Holiday Inn Santa ANA-Orange Co. — Hotel in Santa Ana

When we checked into the hotel on 7/2, room 320 smelled awfully of cigarette smoke even though this is a nonsmoking hotel so we were moved to room 337. When it was time to bathe my 2 year old son, the water in the shower would not drain at all and the water on the shower floor was dirty so my husband went down to the front desk and was told it would be fixed the next day. However, it was not. We bathed in our crocs on 7/3 but by this point the shower was overflowing with dirty water and it would not drain. |My husband called downstairs from the room phone around 11am on 7/4 to let the hotel know we wanted to check out early. I also went to the front desk myself because I didn’t know my husband had already called following this and told the gentleman whose name begins with Nar- that I wanted to check out that day. His response was that I owed $20 for parking. I told him when I checked in that that wasn’t what I was told (free parking as a new member) and was given the white bag with the water and chips, a drink voucher, and 10% off breakfast and he proceeded to tell me he saw nothing in their system. |I went up to the room to finish packing and not even 5 minutes later I got a call from him at the front desk saying that he called the guy I spoke to when I checked in and he said he didn’t know what I was talking about either but he went ahead and covered my parking. As we were packing up our things to leave, the maintenance man came to the door while it was open to ask if we were checking out because he wanted to snake the drain and we told him he could come back after we checked out because we were checking out and he was agreeable. We also told the housekeeping guy down the hall that we were checking out on 7/4 and not to come into our room yet because we still had items to grab (he said he didn’t see our room on his paper even though we were told housekeeping would come every other day), we told multiple staff we were checking out, handed Nar- back both room keys after all of our items were removed, and never returned back to the hotel or the room in any capacity. ||I called my bank for a refund and the games have begun. Be mindful of the lies these employees tell at this hotel and its location because now Sam’s Club and this hotel are lying about our check out date. And get documentation of any conversations you have with the employees as well because they aren’t...

I arrived 11pm Friday night and staff was friendly however I was told that the closest exit to my room was the front entrance. I found out Saturday that there was another exit closer to my room. When I entered my room it was very hot and the thermostat on the wall was turned off. I turned it on for the a/c to work. When I picked up the room phone to call guest service there was no dial tone. When I went to use the bathroom sink the handle was hard to move and it made a loud noise like it was too tight. The elevator had an out of order sign posted so all day Saturday anytime I left my room I had to walk three flights of stairs. Sunday morning the elevator sign was down and a person exited the elevator so I entered and pushed first floor. The door closed but nothing happened so I pushed first floor again and still no movement. I then pushed third floor to see if the door would open but it didn't so I pushed the door open button and nothing. I then picked up the phone and the front desk told me that maintenance was called. After that all the lights went out for a brief period and then only the overhead lights came back on and not the panel lights. Then the front desk called to say maintenance tried to reset the system which it didn't work and the fire department was called. I feel I should have been told that all the lights would be out briefly while trying to reset the system. I had no idea how long it would take for the fire department to get to the hotel. I am a little claustrophobic so at this point I was praying and trying to focus on remaining calm. I don't know how long I was stuck but all of a sudden the panel lights came on and the elevator worked. Maintenance was waiting on the first floor when the door opened and he apologized. The girl at the front desk apologized a few times and I saw she was upset. As I informed her of the room problems the fire department showed up which they left since I was already out of the elevator. I asked if I could get a discount since being stuck in an elevator wasn't an experience I wanted and she told me management wasn't there but she would ask. I waited for the charge to appear on my card and I found I got charged full price. I also haven't heard anything from management so I will not be staying at this...

As is usually the case, people make choices based on previous reviews. Which is what I did, based on previous reviews of this hotel I believed it to be a good choice. I am convinced that the majority of good reviews on here must be from friends or family of the hotel owners. This hotel claims to be newly renovated as of 2021. That is an impossibility given the condition of the hotel. As soon as you walk out of the elevator onto one of the floors, the hallway is dark and dingy and smelly as well as the carpet being extremely dirty; stains all over it. The rooms smell as well and the beds sag in the middle. I pulled back the bed covers and not having even gotten into the bed, it looked like somebody had just slept there. There is rust around the bathroom door frame and what appears to be mold on the windowsill. Housekeeping needs to be replaced as the rooms are dirty. The bathrooms are filthy as well as the towels. When I shook the towel out in the shower before I put it on my body, several long black hairs dropped from it. I have SHORT mostly WHITE hair! There are stains on the ceilings. And this wasn't just in my room. My daughter-in-law and granddaughter who stayed on a different floor had the same experience with their room. The rooms do not have a microwave. If you need to warm up any leftover food you brought to the hotel with you, you have to go to the area where the ice machine is and they have ONE tiny microwave in a very dim lit area for EVERYONE to use. Gross!! Breakfast is not free unless of course you pay extra for it when you book your room. As soon as you walk up to the very small limited buffet area, before you even have a chance to grab a plate, staff is all over you telling you you have to pay first. And even if you do pay, you're not allowed to take breakfast up to your room. Person that checked me in was rude as well as the person that checked me out without even thanking me for staying there or asking how my stay was. Good thing I guess as I was in a hurry and I would have spent quite some time telling her how horrible their hotel is and how awful my experience was. And be careful; many homeless and scary people all around the area and walking through the hotel...