Holiday Inn Express Sault Ste. Marie, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Sault Ste. Marie

I arrived around 11pm. I informed the front desk I had my 2 dogs as is expected, but then I was told I was put in a room that didn't allow dogs and they had no other rooms. I had requested a 1st floor room knowing I had dogs, but I was on the fifth floor. I kept being told they had no notes about it. Obviously there was a mix up, but I felt like they were just blaming me and then they kept saying I was using a reward night implying if I had paid cash for the room I might have been treated differently. They then said they would call other hotels to try and find me a room. They did offer to refund my room, but that would mean I would be paying whatever crazy price any other hotel wanted to ask. They offered no other help with the situation and as it turned out there were no rooms available except possibly at a hotel that has very low ratings and online was charging over 400% their normal rates for their rooms probably because everyone was booked. I ended up keeping my dogs in the car and staying in the room because there was little other choice and I was exhausted and sick (I had just been released from the Emergency Room with a kidney infection). I wasn't even recognized for being Platinum Elite. If they had let me keep the dogs in the hotel I would have been paying them more than 50% over the normal room rate. I find it hard to believe they couldn't afford to properly clean a room so there was no pet hair or smell with this huge fee. I was very disappointed in how I was treated. I will say that the hotel was clean and breakfast is what is to be expected at a Holiday Inn Express so that was good. The hot tub was not functioning though. Overall it made an already stressful night with a visit to the ER even...

This hotel has been a refreshing visit in the Covid travel world. An actual hot breakfast is available most days rather than just a muffin and banana. The staff is very friendly and accommodating to helping you check in and out.

The rooms are clean. Housekeeping does a fine job. Two things about the bathrooms - first it seemed like a cheap replacement shampoo and conditioner is loaded into the Watkins shower-mounted dispensers. Different smell, different texture and poor quality shampoo. It's apparent that it's not the normal Watkins product - which isn't awesome but better than what is loaded into the pump dispensers. Second - don't expect to have a party in the bathroom. You have to step over the toilet to get into the shower. Reminds me of my first dorm room in college. The vanity is mounted along the "long" wall but the only usable section is the side adjacent to the door. The toilet blocks any access to the back wall side. I can't imagine any more than one person being able to share the bathroom vanity space at a time so for families or couples - be sure to draw straws on who gets to use the bathroom.

The refrigerator is the smaller microfridge vs the taller microfridge. Again, a throwback to the dorm days. It's cute and does a good job with a small amount of any brought in items that need chilling. If you need more space, bring a cooler but be sure to heed the signage plastered on the ice machine that you shan't use it to fill your coolers up. There is a petrol station just down the block so buy ice for your cooler in advance. ;o)

Beds are comfy and room temperature controlled well. No wall-shaking HVAC noises to disturb your good...

I travel for work and always stay at an IHG hotel. I have stayed at this property about a dozen or so times. I typically do not fill out reviews, however I do feel compelled to write one for this Holiday Inn specifically due to the poor management and customer service at this specific location. This hotel is aged and in need of renovations, but has typically been clean. When I get put on the higher level floors, the drains in the showers back up when using them, so by the time my shower is done, I am standing in 4-5” of water. This has happened on several occasions so it was not just a clogged drain in one room. In the winter time, the parking lot is never plowed, so you will have to walk through the snow/slush to get to your vehicle. One stay, my car was stuck in the parking spot due to the snow and had to have someone help push me out. This is the only hotel I have ever stayed at that would not accept my tax exemption for work for my stay. As I said earlier, I always stay at a holiday inn or holiday inn express when I travel and this has never been an issue….except with this location. One trip I had car issues and I was within the 24 hour cancellation period. I could not make it to the hotel that night and when asked to be reimbursed (as a gold member) I was told there was nothing they could do for me. (Not the end of thee world, but as a loyal rewards member, I expected better service). I have since traveled back to this location and the customer service has been poor each time. I highly recommend Holiday Inn hotels in every location that I have stayed at EXCEPT this one. The property itself is alright, but It is poorly managed, and the customer service is...