Holiday Inn Express Atlanta Galleria-Ballpark Area by IHG — Hotel in Smyrna

So this might get ugly...

Negative - I'll start at the beginning since I might as well point out everything. I booked my room two weeks in advance with a king bed. Later that weekend, our nephew decided he wanted to go with us and I called to switch to 2 queens (and request a tub, which I'll get to later). The hotel had no record of my reservation even though I had a confirmation email and number. Called IHG and they squared everything away for me, but if I hadn't called, I would've showed up with nowhere to stay.

Positive (with a negative) - Front desk lady at check-in was very nice and joked around with me. She didn't acknowledge my IHG membership (no big deal to me, but I'm listing everything), but did offer me the 500 bonus points or drink/snack. Gentleman I dealt with about 30 minutes later after finding an issue in the room was also very nice, took down my concerns, said a manager would be in at 1pm Saturday and I should be contacted (which I wasn't and I didn't reach out to him because I was "over" it and too frustrated at this point). So good and bad with staff.

Negative - One thing I always request (call ahead of time) is that our room have a bathtub. Some hotels only have showers, but this one assured me that all queen rooms have a bathtub, great. Get to the room and the first thing I check is that there was in fact a bathtub. BUUUUUUUT, it had no stopper. I immediately tried to call the front desk, but the phone didn't work. I couldn't call out or contact the front desk. In fact, there were no labels stating what extension was who. My brother in law also stayed at this hotel with us and he told me his phone didn't work either (just FYI). So I go to the front desk and speak to gentleman (as I stated earlier) and let him know about the drain issue. Here's the problem, my wife had brain surgery several years ago and it's just easier for her to take baths because of her sometimes unbalanced equilibrium. Falling in the shower is no good. Well after calling two managers (which it was about midnight at this point), no one knew where an extra stopper was. Apparently there was no one in maintenance and no one available to look in an unused room. So needless to say, I was pretty upset to request a tub, be assured I had one, then not be able to use it over something so silly. Seriously, how do you not have a stopper in every tub?

More negatives with the tub - I get the bright idea that I'll use a wash cloth to clog the drain so my wife can take a bath. Brilliant, it works. But only for a second because we discover that while using the tub the shower head doesn't just drip, but has a nice little stream flowing from it even though the shower wasn't engaged. So basically my wife took hot baths with a cold small stream hitting her from the shower head. Pretty awesome.

Even more negatives, hooray - The room was average at the very best. The walls were all banged up and need some painting and patching. The toilet paper roll holder in the bathroom was loose and barely held to the wall. The TV was damaged due to a "line" that ran through the middle of it. Even though it worked, it was annoying seeing that line. One of the lamps was damaged and is a fire hazard. The base was broken to the shade and was leaning on the bulb. Let that warm up a bit and I guess we could've seen if the fire alarm was working. The dresser drawer in front of one of the beds is possessed and the top drawer will not stay closed. Try to close it and it slowly opens back up. We basically had to dodge it every time someone walked by it. The bathroom sink was in the bedroom not in the bathroom (just thought was weird and 30 years outdated). And lastly, the beds were so uncomfortable. I personally have never tossed and turned so much. I was a zombie the next day. In the 12ish years of staying with IHG hotels, I never seen a room like this. Have they all been top notch, no. But this one was on another level.

Last negative and someone should look at this - The elevator doors are going to hurt someone. When the doors close, there are no safety defaults. If you attempt to hold a door open, it still closes and doesn't bounce back (like every single other elevator door I've used in my life). I barely had enough time to get my luggage rack cart in the elevator and when I hit the button inside the elevator to have the door open back up and it didn't. Instead it opened back a couple of inches and then went back to closing (which ended up hitting my wife and luckily didn't cause anything more than a bruised elbow). Seriously, I can't be the first to notice this issue (and I know I'm not because other guests discussed it with me randomly the next day). Lawsuit just waiting to happen.

No Positive or Negative - The breakfast was your typical IHG breakfast. Some eggs, bacon/sausage, cereal, pancake machine, cinnamon rolls and other stuff. I will say the biscuits on Saturday were actually VERY good. Sadly, no biscuits on Sundays. So absolutely nothing with the breakfast and I always give the breakfast 3 stars.

So all in all, obviously my stay wasn't close to being good. I think IHG would be disappointed that this hotel is attached to their brand. This could've just been a budget motel for $59.99 a night. Maybe if a manager contacted me about the stopper, things could've went smoother. But honestly I don't see how that would be possible with all the issues...

My fiancé and I had to check out of our room on Tuesday morning and needed somewhere to stay for one more night. We stayed at this property a month ago and had no complaints, but unfortunately, this stay was far from the same experience. We will NEVER return to this hotel, as we have stayed at nicer properties for less money.

