Holiday Inn & Suites Charleston West by IHG — Hotel in South Charleston

I have very mixed feelings about this Holiday Inn. My family and I have been traveling around the United States for the last 2 weeks. We've stayed at a lot of different hotels-- this was the most expensive (not counting the indoor waterpark)... it was also the least appealing. We didn't realize that we'd be arriving in what we later learned is known as "chemical city"... it was very intimidating. However, we had booked online and already paid so there was no backing out. Upon entering, the lobby was beautifully remodeled... so we thought, "Maybe it's a diamond in the rough"...

Perhaps emphasis is needed on the Rough.

When you entered through the lobby, you were immediately standing in the bar... they call it a restaurant, I will not. It was 5 p.m. and it was filled with people drinking. The pool is adjacent to the lobby, and the only way to the pool is to pass all the drinking patrons in the bar area. I believe this is likely part of the reason the pool wasn't really being used.

We had rooms on the first floor. Our first hiccup came when our room keys wouldn't work. I went back to the concierge desk and waited about 5 minutes before someone noticed me there. The two ladies helped reset the key cards and I questioned if there was an alternate route to the pool-- I didn't want my teen daughters walking by the bar in their swimsuits. The answer was no. I went back to the rooms and the one key worked but our 2nd room keys didn't work. I went to the concierge desk and waited even longer this time... but this was because the one lady was helping another check in. About 10-15 minutes later the second lady came back and was able to assist me. The keys worked this time.

I want to emphasize that the two ladies working were very friendly, kind and able to assist with all of our needs. This review does not reflect on their hard work or ability to maintain their fantastic customer service.

First impressions of the rooms... well they are dated. Stucco walls, old old old carpets, ugly dated curtains and musty/smokey smells. Both rooms gave off a very cave like feeling. It really wasn't a welcoming/ cozy feeling at all. The bathrooms were dated and mediocre for cleaniness-- they were 'cleaned' but had a lot of years of build up and aging. The air system was controlled by the front desk and the wall system looked like they put a new unit infront of a very rusty old unit.

We opted to go spend the evening in the pool area. We ordered pizza from a local pizza place and had it delivered to the hotel. The concierge said we could dine in the pool area, so we took advantage of that idea. Upon entering the pool area, it smelled stale and of mildew. Not a clean chlorine smell. The hot tub jets barely worked and the pool was colder. The area was poorly lit. We honestly flipped the coin on what the better option was and decided to stay in the pool area.

On the positive side of things, the beds were pretty comfortable. The pillows were also very cozy. The rooms cave vibe was beneficial for sleeping in the pitch dark.

We added breakfast to our room... I wish we hadn't. Although one of our kids enjoyed the breakfast, it was vastly emptied when myself and 3 of our other kids went up and it wasn't filled until we were getting ready to leave. We arrived at 8 a.m. and breakfast wasn't closed til 9 a.m. it wasn't super busy when we went. The dining room options were limited to 2 and 4 guest tables so our family of 8 had to sit at the bar. It just wasn't a very welcoming feel, although our server was good, she'd have no choice but to yell over us to speak to the tables behind us.

All in all... this is not a family hotel. This isn't worth the large amount of money it costs to stay here. It was very disappointing and I wish the ladies on the phone would have explained that this is more of a "workers" hotel and not a visitors hotel.

I usually am taking pictures and sharing my wonderful experiences... I didn't even bring my phone out during...

