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

I am a rewards member. I travel for work. Yearly, I and other colleagues visit Oxford for work. Yearly, my job pays for this. This was our last visit. After many years of counting on this location, we all will not return. -all rooms had odd mismatched furniture. cluttered, worn, obstructive. appeared to be random hand-me-downs from other locations -all rooms had strange arrangements of mirrors on walls partially obscured by outdated television stands (pictured) -all of our rooms were damp over the three day stay, possibly owing to the window units -one room missing a shower curtain -one room had a broken-down mattress that interfered with sleep -dirty rooms upon arrival: requests to clean happily accepted at front desk but were not followed up by cleaning staff (hair in sink, stains on couch, lotion sprayed on bathroom wall and tissue box, dirty bathtub, dirty bed sheets) -all had dimly lit rooms with no overhead lighting and multiple mis-matched lamps some with dirty lampshades or burnt out bulbs; sleep was the only option in these rooms with such dim lighting -all had loud malfunctioning air/heat units making sleep difficult and rooms damp -two guests had pet/cigarette allergies triggered by intense air freshener sprayed in rooms -poor internet reception -outdated televisions, remotes, and viewing plans with poor reception; many stations pixilated -breakfast: no fresh fruit over all three mornings; broken pancake maker; the same hard-boiled eggs left in fridge over the entire stay (recognizable for their number and their shapes) that we all grimly commented on and avoided; overheard other guests being advised by staff to go to the hotel next door to use their waffle maker We all agreed we will not return. I wonder if this is under new bad management? In past years the rooms were great and no corners cut on the breakfasts. We all agree this was extremely low quality for this brand. If this had been a stay for personal time (not business) I would have switched hotels and taken this up with my credit card company. It’s a shame because the staff seemed very friendly. No complaints about...

Let me preface this review by saying that I only stayed a single night and had I stayed more nights then I would have done some things differently.

Upon arrival we were checked in quickly. The receptionist was really nice, and she gave us the layout of the hotel and facilities, as well as breakfast times with no issues. The lobby was clean, as was the exterior of the building.

We went to our room and I'm one of those people who check their sheets so I did all of that and there were no issues. Everything looked fine. When I went to the bathroom I realized that the tub had clearly been damaged and repaired with epoxy. So, the tub is usable, but it's really unattrative and as a hotel that touts that it renovated this seemed strange. Anyway, it was a one night stay so it was no big deal. I did like that the hotel had switched over to their bulk supplies, so they had those built in bottle holders with the shampoo, etc. We had to request more towels, but again that wasn't an issue the front desk was really nice.

But then...I laid down in the bed and looked up at the ceiling and in the crease I see just a line of black. So, I get up and walk over to the wall and I'm pretty sure the room above us must have leaked at some point because there was mold. I'm attaching pictures. I went down to the front desk and reported the issue. They promptly recorded the issue and thanked me for letting them know. I told them I wasn't going to request a different room because I was only staying a single night and they were like okay. Now, clearly nothing was going to be done that night, and I was only staying a single night so it wasn't a big deal to me. However, I find this all problematic because the hotel site stated that they were newly renovated or updated something like that. It just seems that these renovations would be better if they were taken care of.

We ate out with my brother the next morning so I didn't eat breakfast so I can't comment on any of that. But, the bottom line is that I would not stay again knowing what I know...

Pros||||1. Nice area with restaurants nearby. ||||2. Nice sized fridge and a microwave. Maybe they shouldn’t have it if they can’t handle number 1 under cons! ||||3. Never seen a hotel room with a ceiling fan. Interesting. I guess nice if needed. Maybe as an alternative to number 4 below. Why install fans? Just clean the AC! ||||Cons||||1. Starting with the big deal breaker first. Saw TWO ROACHES IN MY ROOM!!! 🗣NOOOOOOOOO! Had to move my dry snacks into the fridge and, as always, keep my suitcase closed and shoes off the floor. This was terrible and infuriating! Saw them the night before leaving. The Keurig was left open at the top. I’m sure the roaches enjoy that! I certainly didn’t use it! This makes it a one star rating. Roaches cannot be excused! ||||2. When you get off of the elevator on the second floor it smells like rotten garbage! Everyday the same smell and all day! Like a stinky diaper. Ugh!|| ||3. The caulking job! What is with hotels and this mess!! Have they never heard of clear silicone caulk that’s mildew resistant! ||||4. The HVAC unit smelled like hell! Like it had never been cleaned. I accidentally cut on the heat and nearly died from the fumes! I know heat always smell when cut on but this was over the top. It dropped into the 50s so it was needed. I turned it OFF! ||||5. Sink drains slowly. See pic. ||||6. Toilet is SERIOUSLY low to the floor. Like a kiddie toilet. Wth? If you have knee issues or are an older person don’t do it to yourself! ||||7. Rusted out lamp base. Uhm…time for updates! Looks like they got used furniture from another hotel that did.||||8. Gigantic patched up hole in the wall!! What in the world?! Paid contractors couldn’t do better than this? *see pic||||9. Housekeeping knocked on my door at 8:15am AFTER I’d already told them at the front desk that I didn’t want housekeeping AFTER they asked me if I wanted it!! What was the point. Then housekeeping proceeds to clean the room next door as noisily as possible with slamming...