Holiday Inn Express Portland West/Hillsboro by IHG — Hotel in Hillsboro

I really wanted to be able to give a good review of my three day stay at the Holiday Inn Express located at:

5900 NE Ray Circle

Hillsboro, Oregon 97124

During November 2020 but unfortunately I can not.

Before I booked my stay I read the reviews of this particular Holiday Inn so I thought it was going to be fantastic. But it was not.

I can honestly say that my stay was not horrible but it definitely was NOT great either.

First I found out that the Breakfasts are now just handouts located behind the front counter and not cafeteria style as shown on there website.

When I got to my room the next thing I noticed was that a couple of the washcloths had rust stains on them. They were not dirty as far as I could tell, they were just badly stained. And the cloth sofa had numerous stains on them. See pics below.

Then the room doors would slam shut every time someone used them. It’s because the room doors have heavy duty springs that make them close forcefully and they are very loud. So people just let them swing shut so they end up slamming closed very loudly. And at certain hours of the day and night people are coming and going frequently so it’s one loud door slam after another.

Then the WiFi access was VERY slow causing severe lag during streaming so I was forced to watch my prerecorded movies on my iPad rather then watch any new content.

Now, this next one occurred during the reservation process on the web before I even booked my room so it has nothing to do with this particular Holiday Inn location.

I am sure other people have seen this happen....

At each step of the web reservation process the price increases even if no changes are made its just every time the web page renews. So at each step of the reservation process (when you click next or continue) the price of your room goes UP even if you do not make any changes. Just simply going from one web page to the next causes the price to increase and there is no way to avoid this because it is part of the reservation process.

So to make a long story short I am disappointed with my stay...

Came to Portland to see a concert and to secretly propose to my girlfriend at the show, which I have spent months planning. Which included the artist helping out. Got to the hotel took a quick shower and changed before heading to the show the room was 76 when we got in. We set it for 65 the lowest it would go so it would be cold when we got back. Came back to the room it was 75. Called front desk, hotel was sold out and maintenance was gone we would have to wait till tomorrow to have it looked out. Next day make sure to call downstairs to make sure they come up we leave a note for the maintence guy explaining everything. Come back later that night room is still 75. Call the front desk this time it’s the girl who checked us in she comes up and calls the maintenance man on the phone. She is super kind and the only one who listened to us and showed empathy. She apologized profusely and stated she would leave a detailed note for the manager and for us to come down and check out when we are leaving. We bought a box fan to make it through the night. Again I slept about 3 hours my fiancé who is less heat sensitive to heat got about 6. In the morning we packed up went downstairs the “manager” Joe? I think was his name was extemely rude and at one point in time even shhhhd my fiancé. Stated he would be setting us up with a reward system and giving us some sort of points. He set us up with the reward club but no points. Overall ruined the whole trip and the only two people at that hotel who are worth talking too because they won’t treat you like you are below them is the front desk swing shift girl and one of the maids. Everyone else was rude. Also side note the breakfast service was horrible no food at 7:20. Completely changed my view of Holiday Inns used to exclusively book with them but I believe this...

Comfortable enough bed. Mostly clean, except for the bathroom doorframe (see photo). I loved the little couch and table. The room is spacious. The lobby is fine. Public areas fine. The gym looks great. There’s an outdoor patio with tables and chairs. Not well insulated against noise but that doesn’t bother us (though I know way too much about our next door neighbor). Close to restaurants and New Seasons which is like a local Whole Foods. Wifi seems to work well. Plenty of lighting, outlets, and usb connections. They have those big bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash mounted in the shower which is one of my favorite details in Holiday Inn Express hotels.

The reasons for the low rating. The a/c says “err” and just doesn’t work. Luckily it’s a comfortable temperature so we didn’t complain. But I saw a similar review and harsher temperatures could be a problem. Update - we seem to have gotten the a/c to work. Adding a star. The shower head holder is broken. It’s supposed to be adjustable but it won’t stay where you put it. So it slides down and only someone under 4” could shower comfortably. I’m 5’5” and had to literally bend over backwards to wash my hair. The tv gets horrible reception. We tried two channels and finally gave up. It was super, super choppy. To the point you couldn’t follow what they were saying. It smells a little like a retirement home.

One of these things alone was just a small nuisance, but they kept stacking up. It’s just too old and too cheaply put together. We stayed at the SpringHill Suites down the road a few years ago and it was much nicer if I remember correctly. There’s even another Holiday Inn down the street that’s newer, but I...