Holiday Inn Express & Suites Alvarado, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Alvarado

This adventure first starts with a curt check-in. Due to travel and the early arrival time in the morning I booked the evening before to ensure the rooms availability the next morning. I was told that I did not have a room because I did not call them to explain why I would not have checked in the start day...I assured them that I called to inform them the night before.

I was found a room and persisted to check in for my week and a half stay. At the checking I asked for a full clean daily.

This was followed up with a room that the shower faucet would not seal for the shower, the toilet would not stop running, an AC unit that would shake the room. The next morning, I informed the night deck clerk of the challenges with the room. I came back to the room that evening to find nothing was done, shower faucet would not seal for the shower, no full clean, the AC not addressed, and the toilet was still running. I informed the same night desk clerk in the morning nothing was addressed, he assured me that he passed my concerns to the assistant manager. I came back to the room that evening to find a sarcastic letter from the assistant manager telling me that I needed to sign the letter to have the room cleaned as the cleaners will not touch my stuff. The letter also stated that the shower faucet was changed, AC was addressed as well as the toilet. Unfortunately, the AC went from shaking the room to squealing randomly at night, the toilet was still running, and the room was not full clean. The facet was changed. The next morning, the manager was there and asked how the stay was. I informed him of the snarky letter from the assistant manager and handed it over to him. I explained about the AC, the toilet and the lack of the full cleaning (explaining my concern was about the dried blood on the linen). I came back to the room that evening to find a new AC unit and the toilet still running just not as much and the full clean not done. These issues were compounded by the fact that for 5 out of the first 7 days my card would not read when I came back in the evening. I was informed by the staff that it was because I had the card by my phone, to be clear I did not. In fact, I put the card on the dresser at night and in the cup holder in the car during the day. There were other issues like running out of food at 6:40 in the morning, water being shut off without a courteous notification provided to the guests...so on , so on and so on. No follow-up from the Manager about the letter or about the challenges that I was experiencing. All in all, I was extremally...

We stayed a few nights in Alvarado while on a quick shopping trip back in the US. Alvarado is smack-dab in the middle of RV dealerships (which we wanted to check out) and close enough to Dallas/Ft Worth/Arlington/others that we could also get some regular shopping done. It's extremely conveniently located off of I35 for those who need to break while traveling. Based on the reviews, we chose the HIE Alvarado. Wow! It turned out to be a very good choice.

Quite frankly, usually a hotel is a hotel is a hotel with a few variations. In the case of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Alvarado, it was so much more. Without a doubt, the biggest reason was the staff. Everyone at the front desk never failed to greet us as we came and went. More importantly, they were incredibly helpful when I had a problem shipping my "package from h*ll," especially Shanna who said that she would personally make sure that it went out. It worked (online verification with the shipper)! The other three, Brian, Tim and Harrison, also kept a sharp eye on the PFH while some shipping bugs had to be worked out between the seller and the shipper. I was leaving before things had been completely settled and it was such a relief for me to be able to leave, knowing that the package was in good hands.

Victoria and Magda ensured that the breakfast items were hot and plentiful. Regardless of the time, there was always a sufficient supply of all of the breakfast items. We've stayed at numerous "name" hotels where it seemed like the food was rationed--if you didn't get up at the crack of dawn to beat the thundering hordes, too bad. The breakfast room was also kept immaculate, with plenty of copies of the daily paper available for anyone who wanted one.

The entire hotel was extremely clean and well maintained, especially our room. I'm sorry that I don't know the name of the person who did such a super job, but I hope the hotel reads this and credits her/him.

The pool and hot tub were a nice way to end the day. My only VERY SMALL complaint is that the shower didn't work in the pool bathroom; however, to be fair, I believe they were doing work during our stay, so that may have since been fixed.

If it seems like I'm a fan of this hotel, you're right. We've stayed at very high end hotels and other mid-range ones and HIE&S Alvarado could easily hold its own against any of them. It was a very pleasant...

Being a GM at a hotel I normally do not leave negative reviews but in this case I feel the need to do so. I booked this room with my points after checking in and entering my room I immediately noticed the dust bunnies on the walls so I began to inspect the rest of the room as I do when I inspect the rooms at my hotel using IHG’s standards! This room was way below any of IHG’s standards to say the least! I found trash under the couch and in the couch! There was trash and so much dust built up on the cords and carpet not to mention the back of the furniture. The floors and the couch were sticky to the touch!! The filters to the ptac unit looked like they were wearing sweaters they were so thick with build up. I called the manager that was working up to the room so she could see for herself what I was talking about. I showed her behind the nightstands and under the couch the walls and the Ptac unit filters. The bathroom was a whole other story but basically the same!! I also suggested that maybe she could use this as a training session for her housekeepers. She offered to put me in another room, upgraded me to a suite. She was somewhat understanding. Then upon my arrival to that room, I did the same thing because again immediately upon entering the room I saw some trash underneath the desk so I go to pull out the nightstands, and there was more trash, dead bugs, dust buildup and Coins. It was filthy behind the TV as well!! AlI I did was take a shower and leave. I didn’t even spend the night. It would be nice if I could get back some or most of my points or even my $50 incidentals cost which is still pending!! I had originally planned on spending the night and getting a good nights sleep but I knew that would be impossible in the condition of the room. So I gathered my belongings and left. I called IHG and was told I would have to speak to the hotel in order to get some points credited back to my account but since I couldn’t even get a phone call I didn’t expect they would give me my points. Although I do expect my $50.00 incidental cost back which is STILL pending!!! I would love to know how this hotels metrics look!!! Let this review be a reminder to check your rooms before lying down to sleep. Check behind and under all furniture and check those filters people with allergies can get really sick breathing...