Holiday Inn Express & Suites West Ocean City by IHG — Hotel in Ocean City

At first glance, everything seemed fine—the hotel was clean and staff at check-in were friendly. We were greeted kindly, checked in quickly, and given information about breakfast and amenities. The room itself was narrow for something called a “suite,” but it appeared clean and we were so happy to have arrived to our vacation destination. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives ended.

One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because Expedia advertised rollaway beds, and I personally called the hotel front desk the week prior (my phone log says Wednesday 8/6 at 2:37pm) and spoke with someone to confirm it was noted on our reservation and would be ready for us upon arrival. When we arrived, not only was there no rollaway bed in the room, but I was told the hotel doesn’t have them at all. Instead, it was suggested I “make a bed on the floor” with blankets - on damp, old carpet. That suggestion was both unsanitary and unacceptable.

Because canceling would have been nonrefundable and relocating with four kids at the last minute was impossible, we were stuck. We had to spend time and money buying an air mattress and pump from Walmart, wasting much of our first evening. What should have been a relaxing start to vacation became stressful, chaotic, and unnecessarily expensive.

The sofa pullout mattress was also in terrible condition - essentially springs with a cloth cover and no padding. There was no bedding provided for it either, so we had to request sheets. I ended up layering multiple comforters to make it bearable, but it was still an awful sleeping situation. I was devastated that my choice of hotel left my family in these conditions.

To be fair, the front desk attendant that first evening did provide extra blankets and pillows, and she also confirmed that I had indeed called the hotel directly the week prior - meaning the misinformation about rollaway beds came from their own staff, not Expedia.

Other issues quickly piled on. The indoor pool, another reason we chose this property, was so cloudy and murky that two of my kids refused to get in. The one who did developed itchy skin within minutes, so the pool was unusable for the rest of our stay. The bathroom toiletries (body wash and conditioner) were empty when we arrived, and although our reservation was for six people, only four towels were provided. Both required additional calls to the front desk.

Breakfast was equally frustrating. One of my children has food allergies, and when I asked about ingredients - specifically for the sausage - the staff member dismissively told me, “I don’t know” and “I don’t have it.” No packaging or allergen information was available, which is unacceptable for a major hotel brand.

Finally, multiple nights we returned late from the boardwalk to find a side door propped open. Whether by guests or staff, this posed a serious security concern.

Overall, this stay was far from the family-friendly, comfortable experience that was advertised. Between misinformation, poor amenities, safety concerns, and lack of allergen awareness, this was one of the most disappointing hotel stays we’ve had. I encourage the hotel itself to retrain staff on its own amenities, properly maintain its facilities, and provide food allergen information for...

I tried contacted the GM twice through email and still no response.

While I was very satisfied by my trip, the way the hotel looked and the service from the hotel staff, I was very disappointed in the room I was given (room 404). I just check out this morning from a 2 night stay with 2 different reservations for two nights.

I chose the hotel because the reviews where high, I could redeem my points for both nights and it was very close to the beach. Now, I’m not one to complain because I know hotels have there problems but come on now. I felt like I was checked into a room that should have been placed out of order. When I got into the room it looked like someone have already been in the room the way the sheets were on the bed and the pillow weren’t placed like they are supposed to be. But I assumed someone may have just walked it the room looked around and changed their mind.

I went to turn the TV on and the cable didn’t work. Now I know how to fix a problem with the cable for the most part so I decided to look behind the TV to see if any cords was unplugged and I noticed the cable cord was completely broken. I called the front desk and they said it would be a little while before someone came up but they would get there. I’m thinking a little while is maybe a half hour or maybe a hour. I went to the pool for a short period, came back and it still wasn’t fixed. I finally went to the FD to ask what was going on and they said they didn’t have another cable cord and the manager had to go get one from the store. Okay that was fine but I should have at least been updated about that because when it was finally fixed it was about 2 hours after I checked in.

When I came back from the pool my spouse and I wanted to shower but we noticed there was only 1 washcloth in the room. So I had to go down stairs to get 2 more.

The next day, I went to turn the shower on and the shower knob came off. I didn’t want to go back downstairs for that because it was about 11 at night when that happened so I just told the man at the desk when I checked out.

I didn’t voice my concerns to the FD agents because I know they are limited to what they can do and what they can’t but I do feel as though I spend way to many points for a room that housekeeping should have noticed wasn’t good to be sold.

I am hoping that someone can compensate me for the troubles that I had...

This is the third time I have stayed at this property in the past couple of years. It is still a very nice property and the location couldn't be better--its a mile from the beach. However, I was disappointed immediately with the check-in process. As a gold elite member, I have set my stay preferences to indicate I don't want to be near the elevator. I was checked in for my stay with no acknowledgement of my gold elite status and given a room. I went to the room to find it was right next to the elevator. When we approached the front desk clerk, we were told there were no more rooms with a king sized bed and offered a suite with two queen beds. I was ok with this until i went to meet my friend who was traveling with me. He got his room via a third party website and checked in right AFTER me. When I met him at his room, I found that he had a king sized bed (the same room type I had reserved). Now, apparently being a gold elite member doesn't get you the benefit of them looking at your stay preferences before they give out rooms or before they give out rooms to those renting them on third party websites. This is upsetting and makes me question the whole point of the membership in ihg.com? if they properties are not going to utilize the information, what is the point? As far as the room itself, it was nice but had two queen beds rather than the king sized bed I had reserved. The sofa in the room had some kind of vinyl coverings on the cushions that were dirty and were not wiped clean. We left the room the morning after our first night for several hours and got no maid service. We came back after being gone from 1030 until 2pm to find the room never cleaned. We left again at 330 for the afternoon/evening and came back to find our room had never been cleaned. Although the motel is very nice, it seems the customer service is slipping the longer this hotel is...