Holiday Inn Kyiv — Hotel in Kyiv

As an individual traveler, I am not very experienced with international travel. My experiences are limited to my local working regions of the Western United states, California and Hawaii specifically. I am a Spire Elite member spending more than 150 nights a year in hotels across that region making an effort to stay loyal to, as much as possible, the IHG brand. I don't often take the time to write reviews, but am happy to say that I have been well treated in all of the hotels I stay in while traveling for work.

However, I wanted to take time to make special mention of my recent two stays at the Holiday Inn in Kiev. I travel to this location for personal reasons rather than work. And, I think this is my 6th or perhaps 7th stay at this hotel. And again this year, as with 2015, I found myself spending time in Kiev as well as several other cities of Ukraine.

Certainly there are many factors to what make a stay away from home pleasurable. Amenities, Location, Facilities, and Atmosphere, and Cost are all contributing factors. However there is one that rates high on my list. Family.

At this hotel, I feel as though I am surrounded by family. I can't recall all the names of the people at the hotel. I wish I could, as they all deserve name recognition. And, since I can't recall them all, I won't try to create a list.

From the time I walked in the door, the young ladies of reception, recognized me from previous stays, and addressed me by name without looking at their computers or my passport. Everything was prepared at the time of my arrival, and there were no surprises with my booking.

The bar and restaurant staff are INCREDIBLE! They provide sincere attention to one not only as a customer, but as a person. My greatest appreciation for their service, conversation, recommendations, assistance, and "local" knowledge. I felt welcomed, at home, and well taken care of, particularly when I felt as though my life was "in a blender." The people their are proper, but at the same time relaxed. It was great to have wonderful conversation, share jokes, and get a little closer to these people who work so hard.

Housekeeping was incredible, answering my call for special needs, without hesitation or question, and without long delays. The room was always well kept, and amenities regularly refreshed.

Management and staff are all discrete, and polite, and go out their way to make sure one's stay is enjoyable.

Kiev is a beautiful, busy, and interesting city. There is much to enjoy for the typical tourist. But, there are many things you might miss if you don't talk to these people at the hotel. My thanks for insights that I might never have known about.

I use points for my stays in Kiev, but am treated no less well than a paying customer. And the point cost of a night in this hotel is very nice. I stayed in other 4 and 5 star hotels in other cities during this most recent adventure. And, have to say that the Kiev Holiday in was better than either of the others. I can't say enough about the staff, obviously. They are all AMAZING. The food selection is nice and well prepared, consistently tasty, although sometimes a little pricey compared to what one can find in other restaurants around the city. I enjoy the breakfast buffet (not included in points night stays) very much though. The selection and quality of the foods provided is vast, and great. If you want something that you don't see, just ask. It is likely they will prepare it for you. Compared to another 5 star hotel, this food was beyond excellent. Cold food is cold, and hot is hot, not the other way around.

It is my personal opinion, of course, and others may feel differently, or may not have taken the time to break the ice, but I have found my family away from home, and am appreciative of all they have done to make me feel welcome in their hotel, city, and country! Thank you!!! I look forward to...

I am a Diamond Elite member of the IHG loyalty program, and have been staying quite often at this property. Generally it is a good hotel in a good location. However, I have had problems on several occasions with the telephones in the rooms. Tonight I decided to call room service at 8:20pm. The number was busy. I kept trying for 20 minutes, but the number was continually busy. So I tried reception. Busy. The restaurant. Busy. The bar. Busy. Finally after trying for 40 minutes to call in vein, I called the hotel from my room on my U.S. mobile phone. The operator picked up and I said I was trying for 45 minutes to reach room service … and the woman said: “we are fully booked” and hung up the phone. So I got dressed, went to reception, who said we’re sorry and did exactly zero. I asked to speak to the duty manager, but there was no manager on duty. I went to the restaurant to try to place the order in person, but there was no one working there. So finally I came back to the room and at 9:20 (one hour after I had started to try to order room service), the restaurant called me. I ordered a club sandwich and a scoop of ice cream. Meanwhile the receptionist came to my room with a technician to fix the phone. I refused to let him in the room, and said they could fix or replace the phone tomorrow when I am out of the room. She also told me that they would give me a 20% discount. I was anyway entitled as a Diamond Elite member to a 10% discount. I told her I did not want there 90 cent discount. The woman couldn’t speak English and couldn’t understand my Ukrainian. The total cost was $9.60. I said that I did not want their discount and so she took the discount off entirely. The total discount they offered was $1.80 after ruining my evening and wasting over 1.5 hours of my time, and causing me to make a phone call from the hotel to the hotel on my mobile which cost more than the discount! So I went to the IHG site and spent 30 minutes on a chat with IHG’s hopeless bots, and was finally told I had to call a US 800 number. I called and spent an additional 15 minutes on the phone to the US. The representative told me she would contact the hotel and call me back in the room. But no one ever called me back. That is it for me and IHG hotels. I...

I am a Diamond Elite member of the IHG loyalty program and have been staying quite often at this property. Generally it is a good hotel in a good location. However, I have had problems on several occasions with the telephones in the rooms. Tonight I decided to call room service at 8:20pm. The number was busy. I kept trying for 20 minutes, but the number was continually busy. So I tried reception. Busy. The restaurant. Busy. The bar. Busy. Finally after trying for 40 minutes to call in vein, I called the hotel from my room on my U.S. mobile phone. The operator picked up and I said I was trying for 45 minutes to reach room service … and the woman said: “we are fully booked” and hung up the phone. So I got dressed, went to reception, who said we’re sorry and did exactly zero. I asked to speak to the duty manager, but there was no manager on duty. I went to the restaurant to try to place the order in person, but there was no one working there. So finally I came back to the room and at 9:20 (one hour after I had started to try to order room service), the restaurant called me. I ordered a club sandwich and a scoop of ice cream. Meanwhile the receptionist came to my room with a technician to fix the phone. I refused to let him in the room, and said they could fix or replace the phone tomorrow when I am out of the room. She also told me that they would give me a 20% discount. I was anyway entitled as a Diamond Elite member to a 10% discount. I told her I did not want there 90 cent discount. The woman couldn’t speak English and couldn’t understand my Ukrainian. The total cost was $9.60. I said that I did not want their discount and so she took the discount off entirely. The total discount they offered was $1.80 after ruining my evening and wasting over 1.5 hours of my time, and causing me to make a phone call from the hotel to the hotel on my mobile which cost more than the discount! So I went to the IHG site and spent 30 minutes on a chat with IHG’s hopeless bots, and was finally told I had to call a US 800 number. I called and spent an additional 15 minutes on the phone to the US. The representative told me she would contact the hotel and call me back in the room. But no one ever called me back. That is it for me and IHG hotels. I...