Holiday Inn Miami Beach-Oceanfront by IHG — Hotel in Miami Beach

Unfortunately we had some issues and opted to leave the hotel. We were on a 3 night trip for my daughter’s birthday. We selected this hotel for the pool and proximity to the beach. When we arrived informed that pool was closed due to issues and to use the pool next door which you had to go onto the street and through their lobby to access. It was super awkward to do so, but I appreciated the efforts to have a pool available to guests. The beach itself was awesome, the chairs super convenient.

Night 1- Upon arrival they placed us in a room with only one bed. We had to go back down to the desk with all of our bags to correct the issue. They then asked me how many people were in the room (2) and if we really needed two beds. I let them know that we made the reservation for two beds because we did not want to share a bed for our stay.

Night 2- 11:30pm woke up to flooding. Water from air vents, in closet, coming through bathroom wall. Desk said they were sending maintenance and that toilet on floor above flooded. I placed the trash cans to catch water pouring out. 12:00, called desk. Maintenance left for the night. I let them know that housekeeping had taken our towels and did not leave replacements and I had no way to deal with the water that is everywhere and that every time the air turned on more water came out. They offered to bring me towels. 1am, front desk apologetically gave towels for ME to soak up the TOILET WATER in bathroom and carpets. Said they will send maintenance in AM.

Next day- in AM I went to desk to inquire, they did not know of flooding issue so I explained situation. They offered to move room and said we would need to pack up our stuff and they will call, waited hour, I contacted them and they said the hotel full and there were no rooms available until after checkouts and cleaning and they will send housekeeping to address soaked towels and water buckets. We went to beach to give them time to address the cleanup and for a new room to be prepared. Came back at 2, checked at desk who could not tell me if housekeeping came and they still could not move our room. We had to prepare for plans scheduled for 3:30. Desk gave us new towels so we can at least shower since all previous towels were in a soaking wet pile in the shower from the night priors cleanup. We arrived at the room and discovered it was room cleanup was not completed. I cleaned up the toilet water towels from the bathroom. Maintenance arrived while we were already in the shower and said he was there to fix a toilet. I told him my daughter was getting out of shower and if he could give us 15 mins, he said he couldn’t come back, asked what problem was. I explained the flooding issue from the evening prior and he said he would send someone in to clean up and vacuum it real good. That it was clean water if that made me feel better- which it did not; it is hard to believe that an overflowing toilet is all clean water.

That evening our room was never moved, we never received the call that a new room was ready. When we arrived back to the hotel late in the evening, there were floor drying fans in the hall. There was a whole new crew at the desk. Our room had only had a basic cleaning. The carpet was still wet. No vacuuming. No cleaning of the bathroom floor. It was our last night so we just packed our stuff and we checked out and left the hotel.

I have left a message requesting a return phone call. I have yet to receive a response, it has been 10 days. Honestly, it is the lack of response and resolution when having the issue that is the biggest problem. Then followed by the lack of follow up after the fact became very frustrating. I know that they can not control that there was a toilet overflow, they do have control to the response to the problem. This is a BUSY hotel, the lack of communication and basic care is a large issue. This could have easily been a good experience at a hotel that was overall pretty nice, had decent food, good location,...

