Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago Northwest - Elgin — Hotel in Dundee Township

It was unbelievable from the very beginning. A young kid named Andrew checked me in. Not only was he rude, but he gave me false information about the hotel restaurant. He was very unfriendly and abrupt, lacking any kind of concern and patience. Then, when I got up to my room, I couldn't get the key to work. It was something new which I was not used to using in other hotels. I called down to the front desk and guess who answered? Yep, Andrew. He was his same rude self and really was not all that helpful. I was not rude to him, however I had to bring up my backbone in order to get any help from him. He once again was very impatient with me, as though he didn't want to bother helping me. I then thanked him and he just hung up without saying good-bye or anything; it was just a click on the other end. I was also not told that breakfast was included in my package. I wasn't even told there would be one served. When I came downstairs to check out the day I was to leave, I saw guests enjoying themselves eating a breakfast buffet which made my mouth water. I asked Tim, the front desk manager about this. He also, was very rude and abrupt. He checked on my package and informed me it had been included. When I told him I was not informed of this, I asked if they would make it right and allow me to eat something. Without even looking up at me, he rudely said," You can pay for it." I had already checked out by this time. Come on, people! It was their mistake. They did NOT fully inform me of what was included, then they wouldn't even make it right? Really? Is this what is called good customer service these days? For heavens' sake, it was only me. I wasn't standing there with six hungry kids who were going to eat a lot and make a mess of things. There wasn't even an apology. You know, people go on vacations/stay-cations to relax and be treated well. My mother had just died, and I had been through hell, and what I needed was to go someplace nice and be catered to a little bit, but it was nothing but rudeness and mistakes and an attitude that said,"Oh well. Tough, lady". I was very physically and mentally fragile, and this was a terrible disappointment. I did not these this after everything I had been through. I called and I spoke to the manager, Michael, who was very nice and offered me 3,000 points toward another stay. When I called IHG to collect on it, told me one night was 17,000 points! Seriously? Are you kidding me? I didn't even get one night back! I'm sorry, but I truly feel they should make the time up to me at no cost. I had three nights of VERY poor service from people who really didn't care about their guests and their happiness. I'm sure this will not happen, but it really is the only fair thing to do. I'm sure all you people will have to say, "It's unfortunate that happened, but there's nothing else we can do." Well, save it. I hope you are happy now. I'm sure you will forget about this review, and you won't lose any sleep over one customer who got the shaft. After all, that's all I am to you, isn't it? One...

I cannot say enough about the breakfast. I normally do not eat breakfast but my 3 boys were playing in a hockey tournament and I needed to make sure they were fed. We all raved about how good it was and were somewhat stunned that it seemed to be served by the hotel and not a separate restaurant because it was served in the lobby and a small room just off the lobby. It was sit down dining and you ordered from a menu (no buffet breakfast) and the food was unbelievably good. It was so good that we all planned when we were going to all be together the second morning just so we could order breakfast at the hotel again. I tried something different the second day (the skillet) and it was just as good as the omellette I had on the first day. Our plates looked like we licked them clean as nothing was left. Honestly, the service was not great, but the food made up for that. I had my 3 boys staying with me so I needed a big room. I booked the King Suite. It was awesome. We had a place to go between games with plenty of room to kick back and relax with kids playing xbox in the living room and adults watching the Olympics in the bedroom area. It was very clean with lots of space and it was quiet. The pool was also incredible. A parent on the team of my oldest also happened to book a room at this hotel and he commented that the pool alone made staying there worth every penny. It had a large hot tub and water features that the younger kids loved. Having a Bennigans attached to the hotel was a nice convenient feature as the weekend we were there the temperatures were below zero in the mornings and evenings. The food was what you would expect from a Bennigans and it was reasonably priced. Having the Bennigans bar open until midnight was also nice as we had hockey games that went to 11 pm so being able to grab a drink or two to unwind at the end of a long day was nice. Bottom line, if I need a hotel room in the Crystal Lake-West Dundee area, I won't even look anywhere else, I am staying at this Holiday Inn. They could have charged me a lot more a night and I would have felt like I got a really good deal. It was that good. Lastly, with three travel hockey players, I do a lot of travel with my boys and the hotels we stay at are Holiday Inns and their typical competitors, but this hotel and experience blew away any hockey hotel experience I have had in the 10 years that my kids have...

I stayed a couple of nights and then came back the next week after traveling. When I came back, the elevator was broken, which made my stay as someone with physical limitations (as well as the other two guests who had to take the stairs) and service dogs impossible so I had to stay somewhere else (they also charge a NON-REFUNDABLE 150$ CHARGE for SERVICE DOGS "because they have to actually clean the room" even though I was told the entire floor I was staying on was dedicated to guests with dogs) The young woman at the front desk that evening had a terrible attitude and I doubt she was just having a bad day; it seemed more like she simply isn't suited for face-to-face customer interactions (she couldn't control her eyerolling and tone of voice) Her supervisor (young black woman who checked me in during my first stay) was better though and it was nice sharing pics of our pitbulls and she seemed to understand my needs. The room was clean. My injured back was thankful for the heat from the hot tub I had all to myself for 2 days. DO NOT eat at Bennigans. I happen to have opened that location in 1998 so I was hoping to enjoy a nostalgic dinner there. The food made me sick, again. (the place has been known to serve underdone chicken and salads so soaked in pesticides that my body immediately rejects it. I ordered something else that ALSO made me sick that night. Couldn't even feed it to the dogs because the potatoes were half onions not listed in the ingredients. Whatever the "sauce" they pour over their "steaks" should be banned) Know that your Bennigans server is an employee of the hotel. I highly recommend either Alexander's right across the street (long-time local owners also of Rookies and Village Squire Pizza and wonderful humans) or Cali Bbq just north on RT31 (get the tri-tip, a cut you can't typically get in the Midwest. Their sauce is made with habanero, LOVE) The hotel location is right at Interstate 90, which will take you into Chicago proper and West to Rockford as well as north and south via RT31. There's a Park and Ride on RT90 with free parking roughly 2 miles from this location (no overnight parking) This is also not your only lodging choice within steps...