My husband and I stayed here a few weeks ago and we had the most horrible stay we've ever had in a hotel. We stay often in hotels due to work, roughly 60-75 stays a year so for me to say it was the worst experience says a lot. At about 1:30am on the first night of our week stay we were awakened by a ruckus outside in the hallway. There was yelling and loud singing and what sounded like someone being thrown against the hallway walls. I waited about ten minutes, thinking they'd go to their room and go to sleep. When that didn't happen I tried to call the front desk but there was no answer. I decided to go downstairs to let them know and hopefully have them fix the situation. When I entered the hallway there was a maintenance man for the hotel, 3 women and their dog. The dog immediately ran to me and started jumping on me. The women, who were very drunk, ignored their dog and continued yelling and falling into the walls and being extremely loud. The maintenance man didn't say a word to them. I said "Would you please get your dog? It's hurting me." Without saying anything to me, one of the women grabbed the dog and started taking it to their room. I used the opportunity to jump on the elevator so I could go down alone. I wasn't quick enough and the women joined me. The women were singing and dancing and one of the women body checked me 3 times into the corner of the elevator, I guess in retaliation for asking them to get their dog. When we were downstairs the women, still being extremely rowdy, left the hotel and I stopped at the front desk and explained what just happened. She apologized and said maintenance had let her know about the guests and she said when they came back she would handle it. I went back to my room and then at 4:30 am the same thing happened. We were awakened by loud yelling and thumping. Now mind you, my husband was there for work and had to be up early and work for 14 hours. I again went into the hallway and saw police talking to the women. I went downstairs to go outside and smoke and asked the front desk woman if the police were here due to the women assaulting me in the elevator. She said no, that when she told them to quiet down they became belligerent so she called the police to de-escalate the situation. I assumed things would now settle down and the women would be asked to leave. Imagine my surprise when I see the women at breakfast. They glared at me the entire time they saw me, as if I was the reason the police got called the night before. I went to the front desk yet again and asked why the women were still there. I wasn't really given an answer but she apologized and gave me 2 free breakfast coupons. Later when a different front desk person was there I again asked if they would please make the women leave because I really didn't feel safe. They apologized and said they had another incident with the women and they had threatened the nightshift front desk women so the police were on their way to tell them to leave. She offered me 2 free breakfast coupons and when I said that the other woman had already given me 2 she gave me 2 free drink coupons. She had the nerve to laugh about the front desk woman not doing anything about the women last night. She said "I can't believe she didn't handle this last night and left it for me to do." As if her thoughts were on what an annoyance to her it was to have to deal with it instead of thinking of the guest in front of her that was assaulted and then ignored. The coupons for breakfast and drinks were nice but I prioritize my safety over a free breakfast. It was absolutely unacceptable that those guests were allowed to stay after assaulting me and it was only after she herself was threatened that she removed them. I was going to leave a review right after we checked out but I wanted my emotions to calm down first. I still am shocked that this is how they treat...

I checked into the hotel with no issues and told them at check-in that I needed a 7:00 a.m. Wake up call. When I got to my room I changed to my bathing suit so I could go down to the hot tub. I proceeded to turn on the TV which did not work. I called the front desk and told them that it did not work and that I would be at the hot tub and they could come into my room and check. It. Was then told that the hot tub did not work. Had to change out of my bathing suit and waited more than 30 minutes for maintenance to come. After a couple of phone calls to the to the front desk maintenance finally came. The TV was missing the electrical plug and he said he would be back to fix it approximately 30 minutes later. I was told to come down and get a key that they were moving me to another floor. I had to pack up everything go from the 5th floor down to the front desk to get a key to go to a room up on the 6th floor which maintenance could have easily bought me the key and it would have made it much easier. At that time. I was asked if I still needed a wake up call at 7:00 and I said yes. I definitely do. I was given a card for a complimentary breakfast and was told that I was given an executive King room for the inconvenience. The room size was irrelevant because I was just there to sleep and it was just me and I told her I did not even have time for for breakfast there that I needed to get on the road the next morning.

The next morning I did not get a wake up call and end up waking up at 8:00 and I needed to be on the road at 7:30. I did not get on the road until 8:30 when I went down to the front desk to check out. I told them the issue about not getting a wake up call and she said all she could do was give me points and I was given 250 points which is probably equal to about $10. This was not acceptable. I did not have time to stop for lunch. I did not have time to grab anything for breakfast except for fruit at a convenience store when getting gas and I had to make a 2:30 appointment in Indiana. I barely made the appointment. I did however call and speak to the manager and she said that She would speak to the front desk person. I am sorry but I don't feel like this was handled very well. Upon getting home, I realized that I had apparently dropped my keys in my room. Normally I would check My room with a final check but due to being in a hurry I did not. When I called about my keys Wednesday evening I was told that I would need to speak to housekeeping on Thursday morning to find out how to get them back. I left two messages with housekeeping. Did not get a call until late Thursday afternoon and then I was told I needed to pay $19 plus change to have them sent to me. I explained to her I did not think this was right and that I did not think I should have to pay due to the fact that I was only compensated $10 for all the headaches of my room. I had to rush to Indiana for my meeting. Not even having time to stop for lunch. She said she would speak to the general manager and get back to me. I told her I needed these keys because they were my work keys and my house keys. I have made three phone calls to the general manager and have not received a call back. Today. I was told that she was in meetings and she would call me when she was out of meetings. It is now 9:28 p.m. and I'm still not received a call. This afternoon after not getting a call. I did proceed to call corporate about this situation and was given points and also told that they would figure out what was going on with my keys. I have no idea when or if I'm going to even receive my keys unless I pay to have them shipped to me which I do not feel I should have to and this is terrible customer service. I do not know if I will ever stay in this hotel again and I stay there 4 to 6 times a year. I am not happy...