Holiday Inn Express & Suites Banning by IHG — Hotel in Banning

Go Elsewhere — This Hotel Fails IHG Standards If you're a local in need of emergency lodging (like we were during the evacuation), or just looking for a decent hotel — avoid this location at all costs. I rarely write reviews, but this experience was so unacceptable that it deserves public attention, especially from IHG corporate. If you're up for a factual yet frustrating story, keep reading. 🚫 This Hotel is an Embarrassment to the IHG Brand We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Banning, CA, during the mountain fires evacuation. This was, without exaggeration, the worst IHG experience I’ve ever had — and I’ve stayed at dozens over the years.

🔴 Cleanliness Issues • Room (323) reeked of dog urine. • Stains on carpets. Pubic hairs in the shower, under sink, around toilet upon arrival. • Mold in the bathroom ceiling — signs of long-term water damage. This level of neglect is unacceptable for any hotel, let alone one flying the IHG flag. 🟠 Untrained & Indifferent Staff • Front desk staff Miranda and Esmeralda were kind and hospitable, and seemed apologetic about their manager. • Management was dismissive and apathetic. ⚠️ Deceptive Business Practices Here’s where it goes from “bad” to “possibly fraudulent”: • On 7/1/2025, between 8AM–11AM, we and other evacuees were told by Esmeralda at the front desk that if we left before 8PM that night, we would not be charged for that night. This conversation is on camera, as we were at the front desk with witnesses. • We returned around 5–6PM once evacuation orders were lifted and began to check out. A front desk employee named Miranda (who was kind and helpful) told us she had been instructed by her manager to still charge us — even though we followed the agreement. • At 8 PM, we depart. Miranda explained that we could be refunded later, but insisted we sign for an extra night. We refused. 🚘 Confronted and Blocked from Leaving At 8:12PM, a vehicle aggressively pulled up and blocked our car from exiting the property. The driver of the car appeared to be an egg-shaped man with cartoonish swollen lips like a poorly made inflatable doll, we thought he needed medical help. To our surprise, it informed us that SHE was the manager which we were in disbelief due to the way she approached us with an aggressive and smug attitude. We later learned that her name is Aribelly which made more sense somehow. • She acknowledged her staff made the offer. • Claimed it was a training issue on her end — yet still refused a refund because "the hotel would lose money." • Asserted everything was "on camera" — which, ironically, works against them, as the original offer was also recorded with other guests and witnesses. ✍️ Forged Signature & Fraudulent Charges Four weeks later, we received documents from our credit card company that included a forged signature stating we accepted charges for the night in dispute — we did not. We have the documents and are currently pursuing this as credit card fraud. Through some investigation, we found out that neither Esmeralda nor Mirada had anything to do with the forged signature. Our credit card company confirmed the discrepancies for the forged signature they received from Holiday Inn against the signature they have on file. Happy to provide evidence.

🛑 Final Thoughts This is a failure of management, franchise oversight, and brand standards. If IHG or the franchise owner (Raj Patel) care at all about the brand’s reputation, this location needs immediate corporate inspection.

As a business owner, I wouldn't let Aribelly manage more than a garbage can due to her nearsightedness.

I’m a long-time IHG customer and am seriously reconsidering my loyalty. Until this location is corrected or de-flagged, I urge others to stay far away.

For Locals and Travelers: There are better places to stay nearby. Don't reward businesses that mistreat evacuees and commit...

🚨 URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED FROM IHG CORPORATE

This Location Fails IHG Standards — Immediate Quality Control Review Recommended

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Banning, CA during an emergency wildfire evacuation. As long-time IHG guests, we were shocked by the condition of this property and the behavior of its management. This experience was not just disappointing — it was alarming, both in terms of cleanliness and possible fraud. If you're from IHG Quality Assurance, Franchise Support, or Brand Protection, please read this carefully.

