Holiday Inn Express & Suites New Buffalo, MI — Hotel in New Buffalo Township

Despite the seriousness of the discriminatory treatment my partner and I experienced as guests at the hotel, there has been a consistent failure by key members of management to take appropriate action. Assistant Manager Sara, General Manager Melody, and Regional Manager Joy have not only neglected to address the matter adequately, but have also appeared to cover for one another, creating an environment that enables discrimination rather than confronting it. This lack of accountability at multiple levels of leadership raises serious concerns about the hotel's commitment to fairness, inclusion, and guest well-being.

THEY DELETED MY REVIEW ON IHG.COM!!!!!

To improve my stay at the Holiday Inn Express as a standard, I would first point to the overall value in relation to the price paid. The hotel felt outdated and lacked the level of quality and service I would reasonably expect—especially as a long-time IHG member since 2016. While I appreciate the convenience of the location and the rewards program, the condition of the hotel and the poor customer service fell far below expectations.

During our stay, we experienced multiple issues that significantly impacted our trip. The hot tub and pool were out of commission. Housekeeping missed cleaning our room, which led to an unpleasant and completely avoidable interaction with the front desk. Instead of being helpful or solution-oriented, the staff member was rude and combative, with little regard for customer service. This caused us to be late for a special dinner reservation and incur a $50 fee. As a result, we also missed our post-dinner plans, which I prepaid $380 for and was nonrefundable-including a beach bonfire and watching the sunset—what was meant to be the most memorable part of our trip as we were celebrating a special occasion.

The situation escalated when we were forced to move rooms late in the evening on our last night, which was incredibly inconvenient. We had fully unpacked and settled in, only to have to pack, relocate, and unpack again—for just a few hours. It disrupted the remainder of our trip and was an unnecessary added stress.

In both rooms we stayed in, the furniture upholstery was stained, which was unsanitary and off-putting. The original room also had a strong musty, moldy smell that we reported twice—yet no one ever followed up. On top of that, the air conditioner was extremely loud and ineffective unless it was set to 60°, making both rooms hot and muggy otherwise.

While I do appreciate that breakfast was included, it was disappointing to find it consistently understocked. Regardless of the time we arrived, key items like fruit, pancakes, and other breakfast staples were unavailable. Not once were pancakes available during our multi-day stay, and the fruit bowl remained empty. We regularly had to wait for food items to be restocked, which made mornings frustrating.

To make matters worse, on Sunday morning around 5:00 AM, we were abruptly woken up by the fire alarm going off repeatedly. There was no staff communication to inform us whether it was a false alarm or a real emergency. This added to the exhaustion we were already feeling, as we had barely slept the two previous nights due to excessive noise from the room above. It was our last night, and we had a long, demanding drive ahead of us. Being startled awake at that hour with no clarity only made things worse.

We visit New Buffalo, Michigan at least eight times per year, and we were truly hoping this stay would be exceptional enough to consider the Holiday Inn Express as our new go-to over nearby hotels or Airbnb options. Unfortunately, due to the poor service, dated accommodations, and repeated inconveniences, this experience left us questioning whether we’ll return. I hope this feedback will be taken seriously, as the potential for improvement is there—but the current standard does not match the IHG brand reputation we’ve come to expect...

When l walked in l got a strange stare but no biggie maybe everyone was tired from driving. I drove 3 hours myself. I checked in and l wasn't recognized as an IHG member. Did this stop? I went upstairs to my room to take a shoeer there wasn't any soap. No biggie the room was clean and towels folded neatly maybe they forgot the soap. The stool l noticed had a big stain on it this should have been cleaned or removed. This is the first Holiday Inn that l have ever been in that didn't have a refrigerator or microwave. I went downstairs for soap the lady at the front desk reached in the drawer and gave me two mini bars of soap. We went on to the beach came back took our showers and relaxed peacefully for the night. The next morning we needed more soap Sara(not the same as the lady prior) gave my 15 year old some cheap deodorant soap. My daughter asked for the Dove soap that we got prior and Sara told her "soap is soap!" My daughter came back upstairs to tell me. Firat of all Sara soap is not soap l paid for this room with your smart self give us what we asked and pay for! I go downstairs and Sara looks like she saw a ghost because she knows she got smart witha child for nothing. I asked Sara for the Dove soap Sara says she doesn't have any. I said are you sure and asked her if she got the soap from the bottom drawer she said yes. I said the lady yesterday when we checked in got the soap from that bottom drawer. Sara refused to look in the drawer and told me to go find a housekeeper for soap. I asked Sara if she was a manager she said one of them. Some nice lady came from behind the back and asked me what l needed l said Dove soap and she said it's down there pointing at the drawer that l advised Sara to look in. Sara looked in the drawer and got the Dove soap she gave me two mini bars. So I'm guessing Sara didn't want to give the good Dove soap to us black folks. Management you sgould train Sara not to be racist she makes your establishment look bad. Holiday Inn was happy to take my green money. Shame on Sara! And save the fake I'm sorry in advance. I want ever come here again with my children clearly we're not welcomed! First and last time...

Disappointed in this hotel. For the following reasons, some minor some not so minor:

-Was not greeted with a thank you for being a platinum Elite member

-Front desk staff were not wearing face masks

-Restaurant area was unsightly as they had stacked all the tables and chairs on top of each other

-Room was not ready at 3:00 pm as advised. We waited for 20 minutes in the lobby.

-Overheard another guest ask the front desk about housekeeping and extra towels. No housekeeping unless you were staying 5 days in a row. Otherwise you get your own towels from front desk "there should have been a note in your room"

-So as we were going to our room, upon entering, I looked for the note. No note.

-I walked into the hallway where 2 housekeepers were cleaning rooms. NO MASKS! One male housekeeper dropping the F bomb. Disgruntled about something. I asked about the note and female housekeeper said " oh, that was the room we had to rush to clean" "Sorry". She gave me a note about the new covid housekeeping rules. So this concerned me and my husband as she said "rush cleaned" and neither had masks on while cleaning.

-There was some globs of putty or something on the walls. Looked like something was removed but no one bothered to clean it up.

-Some weird stain under the glass on the desk.

-The room looked clean but didn't feel clean

-Hand sanitizer was empty by elevator

-Charged wrong rate for room. But this was quickly fixed at check out by friendly GM.

Was just disappointed as this usually not my experience at IHG properties. For the 4th of July rate and covid rules, I expected a bit...