Holiday Inn Princeton by IHG — Hotel in South Brunswick

This hotel fell through the cracks of IHG's Property Improvement Plan. Surprised how it got approved by IHG.

Walking down the corridor, you notice every single vertical hard edge covered with clear corner protectors like the ones you install in your home. You then realize why this is...the entry doors are narrower (28inch or 30in) than your typical entry door so guests bang up the corners/walls.

Room access is via the old style magnetic cards...front desk warns you when you check in to not place your room key close to your phone (i.e. magsafe).

Entryway into your room is very narrow and partially blocked by a wall. Again every vertical edge is covered with vinyl corner protectors because the entryway is very tight and claustrophobic. You can barely maneuver into the main room with your 18in rollerboard. The widest portion of the entry way to the main room is about 28 in and that's being generous. The entryway and bathroom ceilings are low. I'm 5'6" and could easily tough the ceiling.

Decor is very very dark. Photos of rooms/common areas were take with high exposure setting to make it look brighter than it truly is. The camera auto adjusted and you can tell how much it had to adjust the exposure to take a proper photo.

The carpet and case goods are extremely dark and the case goods are oversized for the room taking up the entire length of the room. Also, the case goods have modern, fake wood grain pattern on what looks like laminate.

The night stand has 2 AC outlets and a usb A charging outlet. However, the 2 AC outlets are so close together, you can only plug one item in. I had to unplug the alarm clock to plug in a phone charger. There were no additional outlets easily accessible by the bed other than one along the wall shared with the bathroom. What lights where were in the room were LEDs but daylight white (40W or 60W equivalents). The colors used in the room was so dark, it felt like the light was overwhelmed by the dark colors. The walls were off white with pebble finish light the typical walls you see in California homes.

Tried calling front desk using the room phone (pressing the front desk speed dial button) and only got busy signal. Tried numerous times throughout the day/night but always busy, indicating system was not set up properly. Not sure how guests can call the front desk in case of emergency.

Bathroom decor is also dark with daylight white lighting. Could use couple of more hooks in the bathroom hang your towels.

The amenity kit (i.e. shampoo/conditioner/lotion) are Dove's. However, the descriptions (shampoo, conditioner, lotion) on each bottle were like 6 font size and all the bottles were the same white color and labeling so not easily identifiable.

Tub didn't drain well. Water was ankle deep during my shower no matter how I adjusted the drain lever. It didn't completely drain until I was out of the shower and dried off. Don't know what their SOP is for housekeeping to notify maint on issues like this...one of the signs of a properly run hotel is how well the tub drains as it touches housekeeping and maintenance and gm.

Exterior condition was fair. Noticed various first floor windows with compromised seals. Some had curtains to cover up materials being stored. Loading dock had CMUs stacked (no mortar) waist high to cover/conceal equipment.

Room rate for this hotel is in line with DoubleTree across the street. Both are on the low side compared to comparables in the area. Not sure what their RevPAR is for both of these places, but I imagine, they are...

Unclean and Poor Management

We visited here for leisure and local meetings. I am an IHG Platinum member. check in was unacceptable. I reserved a room with king size bed and couch. the first room assigned had a queen size bed. We had to go from the far corner of the third floor back to the desk to obtain another room with the configuratin I reserved. the sed=cnd room had a king size bed but no couch, so back to the front desk. the hotel was not full or at sell out. the third room had both a king size bed and a coudh. We noticed a damp odor in the halls. the bathroom while updated had serious issues. First off, there were gaps around the ceiling, some pipe in the shower and around the sprinkler. There were NO towel bars or robe hook in the bath. someone used tile for baseboards, but it was floor tile without a bull nose so it had a crude appearance. The sink drained slowly. Pictures are attached. The bathroom had no exhaust fan. There was a distinct odor of sewer gas every time one used the sink to brush ones teeth. The couch was recovered with cheap vinyl and some bad color combination of chartreuse cushion. The carpeting in the halls was dirty and smelled with a bad odor. In all the hotel was very dirty and unclean. The second day a distinct odor of chemicals vapors was present in the hall by our room due to tub resurfacing operations ongoing while guests were present in the hotel. The first morning we arrived in the cafe for breakfast, which we paid for when we reserved the room, but we were not on the list. We had to argue with the clerk and go to the front desk to get clearance to eat the breakfast we paid for. Breakfast was a buffet. It was okay. The maid did not provide clean towels after the first night nor did she straighten up the room. I called the front desk and they sent up sheets and towels for me to do myself. I handed the used towels to the room service clerk. After the second night I requested to have my room cleaned. We left the room at 10 am. When we returned at 4 pm the room had not been touched. I demanded to have the room cleaned and towels replaced. I was not going to change my sheets myself. In all I would avoid this hotel. It is not up to IHG standards. IHG has censored this review 6 times trying to keep me from presenting the factual experience I had. that...

I recently stayed at this hotel and am deeply disappointed by the experience. Upon arrival, I was immediately greeted with chaos, as the front desk agent was arguing with another guest about their reservation—not exactly a welcoming atmosphere. When I finally checked in, my wife and I couldn’t even access our room because the key reader wasn’t working. An employee had to manually open the door for us and simply told us to keep trying the key until it worked, claiming someone would come look at it. No one ever did. Later that evening, after returning from an event, we experienced the same issue with the door.

The room itself was a disaster. It was humid, smelled moldy, and the carpet was both torn and stained. The shower was so filthy that my wife and I didn’t even use it, opting instead to clean ourselves with baby wipes before checking out. The bathroom sink was cracked, the ceiling was old and falling apart, and to top it off, the provided amenities (shampoo, etc.) were half-empty and appeared to have been used.

As a long-standing IHG Rewards member, I was shocked to be told that I had to pay for breakfast—something I’ve never experienced at any IHG property. This new policy was very disappointing, and given everything else, we chose to eat elsewhere.

Lastly, the housekeeping situation was incredibly frustrating. Despite check-out being at 11:00 am, housekeeping banged on our door at 8:45 am, asking if we needed service. After being rudely woken up, I informed them we would be checking out at 11:00 am and didn’t need service. Incredibly, they returned at 9:45 am, once again banging on the door with the same question. When I complained to the front desk, I was told I would receive a follow-up call from management, but that call never came. Additionally, several of the towels were stained, raising concerns about whether they had been properly laundered. The only positive aspect of the stay was the bed—the sheets were clean and the bed was well-made.

However, this entire stay has left a terrible impression, and I will never return to this location. I am seriously reconsidering staying at any Holiday Inn in the future due to...