Holiday Inn Cucuta by IHG — Hotel in Cúcuta

It was a negative experience filled with time-consuming and sometimes nightmarish hassles that never should have happened. While the staff (except at breakfast) are really friendly and try hard to be helpful, they are poorly trained and the hotel is apparently poorly managed.

The building itself is new and beautiful. Here are some of the good points:

most staff are very nice and try to be helpful (except breakfast staff)

the rooms look nice, air conditioning is strong, the bed is comfortable, and there is a good coffee maker in the room

the hotel's location is good

But here's a list of problems

when I arrived, the hotel immediately charged a $200 deposit to my credit card, I've traveled for 30 years on business and have never seen that done. It means that if you want to leave, as I did, you forfeit the $200

after a 10 hour travel day, I went to the room and tried to connect to the wireless internet. After trying an hour to connect, the guy from the front desk arrived and told me the problem is that I have a Mac computer and an iPhone, and that it can take up to 30 minutes to connect (the problem is their router and server, not my computer). After another hour of turning the router on an off, finally the internet came on. This could be easily fixed and should never have happened.

the internet disconnects every day and you have to sign in. On my third day, I couldn't connect after an hour of trying, went to the front desk, and they said "oh, there's a new code" - one they never bothered to tell their guests

the key deactivates

when I arrived, I lined up behind seven people, with just one receptionist

foreigners are not supposed to pay the 19% tax, I showed my passport. The day before I left, I stood in line, asked for my bill so far, and saw they charged me the 19% tax erroneously. I was told to come back with my passport, stood in line again for 15 minutes, and they removed the charge

this is the only hotel I've been to in Colombia that charges for breakfast, normally it is included. The food and selection is quite poor, I had to beg for coffee every day before going up to the counter and pouring my own.

Room lighting is poor. I had a junior suite (one large room), but half the room is totally unlit. Poor lighting in the bathroom

Room service tried to charge me 20% more for the same food I had the previous two nights, I called and fought the bill

I could go on. This hotel could be good, but isn't. Next time I would go the Casino International Hotel across the street. The building is older than this, but service, food and...

The room was very comfortable. It had in-room air conditioning which was highly needed in this city. The shower was instantly hot. That was nice. I don't have anything bad to say. It was worth it. There were a few things that upset me, but that was my personal feelings. As a whole, the hotel is very good.

I personally didn't like the food offered at breakfast, but that's because I am American. I am sure a Colombian would have highly enjoyed their choices..

The only thing I could say about this hotel is that you must call ahead of time to negociate which people you are allowed to bring to the rooms. I was allowed to bring my wife, but her father in law nor her cousin was not allowed in the room. We tried to being my wife's nephew to the room so we can change and shower quickly which was only 25 minutes max and they wouldn't allow the boy in the room without a notary from his guardian.

I was highly upset because we had to keep the boy in the lobby while each of us showed and dressed individually and one stayed in the lobby with the boy.

Also there are no public washing machines so every article of clothing, if you need washed, will cost you...

Hotel was very comfortable and clean. The staff is friendly and helpful. The location is very convenient to Ventura Plaza mall and other shopping. The restaurant is decent but understaffed. Lunch and dinner are slow to be delivered but the food is mostly well executed. Breakfast is overcrowded and coffee pot is empty continuously. Personnel at breakfast are over tasked with supporting many personnel and are responsible for enforcing silly hotel policies.

The most disappointing item of my stay was that when I checked in, reception recommended that I not purchase the breakfast package and charge to my room on days that I ate breakfast. This brought about much confusion each morning with the staff and each morning the staff had to make calls to charge to my room. After 4 days, I was told that I was over my limit - $200 for room charges. This seems like a ridiculous limit and unreasonable hotel policy. It is a little ridiculous to be harrassed and refused service by the staff for such a small limit. I complained to staff and was only told that this was hotel policy. I recommend that the hotel review...