Holiday Inn Express & Suites Columbus - Polaris Parkway by IHG — Hotel in Columbus

We got a room to celebrate my daughter's 4th birthday. All she wanted for her birthday was to swim which is why we picked this specific hotel because of the kid friendly pool set up. When we called to confirm our room, we were informed that pool access requires wrist bands and you are only given a certain amount of wrist bands based off the room you book. Because of this we upgraded our room to the most expensive option and were told we would get 6 bands which was enough for both my kids, my nephew and the adults.

Upon check in, the front desk worker tried to tell us we could only have 5 bands. When I informed her we were told we would be given 6, she she said "well it's 5 but whatever, I'll just give it to you".

We then had to sign a waiver specifically for the pool, and it outlined that we are not to allow people who are not guests and do not have a wrist band to go into the pool and that we could not have a party or any form of celebration in the pool area. The fine for breaking those rules was $250.

We got to our room and it was fine, nothing notable there. We then quickly went down to the pool area and upon entering saw a sign that said how many bands you get based on what room you got and it clearly said our room should get 6 bands. On our way to the pool area huge groups of people were seen getting onto the elevators with luggage carts full of catering, not to mention the elevators took 5+ minutes to arrive.

There were a ton of kids and adults in the pool area already and it was clear, none of the adults there cared to watch their children. It's amazing none of them broke their skulls open. They were back flipping and front flipping into 3 feet of water, not watching out for other kids swimming near them and running full speed on the soaking wet floor. The blue slide seen in some of the pictures is also no longer there.

As time passed more and more people were coming in through the side doors and none of them had wrist bands on. It was clear there were 2 or 3 parties happening within the pool area and each one had 20-30 people in it.

When my kids no longer had room to play and my son got jumped on repeatedly, we finally went to the front desk to express the concern we had and also the frustration of paying for an upgraded room when they clearly not enforcing the wrist band policy. My husband was essentially told there was nothing they could do, that they can't actually enforce the policy but that they would give us a discount on the room.

Considering there were 40ish people within the pool that were using it for free and my kids and nephew literally could not swim at all, we were done and didnt want to stay. We asked to speak with a manager and was told by the same front desk lady that he was not in. However, later on he showed up and we re-explained the issue to him. He apologized and did refund the room but again reaffirmed there was nothing they could do. When leaving the pool the same front desk lady was putting out fresh towels and we asked for 3 more dry off. She handed them to us and we said thank you and just looked us up and down and didn't responded and turned and walked away.

My sister also witnessed the other front desk person give 12 wrist bands to 2 adults. Please keep in mind the max you can get per group is 6 and the people given the bands weren't even staying in the largest room as we heard them checking in and confirming their single room.

Apparently you can just show up to swim like it's a free public pool so save your money and just walk in the side door.

We will not be returning and I don't recommend anyone else go here with expectations of getting the amenities they are promised...

Update: After reviewing this hotels management feedback I will add I am stunned at the unprofessional response (there are several listed below mine.) If this is a managers response, I am not be surprised at the conduct while on site. You should never speak to customers in this way and so defensively especially on a public site.

Honest review staying with toddlers: CHECK-IN: Check in was a nightmare with very rude staff, and when I say rude this is some of the worst and laziest staff I have ever witnessed. They sat in the back office laughing at customers. You should be aware if there is an issue with your card or if you do not place a card on file they will cancel your reservation without any warning. We observed a family get turned away for a birthday party (yes they do allow parties as long as you have enough space in your room booking for the amount of people in attendance.) The poor parents were in tears. Their policies include an $250 extra charge for POSSIBLE damages and loud noises. ROOM: After finally getting into our room the room was clean and decent for the price (King Suite) and included only 3 towels for a family of four we had to go downstairs to request extra. POOL: The pool was just ok. It seems a lot of people come here for the pool and honestly it is not any better than other pools at comparable hotels. If you are looking for a fun experience please visit your local rec center or Great Wolf Lodge, this is not a place to come. Within an hour they shut down the pool due to hygiene reasons (this seems to happen a lot) and we were told it would open in the morning. It is cold but heated, just at a very low temp (I am guessing 60/70.) NOISE/SECURITY: The hotel is very loud and we had issues with neighboring rooms playing loud music and someone banging on our hotel room door several times. After calling down to the front desk around midnight they said they were not surprised and this happens a lot. BREAKFAST: Breakfast is all premade frozen food that is reheated. Think McDonalds. Not terrible but I would not recommend eating it or feeding your kids these options. They do have some fresh fruit and yogurt so that is helpful. STAFF: The pool and kitchen staff seem nervous and confused about their job. The pool “security” sat outside the door with no badge and did not identified herself she just stared at us, I am not certain of her job. The food worker placed extra food next to the warmers which made me question the health of the frozen food and she was so quick to clean she wiped the crumbs while I was still making my toast, it was strange and once again she seemed nervous. OVERALL: I would rate this hotel a 2 overall and we will not return as the management staff seems to be very controlling but not present on site. They do not have happy and well trained staff and are not interested in the customers best interests nor their reputation. We have stayed at many hotels and resorts over the years and this is not a decent one in anyway and one of the lowest rated ones. In the area I would suggest The Hyatt or Embassy Suites for a fun and...

Just awful. We have stayed before but this time around we left a day early. I'm so disappointed in the customer service and the way the employees carry themselves. I'm disappointed in the fact the hotel knows it brings a lot of children because of the pool an still got terrible service. I'm frustrated that the desk manager straight lied to my face about ketchup of all things. I went to McDonald's to get dinner for the kids and they forgot ketchup. When upon arriving back at the hotel, I stopped at the front desk and asked for a couple packs of ketchup. The front desk manager tells me I am sorry but the hotel doesn't carry ketchup not even for breakfast. We actually don't carry ketchup anymore. So I ran to Walmart and got ketchup and some snacks. Not a big deal...until I wake up the next morning and go down to breakfast with my bottle of ketchup and to my surprise I see ketchup packets. Great, starting my day off finding out I was lied to about freaking ketchup. I'm trying to just push the thoughts away so I can enjoy breakfast and I can't even do that because the employee is cussing up a storm in the kitchen. Im glad the kids were still sleeping. Breakfast was late getting out. Then I try to go get some juice and there is none. Fine and dandy with me but again the hotel knows it brings a lot of children through and the only beverages they were offering were coffee, hot tea, community shared gallon of milk, and water. Luckily the kids slept through breakfast. So later in the evening we ordered take out and was delivered to the hotel. We did not receive utensils, so I went down and ask the front desk manager could we possibly get a couple of forks for the kids. I was told if there were no utensils out then that is it. That is how breakfast was run also. Once it was out it never got refilled. I went to the water fountain to get water because I refuse to pay for an over priced drink. At one point someone tried to get into our room. So what was supposed to be a relaxing fun birthday trip turned into a very disappointing trip and I am just so disappointed at the customer service. Pardon us we must have forgotten to pack the kitchen also. Ketchup packets and plastic utensils must be getting expensive to have to put a limited amount of the items out. Awful...