility cart around while having a conversation on his phone.
After I left the room, the elevator took several moments to arrive then stopped on 3 where a man got on and said hello while he was playing with his phone. He then got off on 2. Although he didn't have a uniform or name tag, I couldn't help think he was also a live-in housekeeper because of his lightweight clothing and because he didn't leave the building but just went from the third floor to the second.
Arriving at the desk, there was a guy wearing a Cal's Party Store t-shirt and no name tag. There was another guy standing next to him and they were talking. Both ignored me for a moment before looking up and I asked if one of them was the manager or the owner. Mr. t-shirt said he was "Mark front desk" but refused to identify himself further. I asked for the manager and was told he wasn't there. I asked for the name of the manager and Mark front desk refused to provide it and kept raising his voice demanding to know who I was and what I wanted. I never got the name of the manager and left while Mark followed me outside making fun of my car, my clothing, and yelling how I'm the kind of person nobody likes.
I ended up calling IHG since I was unable to speak to a manager and also unable to checkout due to the hostility of Mark front desk.
Although this was supposed to be a free stay because I booked with Rewards Points, I was still charged $25 with no explanation.
What was supposed to be a relaxing one-night stay before heading to my next destination turned out to be a traumatic experience that left me feeling vulnerable for my health (from the lack of cleanliness and risk of bed bugs) and my safety (from the person at the front desk who yelled at and belittled me).
Although my experience was a very poor one, other reviews reflect negative experiences as well. I was unable to check out without contacting IHG and they provided me with a case number and said a manager would call me back however I've heard nothing.
