Holiday Inn Express & Suites Buffalo Downtown - Medical Ctr by IHG — Hotel in Buffalo

I called this hotel when I booked it to ensure I could have an early check in. When I spoke with the lady on the phone she told me that would not be a problem at all and she would make a note. When I arrived I was told that there were no rooms available and check in was at 3pm. I explained the situation to him and he informed me that most of the staff did not show up, there was no water so laundry did not get done and check in will be after 3pm. Unfortunately I was unable to get his name as he was not wearing a name tag and was wearing a red hoodie. I returned after 4pm to check in. He was still here and told me I could check in but the key system was down. He told me he would have someone open the room but I would have to put the lock out and leave my personal items and luggage unsecured in my unlocked room while I moved my vehicle and if I left the room for any reason until the key machine was back working. I have never been to a hotel where I was told that I need to leave my items in the room and leave the door propped open. I did not have a choice so I had to do this but was an extreme concern to safety for me. Upon my arrival in the room I had only 1 full sized bath towel, no pillow cases and 2 hand towels. I went back down to the front desk to get missing items and I was treated like I was bothering him and I was lying as I was questioned a few times if inwas sure they were not there. Came back up to the room to relax and I went down to the front desk to check on the key situation again. A woman named BW helped me was extremely helpful and sweet (finally customer service) she apologized and stated they were not working still and they have a call in to the general manager to get them working. Finally at 7pm I was able to get keys. I went down to the little shop located by the front desk to only find out they are gouging customers. Five dollars for a candy bar, five dollars for a small ice cream sandwich, 7 dollars for a container for Ramen and 3 dollars for a tiny bag of chips! Breakfast should start at 6am (as I was informed) I waited until 6:20 still was not opened and I had to leave for work to purchase food somewhere else. During my wait flight attendants and pilots who were staying here were able to get select items in the kitchen area and everyone else would have to wait. Elevators smell like Marijuana, heat in the room had a hard time keeping up, the toilet kept running and the bathroom fan did not work. The location was great though! Mind you I travel a TON for work and always stay at Holiday Inn and this by far has been...

I’m an IHG platinum member. I always try to book with IHG brand. However, after this terrible experience I’m reconsidering.

I had to fly to Buffalo for a life saving surgery. For 11 years I’ve had major vein issues with a major clotting disorder. I’m a 38 year old married father of 4, and this surgery was my final and best hope.

We arrived at the “medical center” hotel only to find that parking is 1 1/2 blocks away. There are 2 handicap spots right by the entrance, but staff was parked there with no handicapped plates. When asked about this, I was told to “find a different hotel” by the older gentleman with a white mustache working the front desk.

So my wife wheels my chair 1 1/2 blocks away, with all our luggage, as we get ready for a major surgery the following day.

Once we get to the room we unpack and start to settle in, only to realize the air was not working. It got up to 84 degrees. After fighting with the front desk they finally agree to move us to a different room. So, my wife packs everything back up, and wheels me and our luggage to a different room on a different floor. Great way to prepare for a major 10 hour surgery the following day, right?

So, she unpacked us in the new room. But guess what? The air stopped working in the new room, also. So, we call the front desk and they tell us that the manger would be calling. We never heard from her. Apparently her name is Christine, or Kristin? I wouldn’t know, because she never returns calls. And her voicemail is full, not allowing anyone to leave a message. A person working the front desk literally said to us “good luck getting in touch with her”.

I proceed to have my surgery, thankfully it goes well. When returning from the hospital, and needing a close parking spot this time more than ever, the handicap spots were filled up with maintenance vehicles working on the AC.

We then decide to move hotels all together. Only to never hear from management, got charged full price, and dismissed as though we didn’t matter. If this is what the hospitality business is for them, they need to get out!

I’m glad I have all of this documented. Because so many ADA issues were violated.

I’m done with IHG, all because of 1 bad manager, who created a bad culture, and displays zero leadership to her staff. Even her staff thinks she’s a joke, apparently.

Don’t...

The staff at this hotel is completely incompetent. I checked out on a Tuesday morning and once we got to our next destination I discovered that I had left a pair of shoes in the room. I called the hotel to let them know exactly where I left them and that I would be back in Buffalo on Friday to pick them up. I was asked to keep calling the front desk agent back because he needed to talk to housekeeping. I called back the following day and was asked to call back yet again as he had not talked to them yet so I did. He told me that housekeeping did not find the shoes. I called back on Thursday to speak to a manager as I wasn't convinced the desk agent was relaying the information. Never received a call from the manager. Called back on Friday, spoke to someone helpful who was the housekeeping supervisor. She was going to talk to the person who cleaned the room and call me back. Never received a call back so called the hotel again. She stated the shoes were not found. Got a call on Saturday while at the airport to fly back home letting me know shoes were found (misplaced by the housekeeper) and I could pick them up. Advised the person that I had made 11 calls in 4 days to pick the shoes up prior to leaving. She was empathetic and knew they dropped the ball and said that she would get the shoes sent out on Monday at the hotels expense. I thanked her and flew home only to get an email on Thursday from BW asking for me to contact her regarding a left item. I called her and explained the situation and what I was told by the last person I spoke with. She said that she was in charge of lost and found and never received any messages to call me as if that was my fault and told me to call UPS to give them my credit card info as they were not responsible for items left by guests. This was the most frustrating experience I have ever had at an IHG hotel. I completely understand that leaving the item in the room was 100% my fault and own that but I tried to avoid all of this by calling the hotel multiple times to have my shoes left at the front desk for me to pick up. And for BW and the GM Matt to act like this was my fault when it was clearly their shortcoming is...