Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin NW - Lakeway — Hotel in Lakeway

I was going to book a different hotel but my company gets lower rates with them and 9 out of 10 times my stays are good. This is my first time in Texas so keep that in mind. When I checked in and went to my room after a 10 hour traveling day the first thing I saw upon turning on the lights and entering the bathroom was bugs, not sure what they were, beatles of some sort they fled when the lights were turned on. There was one larger on the floor and 2 small in the shower stall. The lady who checked me in was less than friendly and I was exhausted, this is warmer climate so I thought maybe that’s normal for this climate. I did not see them again and I stayed five days. I also left the lights on in the bathroom at all times.

On my second I went down for breakfast, I just wanted a coffee, coffee was empty. Went back up came back down in about 45 minutes, still no coffee. Left for the day, got a coffee elsewhere. My 3rd day, same thing, 8 am no coffee, This time I asked the young lady at the front desk who was not happy. She did it but it took 30 minutes.

I didn’t ask again after that and each day following the exact same thing. It was really annoying because it’s really the only thing that is like a must have on my hotels to stay list. The coffee in the rooms is horrible, please don't try it, I could not drink it.

The rest of the hotel staff I had contact with were great and helpful. One.young man who was from the east coast (like myself) was pleasant, helpful and friendly. And two other young ladies were also great.

Whomever trains some of these people really should gauge whether or not they belong on the front desk. That is the face of the hotel, it's important IMO. Some people are just not good with social situations. When you work the front desk you have to be personable and friendly. When you don’t like your job it shows and trickles down the the customer.

My room was fine outside the first night. The bed was very comfortable and clean, pillows awesome, I slept well. Showers need work, tile looks dirty even though it's not, I checked. Overall the room was comfortable and I got a good deal. There was also renovations going on but they didn’t bother me at all. They do them during the day and you can’t hear unless you’re in the lobby. The grounds are clean and well-kept. Because this is during Covid everything is sanitized and they are on top of it. I might be over critiquing, I worked in the hotel industry many, many years ago. and if there’s one thing I know they learn more from people who complain which is why I’m leaving this feedback. I am on the fence as to whether I would recommend this hotel or not.

The food in Texas is so awesome. I miss it already. There is a Mexican place right next to the hotel that has incredible food. I used door dash to get BBQ delivered from Rudy’s and it was delicious! Why don't we have BBQ like this on the east coast? there is a coffee place in the same plaza as the Mexican place. Overall my visit was mostly good. Thank you to the staff that...

I've stayed at this location a few times, just a night at a time - it is the only IHG hotel in the Lakeway area. Something has always been just a little off on every stay. This last stay was very awkward and uncomfortable. The first room they put me in had a door that wouldn't close properly and the deadbolt couldn't lock. I asked for another room. A representative from the desk came by to check it out, agreed it wasn't proper and said they would put me in another room. I guess it was a crowded night, so they put me in a King room that was set up for handicapped people. That was OK, but it made it very awkward for me - just not set up for comfort because of the special layout, bed height, etc. And when I went to take a shower, I realized the wand (being an adjustable type for handicap reasons) was broken and could not hold a position on the mount or bracket, so taking a proper shower was next to impossible and sloppy. I should have known something was up by the fact that the wand was not in the holder, but just lying on the rail. So it was apparent to me that their staff does not report problems to the management or management doesn't care to get things fixed or has no problem putting people in rooms with problems if they need to. Obviously a maid when cleaning would have noticed the wand and you would think the door on the other room. The front desk was apologetic and volunteered to a $30 reduction on price which I have yet to see posted to my account - not much, but I suppose it is better than nothing. Also, I am a Platinum Rewards member and they skimp on the goody bags here. Every place I stay in the IHG family of hotels gives out a bag with water and IHG trail mix for platinum members. This location always has just a cheap bag of chips with the water. I know the trail mix is expensive compared to the little bag of chips. What's up with that? It sounds so petty and I wouldn't mention it but I know IHG branding is important and it sort of sets the tone for how the hotel seems to be run. Despite the hotel being fairly new and decorated accordingly, I really feel they are running it on the cheap and it won't be long before it begins to really show that mentality throughout. I can't say I wouldn't stay there again if I need to because of convenience, but I will avoid it...

DISCLAIMER: I USED TO WORK AT A 5 STAR HOTEL FOR 3 YEARS

WORST check in experience in my life. Showed up at 1:30 PM for an early check in and front desk agent claimed no rooms were ready. I then ask her if she can check on my reservation to confirm it. I had booked it through a 3rd party so I understand that sometimes it makes them hard. Rather than her do her job and try to look it up the way she’s supposed to she refused to do anything or show ANY customer service. Instead she just tells me to call the third party booking company. The whole time I just wanted to ge the check in process out of the way so that myself and my friends (couple with separate reservation) could check in as soon as possible. After holding for an hour I talked to the third party company and they said the reservation did exist. Third party company had to call the hotel to let them know the reservation did exist. This is the first time I’ve had to do this and I have used this third party company at least over 100 times. We get back to the hotel around 3:15 pm to check in and after I give her my ID and credit card she has a stack of papers that she is filtering through to find my reservation. I assume the stack of papers is ALL the reservations from third party sites. Obviously this front desk agent is lazy and didn’t want to personally look for my reservation when I first got to the hotel. To make matters worse...my friends room wasn’t even ready yet. Mind you this is two hours after our first initial visit. To make up for the mess she could have nicely asked housekeeping to get my friend’s room ready on time for check in. Nope none of that. Zero customer service whatsoever. Perhaps the worst customer service at a hotel I’ve ever experienced. Also, I wanted to use the pool as soon as I got there, but there was a family with like 10 people using the pool as if they had rented it out for that timeframe. Fortunately MY room was clean and nice. Everything looks new. Unfortunately, I don’t care if the room was made out of gold and it smelt like lavender in there. If I don’t feel welcomed at a hotel then I don’t ever want to come back and it makes the experience terrible. If I could rate this place zero stars I would only due to the terrible customer service from the front desk agent....