Holiday Inn Express & Suites Harrison by IHG — Hotel in Harrison Township

To start it want to be fair and say I havent checked in yet and I'm trying to get an early check in. I travel for a living (over 300 days a year) and stay at alot of IHG properties, especially Holiday Inns. There are times with my job that I arrive early, sometimes as early as 10:30-11 am and request an early check in. I never have a problem with IHG hotels so that's why I stay primarily at them. This time is different. I arrived by 11 am, called the hotel and asked for an early check in, she told me that no rooms were cleaned yet and she would call when it's ready. I thanked her and went about running an errand or two. And hour later I parked in the parking lot of the hotel and ate some lunch. During this time I watched a young man pull in, drag his suitcase and backpack in and presumably get a room since he never came back out. I then observed 2 maids come out of the hotel with their personal bags (purses) and walk across to Arbys and then to Starbucks. One went into Starbucks while the other sat outside on the curb smoking and yelling thru the door to one inside. During this time I went inside to try to check in at approximately 12:30 pm and was informed that no rooms were cleaned yet, that check out isn't until 11 (I'm not new to this, most people check out by 8 am) and they'd call when my room is ready. The maids were still across the street smoking and drinking their Starbucks at this time. My question is why are the maids not cleaning the room when you have a guest waiting to check in? Again, i travel extensively for work and this is the first IHG hotel i've ever had this problem with. Poor customer service and I haven't even checked in yet. I definitely won't return to this hotel in the future. Its not 12:45 and still not hope of an early check in. It's now 1 pm, I'm still waiting for a clean room. I called to ask to talk with the manager, who happened to be the same woman who I spoke to 2 hours ago and also an hour ago. She informed me the maids start working at 9 am but are not allowed to start cleaning rooms until 11 am. So doing the math, they start at 9, don't start working until 11 and take a break at noon. No wonder they don't get rooms cleaned. I'll be contacting corporate next.

Final update. I called corporate who in turn called the hotel and we're informed that no rooms were cleaned STILL. He then informed me he would be starting a formal complaint at which time I also asked for a refund and cancellation. He called the hotel again to discuss it with the manager (same woman i was dealing with). She miraculous had a room available then and asked for me to come in and discuss it with her. I went in, told her how horrible her business practice is, cancelled my reservation, and went to Best Western where they had no issue checking me in early. I would strongly suggest the holiday inn send their management team to a class on how to deal with customers. Never again will I consider staying...

I was on the first night of 4 on a protracted driving trip. With covid concerns and two solid days of driving I decided to use my rewards points and get the best room my first night, and of my options typically the Holiday Inn Expresses would fit the bill. The location is good for this hotel, with good accessibility, and getting in just before midnight it looked great from the outside and even in the lobby. The staff was warm and friendly and I felt good about the room and comfortable with the Covid precautions in place. Then I got into my room. The bathroom had peeling paint and texture on the ceiling, and the grout or caulk in the shower was stained or dirty. Definitely going to need shower shoes, which isn't a deal breaker but unexpected in a room at this price point. Out in the room, more of the same, plus carpet stains in front of the dresser and an overall scruffiness. The clock still being set an hour ahead 2 weeks after daylight savings time was over made me think maybe nobody had been in this particular room in a while, but that's just a guess.

The real issues started @3am, though, when some alarm started going off in the hallway. The alarm would stop for a bit and then start up again. Quick glance in the hallway revealed no smoke or other guests leaving, so I tried to call the front desk? Can't do that, because the room phone doesn't work. After an hour or so of the alarm going off still no idea what's going on, and planning on an early start anyway it was just time to get dressed, grab my luggage and either get a room on a different floor or check out. The fact that it took 20 minutes to get someone's attention, after looking for a phone number to ring the front desk that wasn't posted anywhere, and finally calling from my phone to get someone sealed the deal that it was time to go.

When asked, the staff said that they had to get back to "resetting the fire alarm" and they would "have to talk to the owners" about any sort of discount or refund of my points for the crummy sleep I was able to get in my 4 hours at the hotel. When called the next day during regular hours the manager said the same thing. The facts that the "owners" have been taking such poor care of their property and that their employees aren't empowered to take even rudimentary actions to right an obvious problem is problematic, and not at all what I expected for a reputable hotel. I do not recommend, you'll have a better experience at nearly any other hotel, or at least spend half as much for the same experience at some...

Always have stayed at Holiday Inns- I’ll always pay more for quality, cleanliness and security and Holiday Inn has always provided that, consistently, over the years. This one in Harrison was the first major let down by this corporation. Dirty bathroom with tons of neglected projects (water stains on ceiling, moldy caulk, yellow caulk around toilet base). Beds were uncomfortable and breakfast apparently is not included any longer due to covid besides pre packaged crackers, granola bars and cereal. Nothing hot or fresh. That I could cope with but unfortunately I paid the same price as I normally would except I didn’t get the same level of breakfast. Most concerning thing to me was the staff. Stayed for two nights. The first night I came down to front desk at 7pm to ask for a toothbrush, no one was around. A man came out of the back with no shoes on, told me to look outside to see if they were smoking, then said he’d ask them to bring me a toothbrush. Never got it. Went back at 9pm and no one was there, still. Next day, same thing. No one was there at the front desk. I don’t personally care if someone steps out to smoke or runs to the bathroom, but it was clear this was more than that. No one ever got back to me about the toothbrush and I never could find anyone down by the counter, two nights in a row. Security wise I was disturbed by this. Kind of why I pick a hotel over a motel but apparently they don’t supervise the entryways at night. I didn’t like that I also don’t understand the non employee with no shoes on being behind the desk. I was definitely disappointed and shocked at this location. Not the quality I expected. I would try somewhere else. Clearly management is a little relaxed at this place. Positive note- not far from perfect north and they have queen suites with adjoining doors if you...