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

TW: racism

On the first night of our stay, we made a reservation through Expedia for the dates of December 6th and 7th. On the morning of December 7th, we approached the front desk to inquire about extending our stay. We requested to pay cash for the additional night, and the employee on duty was very accommodating, agreeing to our request and confirming that we could pay in cash the following day.

However, when I went to settle the payment on December 8th, I was informed by the receptionist that the room had already been paid for. I expressed confusion, as I had no funds available on my card, and I was told that, since the reservation had been made through Expedia, the payment had already been processed. At this point, I considered leaving the hotel, as it appeared that I would not be charged for the additional night. Nevertheless, I chose not to act impulsively, as I believe in fairness and karma, and I turned around to make sure everything was settled on my end.

The receptionist then contradicted herself, stating that I could not leave because the room had not been paid for. I asked for clarification, as her previous statement had led me to believe the payment had been made. When I attempted to leave, she informed me that my card had been charged. I asked her if I could pay cash, she said “nope the card has been charged now leave.” At no point did I threaten the receptionist, although I admit that I have a naturally loud voice, which I believe is important to note in this context.

I then requested to speak with a manager, to which the receptionist replied that she was the manager. I asked for corporate contact information, but she refused and reiterated that she had already charged my card and that I needed to leave the property. I was confused as to why the payment was processed on my card when it had been agreed the night before that I would pay in cash for the additional night.

In an attempt to express my frustration and confusion, I remarked that the manager seemed to have made a mistake regarding the dates of my stay and the payment status, and I questioned how the second night had not been charged. The receptionist then threatened to call the police. I am newly pregnant and, while I acknowledge that my voice is generally louder and not just in this circumstance, I was merely seeking clarification on the situation. At no point did I refuse to leave the property, as I was willing to comply I just wanted the confusion was resolved.

The police arrived and, after assessing the situation, determined that no action was necessary, as I had not caused any disruption and had every intention of leaving. However, I left the situation feeling unsettled, as I was left with the impression that I was being unfairly targeted. I believe that my race may have played a role in the way I was treated by the manager, given the predominantly white demographic of the town and the manner in which I was asked to leave. I felt very attacked and just thank god the cops understood that I was coming from a place of confusion (the same volume I spoke to the manager was kept when talking to the cops and they just understood I just have a...

We arrived later in the evening around 8p.m. the day before Mother’s Day after visiting with family, which the hotel knew when we made the reservation. We were excited to learn the pool was still open. Our son with Autism loves the water and our little girl was excited to practice her swimming. We went to our room to change in an hurry and then headed to the pool. We noticed what looked like deep gouges in the pool and hoped it wasn’t poop and that it was wear and tear but took photos to be on the safe side. I had a horrible experience last year with a spinal surgery and the doctors getting Ecoli in my wound and it was very traumatic, we didn’t want to panic at what could be nothing. So after debating for a few minutes we thought there was no way there would be poop chunks in a hotel pool and nobody else noticed. I got in first and helped my children in. When my son and daughter started splashing around my Fiancé began screaming for us to get out. It was pure horror and disgust to see it was actually poop that had started breaking up and surfacing to the top where we were at. We immediately got out and ran upstairs to shower our children and ourselves. We also have pictures that were taken after we showered almost an hour after we called the front desk and was told management would be notified but nothing was done it just resettled all over the bottom. We then noticed the toilet seat cracked in half and the sink also had a crack in our bathroom. We didn’t see it when we first arrived as we were changing into swimsuits and the lid was down on the toilet and 3 excited kids you don’t notice much at first. We were told nothing can be done with our bathroom so we had to suck it up. Our son is terrified of driving at night so we couldn’t leave as it was now 9:30 at night. The next morning the staff was nice but we noticed people swimming in that pool. Not sure management was even notified of the pool situation because management wasn’t even there for the duration of our stay. We left as soon as we could get everything and everyone together. I called to notify management of our situation on Sunday when we arrived home and was told management wasn’t there to send an email and follow up on Monday. Did both and again management was not available and it would be days for a response to our email. We can call again Tuesday to see if we can reach the general manager. What kind of place is this? It was not the Mother’s Day we were hoping for and it definitely leaves some trauma after swimming in a pool of someone or something else’s feces. It’s a pet friendly place too so God only knows what kind of...

After driving 10 hours during extreme heat with my four kids and planning ahead, booking on their website, searching for a hotel that had room for our family of six, making sure they had a pool, booking a two queen bed with a pullout suite I arrive to find out they don’t have our room, they want to put our family of six in a tiny room and the pool is closed for construction. They say they don’t have an extra room to offer so my kids don’t have to sleep on the floor. My kids are 16 15 10 and a toddler. . They won’t reduce the price or give the room for free. So they’re downgrading me for the same price. They want to give 7000 points which is like a 10% discount. I literally booked ahead and checked in at 5 PM. It’s really unbelievable that they wouldn’t have my room at 5 PM? So it just makes no sense because I reserved the room online weeks in advance. They said they don’t have pullout beds. Not that there would be room for one anyway because there is barely room maybe for a pack and play. I had to insist on bedding otherwise I guess they just wanted my kids to on the floor? I worked in the hotel industry for years in Jackson, Wyoming the owner of my hotel would’ve given the room for free for such a huge oversight. You don’t overbook rooms and if you do, you bend over backwards to make it right.. she gave me a card for the manager, which just rung to the same girl at the front desk who I just talked to and said the manager won’t be until Monday conveniently so pretty much they just don’t care. If you book here you can expect a 0% trust that your room will be here. So if you need a small room with two queens, then you’ll be fine. But don’t pay for any upgrades because there’s no guarantee that you will get that room. It is a beautiful hotel but unfortunately, traveling with a teenager with autism a baby. This is a very bad...