Holiday Inn & Suites Port Moresby — Hotel in New Guinea

I stayed here on 2 separate occasions over several days in the past 2 weeks in Port Moresby. Once in the serviced apartments tower & another in a standard room located in the main tower.

PROS The serviced apartments are excellent. I paid for a 2 bedroom apartment for 2 nights for my family where we celebrated Christmas & boxing day. The apartment was modern, AC was fantastic and there was plenty of room for everyone. Having 3 TV's was a nice touch as everyone got to watch what they wanted before bed. The staff were very helpful and brought us extra towels, water & milk as the kids had a million showers and swam a lot during our stay. Again, staff smiled and were very welcoming. I found them easy to approach and for the majority of the time, accommodating. I felt very safe staying here and I must commend the team at the gates who ensure they lifted the boom swiftly when I returned very late in the evenings or early mornings.

CONS Although I loved the serviced apartment and the majority of staff were helpful. I found that we didn't have enough bowls in our apartment. I called reception to get additional bowls for the kids, no one brought any up that morning so the kids ate cereal out of small polystyrene cups I had bought. That evening I went down to reception to advise stuff that the apartment had 2 bowls, 5 main plates & 3 cups which didn't make sense and I needed more bowls for the kids breakfast the next day. No one brought any bowls so the kids had no bowls again. I called reception, staff said they'd send them up and again nothing. I will NEVER book another standard room in the main tower. Although the tower rooms have been refurbished, I found my room# 2712 had inadequate AC and the ranch slider/balcony door kept jamming so I couldn't open or close it without almost breaking it. While booking a standard Queen room via expedia I had put a special instruction through to the hotel for either 2 double beds or an additional bed which I was happy to pay for. I received no response. After checking in I went up to the room to check and found my request wasn't met and I had to rush off to a family event so had no time to deal with it. My brother ended up sleeping on the floor as we'd gotten back around 2:30am. The next day around mid morning, I paid for an additional bed at reception before heading out for the day. I returned to the hotel 3 times throughout the day and the additional bed wasn't not set up so before heading out to my farewell dinner at 6:40pm, I approached reception and asked them to ensure the bed was set up before I returned that evening.

Overall, my experience at Holiday Inn Port Moresby was a little above average. You have the potential to do better. There are a few little things that would make your customers stay a 5 star visit. Customers tell you what they need, action that quickly and you'll have no issues. Also, service your AC units in the old tower or replace them if they're not effective and maintenance should be doing daily walk-throughs with housekeeping or house keeping should be reporting damage etc. to maintenance daily to ensure doors etc. are functioning how...

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Port Moresby

📍 Cnr Waigani Drive & Wards Rd, Port Moresby

Rating: ★★☆☆☆☆ (5/10)

As an IHG Rewards Club member (Club #229236839), my recent stay at this property was deeply disappointing and highlighted a glaring lack of recognition for loyal guests. While there were minor positives, the overall experience fell far below expectations for a brand associated with the IHG name.

The Bad:

Check-In Hassle & Unimportance for Loyalty Members:

The reception staff member on duty during my 2pm check-in on April 12th displayed zero regard for IHG’s commitment to member recognition. The process was chaotic, impersonal, and devoid of the “warm welcome” promised by the brand. As a loyal member, being made to feel like an inconvenience is unacceptable.

Filthy Outdoor Areas:

The outdoor spaces were unkempt and littered, creating a poor first impression. For a hotel of this stature, basic maintenance should be non-negotiable.

Bathroom Towel Debacle:

No towels were provided in the shower room at check-in. Despite multiple requests—including a reminder at 1am—towels only arrived at 7-8am the next day. This level of negligence is inexcusable and ruined any chance of a restful stay.

Bathroom Amenities:

The “unreal” bathroom amenities (likely a typo, but fittingly ironic) were subpar. Toiletries felt cheap, and the overall bathroom condition lacked the polish expected at a Holiday Inn.

The Good:

Room Amenities:

The room itself was functional and clean, though nothing extraordinary.

Exceptional Checkout Experience:

The redeeming moment came during checkout on April 13th at 2pm. The staff member handling the process was empathetic, apologetic, and demonstrated genuine care—a stark contrast to the earlier service. Her professionalism single-handedly salvaged the rating from a 4 to a 6.

Final Thoughts:

This stay was a jarring mix of frustration and fleeting redemption. While the checkout staff deserves commendation, the lack of respect for loyalty members, delayed basic services, and poor upkeep overshadowed any positives. Holiday Inn Port Moresby must urgently address staff training, prioritize member recognition, and invest in consistent maintenance. As it stands, I cannot recommend this property to fellow IHG loyalists unless significant improvements are made.

Rating Context:

Without the exceptional checkout experience, this would have been a 4/10. Proceed...

Very disappointing stay for a business trip this time round for the price it commands and the brand it’s supposed to represent.

Airport shuttle wasn’t there when I arrived even though I had reserved it days in advance. Airport security guard even had to approach me and ask if I needed help, then proceeded to helpfully check with the hotel.

Arrived at the hotel at 2.40pm. Check-in time was supposed to be at 2pm. Room wasn’t ready, front desk wasn’t apologetic nor hurried. Got my room in the new wing only at 3.30pm.

Room was spacious and renovated, which was nice, but no hot shower for the entire week. It was at best tepid, despite my multiple appeals to get the mechanic to look at it. Nothing changed. Room phone didn’t work at all, so every time I had an issue, I had to go all the way down to the front desk. Asked for some cotton wool since the tent card in the bathroom suggests that the hotel would most delightfully provide what we need. Lo and behold, no cotton wool in stock at all.

Restaurant staff were mostly nice and attentive, but food options are boring after a week. Buffet takes a long time to replenish so I would suggest skip it. They also really need to solve the bbq smoke issue in the verandah at night, unless they think guests love smelling like their food.

Laundry situation was hilarious. There’re new washers and dryers that are now coin-operated for guest use. Thing is, the door to the room won’t accept the room key card, so you need to wait for a staff to open it. None of the staff knows how the machines work, only ones helpful enough to try were two housekeeping staff I bumped into. Everyone else from the front desk to the mechanics just took turns calling each other and asking if the other knew.

If these incidents were isolated and once-off, I would probably brush it off. The accumulation of them over a week was ultimately a reflection that this hotel really needs a hard look at their...