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

I was recently in Madison for business and had know that this hotel had just completed construction. Normally I stay at other hotels in the area based on work requirements, but those hotels had no vacancies, so I was able to book a room at this hotel.

Upon arrival, the front desk staff greeted me, they were friendly and even upgraded my room for me for free. The lobby area has a nice, modern feel to it, was clean, and well appointed. Check in was quick and I was up to my room in no time. Before heading to my room, I was informed by the front desk staff that my room key provided access to the underground parking. I'm not sure if this is available to all guests or may just IHG Rewards members, but it was definitely a welcome amenity, especially given the cold and snowy weather at the time.

The elevators were clean, as were the hallways. The inside of the building is well lit as well. The room I stayed in was a king suite, was large and well appointed. The bathroom was clean, with nice fixtures. The shower was nice, with good water pressure and plenty of hot water. The entryway area contains a small microwave, fridge, and Keureg coffee machine as well. The sleeping area was able to be separated from the bathroom area by a sliding barn door type setup. The bed was comfortable, though I was not a fan of the overly long pillows (though I know this is due to it being a king size bed). There was a large multi-function unit along one of the walls that is an integrated closet, luggage rack, TV, and desk. At the desk, there is adequate lighting, power, and network connectivity. There is also a sofa, chair, coffee table with a lift-up surface so you can sit at the sofa and use your laptop or write without leaning forward. Each nightstand has its own power and USB charging ports, as well as individual reading lights. The one thing that struck me as odd about the room was the lack of any artwork or decorations on the walls. There were large expanses of emptiness on several walls that just seemed odd to me. Maybe it's part of the modern feel of the hotel, or maybe they were still hanging artwork due to the hotel having just recently opened. Overall, the hotel was quiet, despite being located in close proximity to the highway.

Breakfast was standard HIE fare with eggs, sausage, pancake machine, and cinnamon rolls, along with cereal, fruit, oatmeal, breads/pastries, yogurt, coffee, and juices. The one thing I'll note about the juice machine, there was a definite plastic taste to the Cranberry juice. Probably due to it being a new machine. I did not notice that with the orange juice, however. The breakfast area was clean, and the staff working there kept the area clean and restocked.

Overall, this is a good choice for staying in the...

I wrote the IHG two weeks ago and I have not heard anything back from IHG. Prior to that I informed the actual hotel and it was not taken seriously.

I arrived on the 14th and the lady at the desk took almost an hour to put me in a room. She seemed to be pre-occupied and had no other customers. She was irritated that my Member# was in the car. She asked if I ever stayed there, and I said no and that's when she said that she couldn’t find it because I wasn't a regular at that particular hotel. It was snowing a lot and I was cold/tired. She told me they did NOT have a Military discount for retired (23yrs) just active duty. (I did my time as well.) I paid 149.69 of which I had only paid 108.78 in Dubois the night prior. (They found my# and I was not a regular there). Then she kept saying I had a room number and kept looking for another #. When I told her she already gave me the number, she told me to be quiet. She then told me she was locked out of her computer and had to enter me later although she had NO trouble charging my Credit Card and stated she couldn't find my Member#. I offered to go to my car but was told no. I had been traveling from AL to PA and now to WI to finalize my Moms burial. I even asked if you had a bereavement rate. She said no, nothing. For her to be at the front desk with an attitude is not a desired IHG happening for me. I am very friendly, and she was not. The following morning, I checked out and explained to a different clerk that my shower head had to be held with one hand and it was difficult to shower like that as the shower head would not stay up by itself. I explained that I had wiped the entire bathroom down as the shower head went crazy. I also had no conditioner in the shower either. I got no apologies and just a "head nod". I do not believe IHG became famous for this Specific Hotel. I normally give great reviews but wasn't even asked through my e-mail for a chance with this hotel. I can...

When we checked in and got to the room, we realized we had the wrong room. I had requested two queen beds and got one king. I went downstairs to talk to the women at the front desk. While in line, I watched her be rude to the person in front of me. When it was my turn, I showed her my reservation. She just said, "There is nothing I can do." She didn't apologize or say,"I'm sorry. " I tried to explain that we needed two queen beds. She actually yelled back, "Too bad. I can't do anything. "

I went back to the room. It was a little col, so I called down for an extra blanket. I was told to check the closet. There was not one there. She then told me to check the dresser. There was one ther, and before I could apologise, she slammed the phone down. My friend even commented that he could hear being rude over the phone.

Our third interaction was when we bought a lot of snacks at the front desk. We bought more than we could carry. We asked for a bag to carry them. We even said for a garbage bag, just something. She said only housekeeping could get us one. She didn't offer to call or anything. We would have to go to our room and call.. This would mean multiple trips to the front desk, which is what we were trying to avoid - multiple trips.

The only other problem we had was in the hottub. There were 5 eight year old kids playing baseball in it. I almost got hit by the ball. Maybe a sign could be posted saying that the hot tub was for relaxing,...