Holiday Inn Express & Suites Helen by IHG — Hotel in Helen

My stay was disappointing, to say the least. The overall experience was far from what I expected from an IHG brand hotel. While the room itself was clean, it was overshadowed by an unbearable smell that made the stay uncomfortable. Breakfast was only halfway decent, not living up to the standards I’ve come to expect from similar hotels.

The biggest issue was with housekeeping. Despite their importance in maintaining the quality of a guest's stay, the service was severely lacking. Housekeeping didn’t arrive until after 3:30 in the afternoon, which is already quite late. Even then, they didn’t have any clean towels available. When we asked for them, we were told they were still drying and would be ready in 30 minutes, but no one ever came back with the towels. This lack of follow-through is unacceptable, especially in a hotel of this supposed caliber.

To make matters worse, the next morning at 9:30 a.m., someone attempted to enter our room without proper notice. Fortunately, the door was latched, preventing an intrusion. When I opened the door, I found a man with a laundry cart who was there to collect towels. He apologized, saying he thought we had checked out. This situation could have been easily avoided with a simple knock or better communication.

The staff's lack of training and professionalism was evident throughout my stay. This is a vacation town, and I’m aware that people will continue to visit regardless of these issues, but that’s no excuse for the poor service I experienced. As an IHG brand, there’s an expectation of quality that simply wasn’t met. If this is the standard you’re going to uphold, you might as well rebrand to something more fitting, like an Econo Lodge, where such deficiencies are more expected.

I hope you take this feedback seriously and make the necessary improvements to ensure future guests don’t face the same frustrations.

In light of the general manager's input, it is crucial that housekeeping staff are fully aware of the check-out schedules and the needs of guests who are staying beyond the standard check-out time. For guests like us, who are staying over, it is reasonable to expect that housekeeping will be carried out at the usual times to ensure a comfortable stay.

However, housekeeping arrived after 3:30 p.m., and it appeared that she was accompanied by her teenage children, When she did arrive, she informed us that the towels were still drying and that she would bring some to our room shortly. She did not. This situation is unacceptable—guests should not have to wait to shower or be inconvenienced by having to go down to the front desk to retrieve basic amenities like towels.

Furthermore, the incident where housekeeping attempted to enter our room the next morning was particularly concerning. Such a lapse in privacy and protocol could have resulted in a serious situation. It is essential that immediate corrective action is taken to prevent such occurrences in the future and to ensure that guests' privacy and safety are always prioritized.

Lastly, I urge you to consider enhancing your customer service approach. Supporting and valuing your customers can greatly influence their overall experience and perception of your establishment. A proactive and customer-centric attitude goes a long way in fostering guest satisfaction...

We have family less than 10 miles away in rural White County and were visiting. Usually, we stay further away since the rates in Helen are usually overpriced for tourists! This time, I got a great IHG points rate so we chose to stay here.

As IHG Diamond I am to receive certain perks:

1. Welcome Amenity - choice of breakfast (n/a at HIE since everyone receives), points (again all IHG members, regardless of level, receive welcome points), or drink/snack at check-in (I chose my 1 allowed Coke Zero from lobby cooler).

2. Complimentary Upgrade at check-in, based on availability (we got King Standard as booked- No room upgrade. Told "you have one of best rooms" but the king suite w balcony was available for booking for our 2 nights on IHG app??? I was told the next morning by staff that rooms are assigned by General Manager, whose car was in marked parking spot, but she was never available and supposedly in her hotel room??) We always receive IHG upgrades in Europe, if available!

3. Early check-in (n/a on this visit)

4. Late check-out (also n/a on this visit)

5. Free Internet (???everyone IHG member regardless of level gets this)

As far as our stay, the standard room was very clean upon arrival. I requested cleaning on the in-between day, and towels were restocked but bed covers were just pulled up. I wasn't expecting new linens, but something done neatly was expected and not something like a teenager doing the minimum to make the bed!

As said, there was no room upgrade despite the web site showing availability. Told at check-in "you have one of best rooms" but why not the king suite w balcony??? IHG upgrades are better in Europe! The room was almost identical to one we had night before at HIE Milledgeville, which was full and showed such on the web site.

I thought that there was only 1 elevator but told another was in back!

Other than this, hotel quiet but mostly empty, room very clean with all supplies restocked, bed a little soft, especially pillows!, and good typical HIE breakfast except for broken pancake machine, etc. There was ample parking for half or mostly empty hotel, but there were no designated spots for IHG Diamond as at most IHG properties?? One positive was that I dropped phone charger cord when getting out of car upon arrival; it had been turned in to front desk when I realized it was missing hours later when I returned from dinner. Thanks to other guest who found it and to front desk lady who guarded it.

In summary, there aren't many perks available, but we received the MINIMAL and were given misleading information about possible upgrade!!! Hotel deserves no better than average rating from one of their top tier guests. We will return if we can get a great rate and will hope for more recognition for IHG status!

Also, I am unable to upload any pictures due to site...

Location is perfect! Less than a mile walk to Helen Square. Easily walkable. Clean rooms, friendly staff. Top notch service. My wife and I were surprised that this was a 3-star hotel and not 4, all things considered. When returning to Helen, this hotel now has another loyal family.

Something unique this Holiday Inn Express has is cookies at the front desk. This was a really nice surprise.

This is the nicest Holiday Inn Express I have stayed in yet. The room we had was a king, booked with points believe it or not, and was spacious. It was a very comfortable bed. The pillows are hit and miss as the bed had 2 different types of pillows on it so make sure you sleep on the one you prefer. I made the mistake of using the wrong one the first night and was uncomfortable, but that was my fault for not feeling the different pillow types on the bed. The hotel itself looks brand new.

From our room, we had a king, we had a nice view of the city.

The restroom was very spacious with a wonderful walk-in shower with great pressure. This is one of the best hotel showers we’ve used.

If you come while the city is decked out for Christmas, behind the hotel there was a beautiful Christmas light display and from our room, we had a great view!

Breakfast is the only thing that is kind of cheap. I wish they had a plain yogurt option rather than just 3 different types all containing sugar. They had 2 or 3 fruits depending on the day, 3 options for cereal, instant oatmeal, and grits. They had hot options, but the “omelettes” were frozen and I think the sausage might have been, too. The biscuits were really good, my favorite overall food wise. In a nutshell, the breakfast was cheap overall and not the best quality, but it was free, so I’m not complaining.

Overall this hotel is a big winner for me and was one of the best parts of our stay in Helen. I say that for the hotel itself, location, view, cleanliness, service, and amenities (excluding the breakfast which was...