Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston-Alvin by IHG — Hotel in Alvin

We originally went to the hotel next door to Holiday Inn (husband's pick) and boy was that a huge mistake. I asked if they had the 2 Queen Beds Suite and the gentleman at the front desk said they had suites. Turned out he lied. We kept asking for a 2 Queen Beds Suite and he would move us to another room. Finally by the 3rd or 4th room change I told him we were not staying at their hotel and we were going nextdoor to Holiday Inn because I knew they had them. He informed me he had to ask his manager if he could cancel or even refund my charge. This wasn't even our mistake it was HIS fault for lying to me about having a 2 Queen Beds suite. He calls his manager and asks permission, tells me he received the approval but proceeds to tell me it would be a $25 cancellation fee for me cancelling. That made zero sense to me since he lied to me about having what I was asking for. So we go nextdoor to Holiday Inn. Immediately the atmosphere is 100% different as soon as we walk through the doors. Walking into the lobby the hotel smelled clean and it was bright, clean and inviting. The staff was amazing, very helpful and friendly. I told the amazing lady that checked us in what we just went through next door. She apologized for them treating us so poorly. I told her I was already emotional because my father just passed away and we were in town for his funeral. She apologized even more and said we would be in great hands with Holiday Inn. They definitely did take care of us. The only issue we had was the elevator kept going out, it wouldn't have been an issue if I wasn't handicapped. Breakfast was plentiful and lots of choices. We really appreciated how friendly and sensitive the staff was with me knowing that my father passed away and they knew how to treat me with the utmost respect and kindness. Even with us extending our stay longer than expected and they worked with us so that we could stay in the same room even when my sons went back home and we were originally going to lower to a smaller room but decided not to move. We were sad to leave not only because I wasn't ready to leave my family but it gave us a much needed rest and a place to relax and escape when things got too overwhelming for me. I even told my husband it had been way too long since we have been able to have much needed us time. So we definitely would come back in the future when visiting my family and friends. We were exhausted by the end of every day while trying to be there for my mother and meet up with family and friends we haven't seen in a long time. It was nice to have a comfortable bed and pillows. Having the fridge and microwave in the suite along with the sofa was great so we could have family come and meet us in our room and sit in the sofa instead of our bed. My husband even reminded me several times don't forget to leave a good review for Holiday Inn they did such an amazing job taking care of you and your special needs. We highly recommend the Alvin Holiday Inn. The rates were not bad...

Our stay at the Holiday Inn Express over the July 4th weekend was nice. There are many things that this property has going for it.

The room we had was a nice, large, comfortable, and very clean room. The television was a nice sized flat screen with DirectTV, and that was a nice surprise. The cable service included a working guide and very quick response when you channel-surfed; something that is not found in to many hotel rooms.

The beds are nice and comfortable with multiple pillow options. The room also included a refrigerator and microwave oven. The lobby has a little store in it where you can buy food and other sundries.

The bathroom was nice and roomy and included amenities from Bath and Body Works. The towels we nice, big, thirsty towels that you do not see in too many hotels. The water pressure in the shower was in perfect working order and the adjustable showerhead actually adjusted into positions that you can find useful.

The staff here was on their “A” game. We were greeted by Patrice who informed us that she was new, but she had a good handle on checking us in. Everyone else on the staff that we dealt with were just as friendly and professional.

Their breakfast buffet in the beautifully-appointed “Great Room” featured a nice selection of sausage (both patties and links), biscuits and gravy, other types of breads, an automatic pancake machine that made a decent pancake, yogurts, cereals, and juices and coffee.

This property has really great potential, however, there were some missteps during our visit. The pool was clean and sparkling, but the whirlpool had slimy fungus actively growing in it. First I thought it was just the color that they had chosen for the whirlpool (why green? I have no idea, but I could not believe that was fungus), but upon closer inspection – yep, green slime.

I am hoping that the explanation is because it does not have a drain nor a skimmer and therefore cannot filter the water like the pool. And possibly all the rain they’ve had in this part of Texas lately is not helping keep the fungus problem under control.

Something else we noticed during this visit was that the bathtub would not hold water for a bath. Even when you closed the drain, it still stayed open a little bit – just enough that you could not keep a filled tub. This was disappointing because the tub is one of those decent hotel tubs that you actually consider taking a bath in. The shape and size of it lends itself to that idea.

Lastly, I must report that the wireless internet service that they offered (at least during our visit) was extremely slow and unreliable. I ended up having to turn on the mobile hotspot on my cellphone to get any type of reliable internet service.

I hated including the negative items about our stay because I really like this place. The staff is great and the accommodations are comfortable. Hopefully the property can figure out the best course of action for the whirlpool and the internet service.

I would definitely...

Last week, my husband and I called from Sacramento, California to book a hotel room last Sunday evening. We had stayed here in Alvin at the hotel before, so we were expecting another great experience. I did have only 1 request due to my health. I asked if it were possible to not spray chemical cleaners in the room. It was the same request from before which they honored before, so we saw no concern. They assured me that it was possible and that they would let the cleaning crew know. To make sure that the room was chemical free, I asked if we could even possibly have a room not used that evening before. I was told that I needed to call back on Saturday to check on this. So, on Saturday, the day before our arrival, I did. I was informed that up to that moment, nobody was in our room, and they would be cognizant not to spray anything. Obviously, from all my interactions with booking with them, chemical sprays are a concern for me, right? So, I was relieved with the news given.

We arrived on Sunday evening. Very tired from being on the road for 29 hours. Upon arrival, we smelled strong scents in the lobby, but thought nothing of it. Arriving to our room, we found metallic tubing in the 3rd floor hallway, and a worker was walking around (ironically!!!!) with a chemical plastic jug, spraying down the rooms across and next to us. We had hoped that in going into our room, that our room would be free of these chemical sprays. Unfortunately, it was full of strong scent, and it was apparent to me that they had just sprayed our room, as well.

So, we went back down, and asked if we could receive a refund for our stay due to the circumstances of health issues and the hotel not keeping their word. They said yes, and that they would be canceling our booking. I specifically asked the desk clerk for a receipt showing this, but I was told that our booking had not been processed because we were not staying. That evening, we ended up sleeping in our car.

Therefore, it has been a great shock and disappointment today to see that we were actually charged $150.29 for a stay that we were told would be canceled. Hmmmmm.

I called the hotel to have them retract this charge, but I was told that the owner had refused not charging us, even though he had been given all the health circumstances and been told about them saying they wouldn't charge us. Obviously, he knew that we had not stayed, as well.

This is both unprofessional and scary to me. That an owner would not take responsibility for his hotel's negligence and possibly hurting a customer's health was one thing; however, also CHARGING A CUSTOMER for the hotel's negligence and lack of responsibility is an even a greater concern.

We HIGHLY no longer recommend this hotel to anyone who chooses to travel to the Alvin-Houston area. Pardon the pun, but something about this place...