I made a reservation for my niece and filed the appropriate documents for all charges to go onto my credit card. ||When she checked in the front desk person insisted on using her card for incidentals. Even though the instructions were for ALL charges to go to my card.||It is now a week later and the funds have still not been refunded. I called the hotel and spoke with the front desk, explained the issue, she said I needed to speak to a supervisor, after waiting 2-3 minutes on hold, that person said I needed to speak to a supervisor….(see where this is going)…2-3 minutes later…explaining again…that person said I needed to talk to someone else. At this point they transfer me to IHG Guest Relations and out of the hotel. IHG’s process is to create a ticket/inquiry and someone should follow up within 24 hours. When I asked the lady a guest relations who at the hotel is in charge of billing I’ll be following up…. She said we do not have names of anybody have become, but if somebody doesn’t follow up, they call us back and we’ll create another ticket. Does anyone see a flaw in the IHG process? After pointing this out of the lady, she recommended that I speak with the general manager at the hotel, but again she has no idea who that person is as they have no names file of anyone that can make a decision or be accountable. ||At this point, I called back and asked the lady at the front desk if I could speak to the general manager. she asked me why I needed to speak to him… which I thought was an interesting response. I told her that guest relations recommended that they call back and speak to him on an issue. Can you give me the name of the I am supposed to be talking to. She responded “well, why do you need to talk to him?” at this point more than a little agitated at this entire process, I told her that I did not realize that the name of the general manager of the Holiday Inn was a top secret and national security, and not to be released… but I’m pretty sure I can find it online. She’s not respond and I said hello…. She said I will transfer you and started laughing at me. After 8 minutes on hold, the call was disconnected.||I called back… after hitting 0, to reach the front desk… no one answered and my call was put on hold because I’m sure they saw my number from callerID. Five minutes later, my call was disconnected.||I called back again, in the same lady answered, and I told her I needed to speak with Mr. Luis Arellano. A simple Google search told me who the general manager was. She said she would transfer me… after two minutes I called disconnected. I called back again…. told her what happened… she said she would transfer me again… and this time miraculously went into his voicemail. ||There are so many things wrong at this hotel and this process. I imagine it’s a nice hotel if you don’t have any issues. ||Let this be your warning… if you have issues… good luck in getting help to get them corrected. The next step will be to have the credit card company dispute the charge and I assume that will get their attention where they don’t have...

There is a good and bad, so I want to give an honest review. When you initially come in, it has the appearance of a nice hotel. Plus, with the high price, you might think it is nice. Additionally, there were several extra fees on top of what we already paid. And we didn't want valet parking, bur the valet told us that we essentially had to use the valet. All things considered, we thought this would be a nice hotel. The first thing I noticed was our view. We paid for an ocean view. We wanted to go to the beach, and when we come back to the room, we can still see where the family is set up. We wanted to feel the ocean air and hear the waves. So we paid extra for it. We assumed it would be a balcony right by the beach. We were wrong. It is set back in the hotel. The hotel is shaped like an L. With another hotel beside, so we were horseshoe'd in, with a distant/obstructed view of the ocean. And no balcony. The beds are small, and there is no microwave. The space is tight, and there is not a table to eat on. The water is very warm in the shower, and there are nice soaps and shampoos to pump out. The worst part was breakfast. Our understanding was that it was a standard free continental breakfast, and that's ok. But when my wife went to eat, they were friendly at first. They told her it was $26. She didn't bring her wallet, and the staff went from friendly to sarcastically formal. I went to breakfast with my kids. This was a HUGE mistake. It was essentially a continental breakfast. It's a little nicer than most standard hotel breakfasts that are free. But nothing special. I have had better hotel breakfasts that I didn't have to pay for. The problem with the breakfast is I think the food was iffy. Now, I am stuck in my room with diarrhea and a painful stomach, essentially ruining my vacation day. But I should have known because the cups and silverware were dirty. It is obvious that being sanitary is not high on the list. When the waitress came to give us orange juice she noticed the cups were dirty. She noticed it before we pointed it out. Before I could even ask for a new cup, she said, "No, you will be okay with these cups." The waitress's one job is to fill your orange juice. It would be so much easier if we could fill them. We waited 10 minutes to get our first fill. Then we were mostly empty from there on out. My 5 year old took his cup up to the waitresses to get a refill, who were just hanging out talking. Of course, gratuity is charged in your bill. Update: My wife and kids went to the beach. They told them to pick an empty umbrella/chair set. They found one that they made sure was clear. After 30 minutes, they were told to move back from the front row. So they moved. About 30 minutes later, they were told to move to the other side. Now she has to sit several rows back and can't watch the kids play in the ocean. This is ridiculous. All in all, it seems like a 4-star hotel, and it does have its perks, but it is more like a 2 star (or worse,...