Holiday Inn Raleigh Downtown by IHG — Hotel in Raleigh

As a platinum member, it pains me to say this was probably the worst experience I have ever had for an IHG branded room. The staff was accommodating and kind, but the hotel was run down. Ever see one of those prison movies that have a circular prison? Yeah, this is that place! The carpets in the corridors were stained, it had a particular funky mold smell, reminiscent of my days working in the Miami Tower in downtown Miami in the 80's minus the bubbling wallpaper. Bored we circled the floor and found there was only one operational elevator until we discovered the service elevator which we used to take each and every floor to find a working ice machine crucial for happy hour (hint 3rd floor). No matter the setting, the AC was either blasting cold or warm emitting that familiar mold smell, there was no happy medium. So, in heat of July, we settled for the artic setting and bundled up. I could not work comfortably that evening for a couple reasons. The desk was strategically placed directly next to this ac unit and adjusting the vents had two options, blow directly in your left ear or freeze your bum off! Ah and then there was the chair. This chair was completely unusable for a desk. Someone had either used it to recreate their version of the Flash Dance Movie, complete with an odd dampness (I opted to think it was the close proximity to the ac for my own sanity) or someone rather large used it to recline and completely bent it backwards forcing me to sit upright without support for hours on end as I worked. Of course, I requested another when we first arrived, but the maid who got what I think was the manager said there were no other chairs. Seriously not one other chair in this hotel purgatory? Truth be told we almost nationalized the one from the lobby. Moving right along, know up front these are really small, dated rooms with a bathroom made for a hobbit. It appears they have updated the flooring however it does echo like Grand Central station. Great for a cappella, bad for someone who sleeps with a snorer. I don't think much thought was put into where to put the coffee machine, with one paper cup, other than obviously on the desk, but since there was not enough power there, why not on a small table next to the bed? Oddly convenient only for those who don't want to get out of bed to make their coffee. Of course, providing second cup would have been a stellar touch for those who don't like to share. Let's address the elephant in the room: The toilet: Unless you are a contortionist, or your legs happen to be made like a flat Stanley there is no human possible way to close the bathroom door while on this throne. You know. Your partner leaves to fetch something from the car in the creepy garage, the urge suddenly hits, maybe it's the fear of being in this icy dungeon, you're in a hurry to hop on that john and then the unthinkable happens... they return unexpectedly! For whatever reason you want to shut this bad boy down quickly; you attempt to close the door and that's when it hits you ... literally ... that is not happening here, and you are caught with your pants down! Checking out at 9:45am then next morning, congenial and engaging employees were already cleaning up what offerings they had for a breakfast and while I felt I was an inconvenience I was going to get every bit of my overpaid 204.40 and spring for another hot cup of coffee and some vittles. The other downside was the fifteen-dollar parking fee in a very creepy, poorly lit, dirty parking garage, which can only be paid from an IRQ code on my phone. In closing while reviewing my IHG account and out of the nine IHG hotels I visited in just the month of July; this was the only one that did not give me minimally 500 points. The only redeemable here is the location is ideal if you're staying in Raleigh and their Wi-Fi worked flawlessly for my Apple TV. I'm sorry to report there is much work to be done here and I suggest you sit this one out, save your money and choose another option unless it is just for one night and even...