💼 Untrained Front Desk, Poor Management Oversight

Front desk staff Miranda and Esmeralda were polite and tried to help. However, management (Aribelly) was dismissive, unprofessional, and displayed a complete lack of concern for guest well-being or brand integrity.

⚠️ Verbal Agreements Ignored, Guests Misled

On July 1, 2025 (8AM–11AM), multiple evacuees were told by Esmeralda (at the front desk, with witnesses present and security footage available) that guests could leave before 8PM without being charged for that night.

We returned and checked out by 6PM, yet were still told by Miranda that her manager, Aribelly, demanded that we’d be charged, despite following instructions.

🚗 Aggressive Confrontation by Hotel Management

At approximately 8:12PM, as we were leaving the property, a vehicle blocked us from exiting. We were confronted by a woman we later identified as Manager Aribelly, a woman with prolapsed lips, who approached us aggressively and made sarcastic, unprofessional remarks.

She: Admitted her staff gave us the original offer Claimed it was a “training issue" Refused a refund and prioritized the hotel’s revenue over guest trust Asserted “everything is on camera” — which supports our account, not hers

✍️ Fraudulent Signature Used to Charge Our Card

Weeks later, we received a dispute response from our credit card company containing a forged signature — not ours — authorizing the charge we specifically rejected. Our bank flagged this as signature fraud. Neither front desk agent was responsible, according to our follow-up. We have full documentation and are currently pursuing a fraud investigation.

🛑 Corporate Response Urgently Needed

This is not a complaint about a bad stay. This is about: Brand negligence Possible credit card fraud Evacuees being taken advantage of during a crisis

IHG should immediately review this property’s operations and seriously reconsider its franchise status. We are loyal IHG customers — and this incident is making us reconsider that relationship entirely.

⚠️ To IHG Franchise Operations & Quality Control:

If guest trust and brand standards still matter, we urge you to investigate this location and its management team (particularly Aribelly) without delay. Evidence, including witness statements and documentation, can be provided...

This is a review on management and incompetence of staff, I will make sure if this is my last thing I do on earth to hold them to accountability. |We arrived at this hotel after driving 2 hours with a reservation already secured and paid for. Arrived at 1230 am and presented ID and credit card used to pay for room through Priceline, but when the woman at the front desk looked at the reservation she informed us that our reservation was no good as they don’t take Priceline reservations or any other third party reservations for that matter except Expedia. When I asked why, I was told it was the management decision and that I needed to call Priceline and have them cancel the reservation and pay directly through the hotel, I explained that I was using affirm to book the reservation and that the reservation shows paid in full and couldn’t understand what the problem was. Again, I was told the management said no reservations through Priceline and I had to cancel. What I tried this, I was told by Priceline that they have done reservations through this property before and they could not understand why either. The refund however would not be issued for 24 hours and this being Friday it wouldn’t be until Monday, my problem is I didn’t have another card to pay another $400 for the stay and another amount for a deposit. I asked about paying for the room on a card for the one night since it was now after 1 am and paying the deposit in cash and was informed that I had to them give a $400 deposit if done in cash in case anything was wrong with the room when we left. |Still dumbfounded by the fact that I paid in full for the room online, had a reservation, had ID to verify who I was and a card for the deposit, how is it that a hotel of such high standard (at least I thought as I have stayed in many Holiday inn express prior to this using the same reservation method) could do this to someone who is coming from a distance without letting them know prior that they don’t take Priceline reservations especially when they are on the website and accepting of this on that website. I don’t understand how they can just say sorry it doesn’t matter that you drove 2 hours to get here and paid for your reservation in full but we decided we no longer want to take this payment method or reservation method so either you comply or hit the road and find another place to stay. This is unacceptable, this is not something that is just going to be forgotten and blown off, I will be going through every measure possible to hold them accountable and making sure this isn’t done to anyone else to where their forced to sleep in their vehicle or drive another 2 hours home ruining plans that were arranged for the weekend. It is not right, this is not something that is common practice as I have never run into this problem anywhere I have...