Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston SW - Galleria Area, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Houston

Recently, I had the displeasure of staying at this Holiday Inn. In the past three decades, I have stayed at numerous Holiday Inns, but I have to say this one was the worst! From the time I checked in, to the time I checked out I felt that I was being pranked, but I wasn’t. I cannot believe that IHG Hotels & Resorts let this dump of a hotel operate as one of their properties. I had a reservation at another Holiday Inn that I had stayed at before, but when I arrived to check in, the bed size I had reserved wasn’t available. I made another reservation at this Holiday Inn, which was over 20 miles away, thinking it would be comparable, but boy was I wrong. When I arrived at the property it was approximately 4:30 in the evening. There was a line of people waiting to check in, and only one person checking everyone in. It took approximately 30 minutes to get checked in.

When I arrived in the room, I noticed the room was hot. I checked the thermostat, and it was set at 65 degrees, but the room temperature was 86 degrees. Knowing what I know about hvac units, I knew it was not good for the room temperature to be set so low when the outside temperature was in the 90s. I set the thermostat to 75 degrees, in the hope that the system would start functioning properly. I noticed there were some red spots on the carpet near the end of the bed. Not knowing what the spots were, and not wanting to be blamed for them, I took pictures of the spots with my phone so I would have proof that they were there when I checked in. For the next couple of hours, I was working on my computer. As the sunset came, I noticed the temperature in the room had dropped down to 83 degrees, but it never got cooler than that.

I left the room at approximately 9:00 pm to go get something to eat. I returned to the room at approximately 10:30. The room was still hot. Exhausted, I showered and went to bed to try to get some sleep. Some time had passed and as I lay in bed, I realized I was sweating due to the room temperature. I checked the thermostat, and the room temperature was 86 degrees. It was approximately 1:30 when I tried calling down to the front desk several times using the phone in the room. After at least a half dozen attempts of trying to contact the front desk, I realized that the phone was inoperable. I got dressed and went to the front desk.

When I arrived at the front desk, the person there was asleep with her head on the desk. I waited a few seconds to not startle her before clearing my throat to get her attention. She woke up, looked at me and asked how she could help me. I told her about the ac unit not working in my room. She told me no one was currently on duty to check the ac unit, but she would come to my room and look at it. She said there may be a reset button behind the grill of the unit. I didn’t think it would be appropriate for a female to go into my room at that time of night, so, for her protection and mine I told her I would check for the reset button. I returned to the room, removed the grill cover and what I found was a pool of standing water and rusty coils. It was clear that no regular maintenance had been performed on the ac unit in a while. I replaced the grill, and went to bed, but couldn’t sleep due to the temperature in the room.

Between 6:30 and 7:00 am I went downstairs for breakfast. As I exited the elevator on the first floor, I noticed water was dripping from the ceiling directly on the floor. It was a steady drip, and there was a...

I would not recommend this Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston SW-Galleria Area or any other of their locations under any circumstance. I stayed at this hotel as a frequent traveler and often stay with this franchise; I have grown accustomed to their outstanding character and service. I arrived at their location in Houston roughly around 10 - 11 PM. Upon arrival, I was not greeted, I assumed it was the late hour and did not fuss about it as I did not want to impose. Upon checking in and receiving my key card, the gentleman at the counter, Ronnie Jean, was extremely short in his responses and not very vocal regarding the amenities offered (or where my room was). I wandered around the hotel aimlessly searching for the room (as Mr. Jean gave me no indication of where I might find the elevator or room I had reserved). It took me a few minutes to move everything and eventually find the room listed on the key card; however, upon trying it, I realized that the key card did not open the door. Since the card was not opening the room and I was not given a spare, I headed back downstairs with all my luggage in search of the Mr. Jean to ask for his assistance in either opening the room or receiving the correct card to open the room. As I reached the lobby area, Mr. Jean attempted to step outside, so I called for his attention, asking him to help me real quick before he stepped outside. His immediate reaction was to become defensive and aggressive with me, screaming that I did not need to speak to him in such an offensive manner. I was exhausted and was not interested in discussing with this child, who I assumed misunderstood my broken English. I told him that I was not screaming, I did not in any way mean to offend him, and that I wanted the correct key card so that I could open the room I had reserved and simply rest for the evening. This response prompted him to rush behind the counter as he exclaimed, “Oh yeah? Well, now you are not staying here, I am canceling your reservation.” and continued to cancel my reservation.  I tried reasoning with him to understand where the misunderstanding was occurring; I just wanted the correct key card; I had not screamed or argued with him; I wanted to correct the mistake and go to bed My attempt at mediating seemed to encourage his behavior further as he began laughing at me and telling me there was nothing he was willing to do, and upon asking for his name, he refused to give it to me. I was kicked out of my hotel close to midnight and was forced to search for a vacant hotel (surprisingly, I could not find any the same night); I ultimately had to sleep in my car for that night. Mr. Jean ruined my entire experience; I am beyond scarred from trusting in this organization and am appalled that such a reputable franchise would place someone so unprofessional and disrespectful in a position of power (particularly one that allowed him total freedom to reign as he wanted and abuse clients as he did not have supervisors ensuring his behavior was...

DON’T DO IT! If I could leave this review with zero stars I would. Because 1 star is even to much for this place. I would NOT recommend staying here. When we first arrived the parking lot was full of trash and all the workers were at the front door smoking. Strike one! We arrived to check in and as soon as you walked in it smelt like cigarettes and mold. And there was stains on all the furniture in the lobby and on the walls. Strike two! There was also a sign as soon as you walked in that said “please remove your shoes” of course we didn’t. The lady at the front desk was EXTREMELY rude. Strike three! She informed us that we had to pay $100 during check in and we asked why, because our hotel had already been paid in full. She stated that it was the policy and we would get it back once we checked out. I asked for a receipt. She stated she couldn’t give us one. Strike four! We went to our room and as soon as you walked in the carpets where dirty, the bed spread had stains on it, the bathroom has hair on the floor, and it smelt like mold. That was strike five! The final straw. Hotels aren’t cheap, and I refuse to pay $400+ and sleep in a dirty hotel. I jumped on the phone with Hilton and had us a room booked within minutes. We went downstairs to check out and receive a refund. The guest that where checking in before us, where asking for a different room because their room was dirty as well. When we approached the desk she said “room not good?” I told her no and that I wanted to check out and get a refund. She checked us out and stated we couldn’t get a refund because it was non refundable. Which, was not stated when booking! I again, asked for a receipt. She stated she could not give me one because they no longer do that. I told her I wanted her name and the hotel phone number. She refused her name and laughed while saying “The phone doesn’t work. But here’s the number”. Once we got in the car I started calling Holiday Inn. Of course, no answer. I reached out to the corporate office. They stated they would work on a refund and contacting the Hotel as well. That was a week ago. The hotel is still not answering. Corporate is refusing the refund. Stating “They can not verify that we did not stay there. Because the hotel isn’t answering.” I stated that I told them that to begin with. They asked if I had proof of checking out on the same day, I then reminded them that the lady refused a receipt. All in all..take the extra few minutes and stay in the Hilton at the Med center. It’s a little more but it is SOOO worth it! I will NEVER stay in another Holiday Inn again. I don’t care if I have to sleep in my vehicle. It will not happen. Also to add..after we checked out and arrived at our new hotel. We started getting calls from a Texas number. We don’t know anyone from Texas. They wouldn’t say anything. And when I called back they would say “ohh I dial wrong number” I can’t say for sure that it’s related to this, but it’s just weird...