i was gonna give it two stars but then the toilet seat broke off when i went to lift it up so now it's one star. upon walking in, wife snagged the lobby rug on her suitcase, pulling it up and bunching it into a crazy mess. under the rug was all the dirt from the hotel lobby which has clearly been swept under there. checkin process was pretty smooth, except to the part where we were given a key to a room that did not exist. we wandered around aimlessly. key was for 1809, when exiting the elevator there is a sign pointing to either 1802-1808 or 1810-1815. 1809 does not exist. what happened to 1809? technically, we found a room between 1808 and 1810 but it had a hallway leading to it, was completely unmarked, and had a do not disturb sign. wondering what was behind it? when we went to request a new room, front desk guy said my bad. grubhub driver dropped off order for ms tess in the back and guy said she cant get up and he has to bring it to her. hoping shes ok, worried about ms tess. there was a small table with crumbs all over it. front desk guy said he would probably put breakfast there in the morning. it was not there. 2 elevators for 20 story hotel, one was not working and the other one was in a state of disrepair and had normal been inspected in years. i almost thought about taking the stairs to the 16th floor. the elevator had been inspected 3 years prior by a company called ncool so don't know how reliable that was. walked through halls which were bleach stained and resembled vomit in many spots. some dental floss and nail clipping littering the carpet. straw wrapper. looked like had not been vacuumed in a long time. wallpaper peeling. everything peeling. very chippy. very dark. felt like i was in the haunted mansion in disneyworld. more like the tower of terror except floors dont drop but they might when the elevator breaks. liked the circle concept of the hotel, would be better if maintained. when you enter the room, dishevelment level does not get better. bed had two different comforters. wall peeling, should probably have been thrown out years ago. blood stained drapes. between chair and walls, seemed like they were going for a peely vibe. in shower we were given two different bottles of conditioner, no shampoo. wife washed her hair with body soap. one conditioner was chunkier than the other. i used both, one was more yellow. i heard in another review this hotel was supposed to be demolished. seems like they started the demolition process but decided to just rent it out again. dresser drawer was open, back of cabinet had exposed nails and back was totally curved out, probably about to fall off i think. did not find bed bugs, wife looked repeatedly. they did have bed bug proof mattresses. wife say they did have some things that looked like bugs in the bed. she squashed them with her fingers. i had to repart my hair because it was red because of sunburn. hotel location good if you like to be located somewhere bad. drapes on one window and then another tiny window with blinds on it. none of the carpet seemed attached well. baseboard came off the wall. was dusty. looked like they attempted to make tissue art. major fail. left me wondering if somebody just blew their nose in it and put it back. maybe they were trying to make tissue art that looked like someone just blew their nose and put it back. if that was the case, sucess. theres a train whistle that pierces right through the hotel walls and sticks in your head. slept okay, might have rabies....

Overall, my stay wasn't too bad. To be honest, I should have picked a hotel that was closer to where I wanted to go. I meant to visit the art museum in Raleigh, which turned out to be a 12-minute drive from the hotel. I thought I had chosen one nearby, but that wasn't the case. The hotel itself was fine; it had a unique cylindrical shape, and each room looked like a slice of pizza. When I arrived about three hours early, I was eager to park my car, and luckily I was able to check in and get my room! It wasn't the room I originally booked, but it was a space where I could drop off my things, and more importantly, it had parking available since there was a festival happening at the same time.

The hotel room did have a musty smell, and the bathroom was quite small. There was barely enough space to open the door without standing right in front of the toilet and the full tub. In fact, the whole bathroom was about the same size as the sink area outside. From what I remember, the room didn't have a refrigerator, and the TV mostly offered antenna channels. I could definitely feel the box springs on the bed, but it was comfortable enough to get some rest. I noticed a oddly placed towel in my bathroom, which made me think it might not have been fully cleaned before I arrived. However, since I checked in early, I wasn’t too bothered by that.

Regarding snacks, I noticed that many hotels are now using their own refrigerators for snacks instead of having vending machines, and this hotel had that setup in the lobby. You had to go to the front desk to pay for things like a bottle of water, which was pretty typical. However, I was disappointed that there wasn't any hot breakfast available. I heard that the hotel used to have a diner that had closed, although it did have a full restaurant. The absence of a hot breakfast was a letdown for me.

Another downside was my room's location: it was right in front of the sixth floor of the parking deck. Around 3 AM, some people drove up there and blasted music right outside my window for about 30 minutes, which was a bit annoying. Luckily, I wasn’t asleep, so it didn't bother me too much. Overall, I found the hotel to be nice, but it was a bit out of the way from many of the popular attractions in Raleigh, and it was clear that I was in a college area...