Holiday Inn Express & Suites Albuquerque East by IHG — Hotel in Albuquerque

I am extremely unhappy with the service that was provided by this hotel. My first impression was great as my stay went well. The hotel felt safe in a very unsafe location and that was my number one priority. In fact, I praised your hotel to family members who travel frequently through that area.

I checked in on the night of December 19th and checked out the following morning. I was told from the front counter that a $50 incidental fee will be held on my credit card. This is understandable, as it is this way with every hotel. However, checking back on my statements, I was charged $250 and at this point it had been over a week. So I called the hotel for the first time asking for information. I was told that there had been an issue with their computer system and that they would call me back and there was no reason on the reservation as to why I should have been charged the $250. They also told me that it should have only been a $50 charge unless I was a New Mexico resident. I am not a New Mexico resident nor have a license plate that is New Mexico. Never received a call back. I tried again several times and was given the same answer each time and that was that there was a glitch in the system and several rooms were effected and that I would receive my credit back. We will call you back to let you know it is completed. Again, never received a call back.

I have been calling for over 2 weeks and was finally called back today after calling again yesterday asking what the delay was. I was then told the $250 was actually a cleaning fee for the room being in improper condition when I left and that it was stated in the room notes. I have several issues with this. The first: If this was in the room notes, why am I being told for almost three weeks that everything with the booking and reservation looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary, you should be receiving your credit? Why was I given a run around? Second: The only response as to why there was a cleaning charge was because it just wasn’t to proper standard. When I asked what that meant, they just said if it felt it needed to be cleaned further. Again, no explanation. I was in the room for 10 hours at max, got there late, slept and picked up and left by 7 am the next day. I am sure the hotel sees some pretty nasty individuals and I can guarantee you that I am not one of them. And after doing some research from your other google reviews, it seems your standard of cleanliness or what I was told “up to par room” is far from perfect nor clean.

Liz has been the person on the front counter that I have spoken with and she has been kind every time. However, she was the one giving me these run around answers each time. I can only assume that one of two things prompted her to not give me a straight answer from the moment I called. First, she knew why there was a $250 fee from the first time we spoke and did not want to have the conversation with me thinking I would go away. And the second, she is not given any support from her general manager or staff to communicate properly with customers. I work in a very tough customer service environment and generally, these are the two biggest reasons for communication errors with customers.

Although I am sure this review will go under deaf ears, it is ridiculous that you likely take advantage of people who are just trying to travel to their next destination with their families safely. Going forward, I will not be staying at this...

First and foremost, bed comfort is a critical issue. We do not book rooms in hotels to sleep on the floor. At this location, the comfort of the bed was very good. The King sized bed was more than adequate for most people. However, some travelers are much taller than normal. It would be nice if hotels offered CA King sized beds in a few rooms/suites. I'm over 6'3" and the extra bed length would be appreciated.

The rooms were quite with little noise intrusion from other rooms/floors. Even being close to I-40, there was little noise in the room.

The bathroom had a large walk-in shower instead of a tub/shower. This is something that can be appreciated by anyone with mobility problems. In my case, it is just a preference. The larger size also eliminated the contact with the shower curtains you would find with tub/shower combos.

Breakfast options were a bit lacking. My traveling party opted to go elsewhere for breakfast as they were running out of food/coffee long before the end of the posted hours.

While it was not material during this visit, I cannot post a review without making a comment regarding pets. As a pet parent, I know it can be hard to travel with our pets. This specific hotel DOES NOT ALLOW PETS. I did not notice this when I was booking my stay. Even though I was not traveling with my dog, I am not sure I would have booked had I known the policy. Generally, I prefer to spend my money with businesses that share my values. Our pets are just as much family as kids. Hotels should offer a few rooms for travelers with pets.

In summary, the bed was comfortable, the room was quiet, and the shower was very comfortable. However, breakfast may be a problem for those who wake up later in the morning. And, the pet issue would be a problem for many travelers. So I would say it is a good place with a...

Location: When you first pull up to the property and the first thing you see is that the property is surrounded by 6 ft. high steel fencing with lockable steel gates, this first impression doesn't give you a sense of safety or security. The first thing that came to my mined was "We are in a bad neighborhood" hence; the steel fencing to keep out the criminal element. The Welcome: The staff were very friendly, courteous, accommodating, and professional, the welcome did soften the anxiety a bit knowing that the neighborhood was probably not the greatest area. The Room: The room was clean and somewhat updated, first impression, "This may not be so bad". The bathroom was clean. Sleep Quality: The property is literally right off Interstate 40, the traffic noise level was high, and of course, our room was the room closest to the Highway. All the properties I have stayed at when a major highway or street is near by, you would think IHG (a multibillion dollar company) would spring for sound deadening windows to those rooms closest to the traffic to at least cut the traffic noise down. The Air Conditioning unit rattled every time it kicked on, which of course woke me up. The bed was rock hard, sleep quality was poor, relaxation level was fair at best. Breakfast: standard Holiday Inn Express breakfast, I did have to make a run to the near by Walmart to purchase cans of energy drinks for the road to help me stay awake since I got zero restful sleep due to the above mentioned conditions. I'm sorry Holiday Inn Express Albuquerque NM. but you wanted my feedback. I know there is not much you as an IHG property can do. You did a wonderful job to make me (and other guest) feel comfortable, and welcomed, kudos! to you. I wish you the best in all...