Holiday Inn Savannah S - I-95 Gateway — Hotel in Georgetown

This chain is normally my goto place for an impromptu trip. However this place was beyond disgusting. The host (Aaron) checked me in and I asked for a different room with two queens. He told me it could not be changed- which I was ok with. I asked if my room would have a pull out bed and he advised it would. Arrived to my room with NO pullout bed. There was still trash on the floor from a previous guest( paraphernalia for smokers) It smelled like they tried to cover up the smoke smell, which amplified the odor. It was just not comparable to any other Holiday Inn I’ve visited. I had to return to the front desk and Aaron had to change my room. Which he originally told me he could NOT do. Then Aaron proceeds to tell me next time I need to reserve what I want. That was unprofessional and unnecessary. The new room was just as bad as the original. Stained walls, holes in the carpet, and still an unpleasant odor. At that moment my family and I decided to seek other accommodations. We had only been there less than an hour and I was prepared to pay 1 night just to avoid any confusion. I was greeted my Timothy, who was very polite, but not forthcoming. I told him my experience and he said that he would not charge me for anything. I told him I was prepared to pay one night and he insisted it would be taken care of. I called back to confirm the hold on my card would be closed. At that moment he said I would be responsible for 1 night because we used the restroom. This was frustrating because my husband could have used the facilities in the lobby if we knew that was going to be the case. But again, I didn’t argue because I originally agreed to pay 1 night. My aggravation arose when I brought up the face that I needed to switch cards. Timothy advised I would have to come back to the hotel to do this. I understand company policies, but this does not change the fact that all this could have been avoided if he charged my charge upon my original attempt to check out. So now I have to travel back to this disgusting hotel with my 1 and 3 year old to change a card on file. I arrive and Timothy switches my card and tells me to have a nice day. As this is a business expense, and I have already checked into another hotel. I needed a receipt. Timothy advised he could not close me out until the next morning. You have my money for a room that was occupied for 37 minutes, I needed a receipt. He eventually printed me one, but that process should not have been that convoluted. Please avoid this hotel at all cost, especially if you have small kids.

**Update- back to Timothy Hayward- those man told me I was checked out, and gave me a receipt. When I woke up this morning I had ANOTHER hotel charge for more money. I called the hotel and the representative said it was for a night stay. Timothy LIED!! You charged my card for “something” but did not close out my room. This is the absolute worst experience I have had with Holliday inn. I will be...

This entire experience, from start to finish, was one challenge after another. When trying to make the initial reservation, it was only made for one night, rather than two and the requested email confirmation was not sent. It was only when I followed up with a phone call to request the email confirmation (for the 2nd time) did I realize the initial error in not making the correct reservation. The desk clerk seemed constantly distracted throughout this process and even had me call back to give my credit card number because he just wasn't able to process it right then. Upon arrival, I was told that the pool was not open (it was actually completely drained) which was a disappointment for June in Georgia. Then, the message light on my room phone was continually blinking. Someone did come up immediately, but she wasn't able to resolve the issue either. I just unplugged it. The temperature of the shower was not steady, but was bearable . . . The following morning, there was a power outage and, although we were supposed to have breakfast provided as part of our stay, there was nothing available. I know the power outage was beyond the hotel employees' control, but seems that something could have been done to provide coffee? 'take away' breakfast? or something. . . . then when checking out, the state tax was included on my bill, although I had provided the required form when I checked in. Savannah was very helpful during the check out process, and even deducted $15 for the pool being closed; however, she was not able to do anything about the state tax and said that her manager, who was scheduled to come in at 3:00, could adjust that. This was on a Sunday. I reached out to Veda, Operations Manager, via email on Monday, but got no response. I then sent an additional email with the state tax exempt form attached to Veda a couple of days later, but still got no response. My other administrator reached out to the hotel over a week later and was able to speak with Ashley who did adjust our bills and finally got everything straightened out.

As I said, it was just one thing after another, from start to finish, on this Holiday Inn experience. I would stay in the facility again as it was clean, felt safe, and the staff were very kind and responsive; however, I would not try to make a reservation or stay there on business...

For me Holiday Inn Express hotels are as home away from home. I travel a lot, stay in IHG properties as a first choice, and never need to read the reviews but I should have this time. Arrived at 9pm to find Phillip, the front desk clerk glaring and so seemingly unhappy to see us one young person in our group was literally afraid to ask him for sheets for the pull out bed which had no linens or pillows.

The room was clean but in all our rooms EVERYTHING is on power saver - plasma TVs are on power saver so annoyingly dark, (this cannot be adjusted) Ac shuts off and you have to keep turning it off and on no matter what temp is showing on the thermostat, water pressure is so low the sinks practically dribble (the shower has a head that compensated for the low pressure so it’s ok) and while most of the towels were fine some weren't suitable for drying the car, frayed edges, holes and long hanging threads (see photo) I had to wonder how it could have been perfectly rolled, folded and placed in the

rack.

Breakfast is not included although coffee is available. They have a bar and the staff there is lovely as are the room cleaning staff and the female front desk staff although it's clear Phillip seems to set the tone, never a good morning from the desk staff was heard over 4 days. I did not find my first floor room to be noisy, power plugs were plentiful and easy to reach but the internet, regardless of room location is so slow it's unusable. "Useless" was the word my entire group used for the wifi. It would sign on, but even at 5am with low to no traffic it wouldn't load web pages.

Beds are comfortable as was the pull out sofa. And there are lots of outside good food options right there including a Cracker Barrel and a pretty good Ruby Tuesday

In conclusion, unless you are just hitting the sack in and out this HI Express doesn't meet the .standards of the franchise for overall experience. There are other IHG offerings nearby I plan to try when we return...