There were numerous issues throughout our stay, and I have attached photos to show the current condition of the property for future guests. LOOKS ARE DECEIVING

Toilet Issues: The toilet ran continuously after flushing, which is unacceptable in any hotel. You shouldn’t flush a toilet and hear it try to flush for a good 10 minutes.

Water Damage: There was significant water damage on the ceiling above the bed. As someone whose father has a background in construction of 30+ years, I can say the poor quality of the paint used is glaring and not the type to put in the shower by any means. The paint above the shower was clearly the wrong type, as it peeled and flaked off. Water damage was also painted over poorly, creating an unprofessional and tacky appearance. Proper maintenance is essential in a hotel, especially when guests are paying a premium price.

Cold Water: My fiancé tried to take a shower before work and found that the water was warm for only a brief moment before turning ice-cold. This was a major inconvenience.

Room Issues: Our original room (401) had a malfunctioning door lock, which required us to move to room 607. Upon arrival, our keys didn’t work, which caused further frustration after a long morning of moving hotels.

Poor Customer Service: The evening shift desk attendant was rude for no reason when I simply tried to explain a point my fiancé had made. Her comment, “Not to be rude, but I only want to talk to him,” was uncalled for, especially when I was simply trying to help. As a guest and as a person I should be treated with respect. I guess having a ring on your finger when you’re trying to help explain a concern doesn’t do you any good here. This left a sour impression of the hotel’s customer service.

Flickering Light: There was a light above the sink that flickered intermittently. As someone with chronic migraines, this was not only distracting but also painful.

Damaged Amenities: The shower floor and sink were both scuffed and worn, contributing to an overall sense of neglect. Also there's a random spot of brown on the wall by the toilet that looks absolutely disgusting! If OSHA came through they would have a field day

Lack of Basic Amenities: There was no luggage rack in the room. As a guest from out of town, my only option for placing my luggage was the couch. This is an inconvenience that should not be overlooked.

Unresolved Maintenance Requests: When we asked about the toilet issue, there was no follow-up or confirmation that it was actually addressed and completed.

Membership Issues: When checking in, the front desk could not locate my membership information, and only later did they “find” it. This lack of organization was frustrating.

Poor Breakfast: The breakfast was bland and cold, certainly not worth the price of the room.

At over $200 a night, this experience was far below what I expect from a hotel of this caliber. There are simply too many issues to overlook, and we will be looking for better options in the future.

Advice: treat customers with the upmost respect whether you are having a bad day or not it is your responsibility to create a amazing guest experience. I have 10+ years in customer service and this doesn't fly with me. I'm not going to be treated with disregard and disrespect I am a human being just trying to help.

Find better maitence, this is so important if this business wants to be kept afloat I know I'm not the only customer who has complained about this location so take this as an opportunity to improve and truly give guests a great experience all around. Keep in mind we are traveling, some of us visiting family. We want a comfy worry free environment to come back to at the end...

It was okay, not worth the price for sure. It should have been half the price for the quality.

Pros: Parking was free but limited (there happened to be multiple events going on when we went so we had to drive around for a good while before we were able to find parking), location was great for persons going to events at The Cobb Galleria or nearby, breakfast was a good selection (they had hot cereal- oatmeal, which was a plus for me; they also had cold cereal, pancakes, eggs- boiled and scrambled, muffins, bread, mcmuffin, bagels, pastry, turkey sausage, biscuits and gravy, hot water for tea, coffee, juices, yogurt and milk, and fruit- bananas), bed was comfortable and soft, temperature in room was good, soaps smelled and felt nice- Dove and their was a lot of towels, which I was grateful for.

Cons: I had opted to pay at the hotel yet they still tried taking out for payment before 10am the day of checkin, when checkin was not until 4pm, then because my card was locked they called me to inform me I would lose my reservation if they werent able to get the payment before 2pm, even though I was coming to check in later that day. When I asked why they were doing that although I opted to pay at the hotel they said because they were sold out. Customer service was mixed, the lady who served us was accomodating but the young lady who seemed like she was there longer seemed to be easily frustrated while dealing with customers on the phone. I also picked up on the same thing at checkout with another male employee. Additionally, the first room they gave us was on the ground floor at an exit, and we were not interested so asked to change the room, and the lady was accomodating ("although they were sold out"). The room at the exit had the water running in the plumbing, as if someone had just been in there prior using the restroom. The toilet seat was up, which is a pet peeve for me and I was surprised that they did that (I also thinks its gross). The second room we got was on another floor and smelled musty, as if it had been closed up for a while. The room had a dated feel to it but the furniture was nice, according to my husband. The toilet seat was also up in this room as well, shower looked as if it had its time and could be renovated, one of the tissues had not been replenished after the last guest had left and the roll was almost finished. Although there was also another roll, I had never seen a used roll at a hotel before. That was nasty, so I threw that one out. The floor was a little dirty in the bathroom. The towels had seemed fine until when we getting ready to leave the room and was drying the last of everything and putting the last of our things away, when I realized there was a long strand of black hair on the towel I had used...