Holiday Inn South Plainfield-Piscataway by IHG — Hotel in South Plainfield

This is an aged property that I am sure has seen better days. I checked in and was sent to my room where the heat had been set to an unbearable 85. While it was a cold and snowy night, this was a bit extreme. When I turned the A/C on and turned down the temperature, the unit shut off. I called down to the front desk and asked for a room with a working A/C and was informed that all A/C's work. When I told him what was going on in my room, the desk agent said that he would send up maintenance. The maintenance guy came up and messed with the unit for 20 minutes and said it was now fixed. While the air was blowing, it was far from fixed...but I was going to give it a chance, when it shut down again. I packed up my stuff and went to the front desk to get a new room or check out and stay at the competitve hotel across the lot. The night manager and desk agent proceeded to tell me that they would get me a new room and apologize. During their search for a new room for me, they told me that they would upgrade me to the Presidential Suite of the hotel. Not bad, right? Well, as one of them got this together the other came over and said something to the effect that another person was paying a higher rate, so lets move them there. They then messed around on the computer again, and said, Sorry, we wont be upgrading you. They sent me to a different room on the far side of the hotel near an elevator that didnt even work...So much for easy in and out of the place. At the end of it all, I got a room, which is all I expect from Holiday Inn.

In the morning, I went to the breakfast area and tried the breakfast. Not a bad breakfast, but the woman working the area made eye contact with me and I tried to get an order of coffee, but she worked on cleaning/bussing other tables rather than bring me a cup of coffee. Another person walked in after me and tried to get the same as well. He got so frustrated that he took one of the carafes from a table where the diners had already left for the morning. I proceeded to eat my breakfast and decided I would get coffee elsewhere. Again, I dont expect a whole lot from Holiday Inns, but this was pretty poor.

At the end of the day, there are other brands that I will consider in the future when staying in the Piscataway area. The people apologized for the issue with my room the night before, but when you make it clear that I wasnt paying a high enough rate, its a little offputting. And when you cant acknowledge your breakfast guests, why even have a waitress in the...

IHG states this hotel is a Holiday Inn Express but all signs show it as a Holiday Inn. My guess is this hotel is really a Holiday Inn but is trying to offer the amenities as a Holiday Inn Express. The location is very good with numerous restaurants and shopping within walking distance. Upon entering I was recognized as a Spire Elite Member and offered a choice of incentives. The main elevator was not functioning so I had to walk down a long hallway to use the back elevator then walk in the opposite direction down another hallway to get to my room. There was a distinct odor of Febreze throughout the hallways which was overpowering. The elevator was repaired the next day. My room was clean but again had the overpowering odor of Febreze. The room was smaller than the usual Holiday Inn Express but did have a mini-fridge and microwave. A thermostat was mounted on the wall but did not work; therefore, all room temperature controls were on the air unit itself. The bathroom was clean, brightly lit, and of fair size. There was a sign hanging from the shower head stating “please keep bathroom door closed when showering. Excessive steam may trigger the fire alarm”. I complied with the sign but felt like I was emerging from the shower into a sauna due to the steam captured in the bathroom. There was a vent in the ceiling of the bathroom but it did not work. The bed mattress sagged in middle somewhat but overall was comfortable with good pillows. A free breakfast was offered in the morning, had more choices, and was more flavorful than the normal Holiday Inn Express. The Wi-Fi speed fluctuated between 4.85 Mbps and 0.11 Mbps. During the day there was no problem connecting to websites but at night, connection problems were frequent displaying the error “this page cannot be displayed”.

Pros: Good location Recognized me as a Spire Elite Member Clean room with mini-fridge and microwave Clean average sized bathroom which was well lit Comfortable bed and pillows Free breakfast with good variety and flavor

Cons: Overpowering odor of Febreze throughout hotel Smaller rooms than normal Holiday Inn Express Had to keep bathroom door closed when showering resulting in steam buildup Bathroom exhaust fan not working Bed mattress sagged in middle somewhat Wi-Fi speed fluctuated between 4.85 Mbps...

Check in Fri evening. Check out Sat noon. ||||Pros:||-Check out is at noon||-Location is very accessible||-There is a restaurant on the first floor of the hotel so you do not have to leave the premises if you do not have to.||-The front of the building and the lobby look presentable.||||Cons:||-My TV only had 7 stations (local over the channel stations only) even though the guide lists dozens of channels. I contacted the front desk on Sat morning to let them know, I was told the maintenance guy does not come in until 09:30. I was told he would come take a look at it when he arrived. 10:20 still no response or maintenance guy. I called again. I was offered to be moved from room 254 to 154. I told the lady I will prefer a room on any floor except the first floor. I was told no other room will be available until after 1pm when the rooms have been checked out and cleaned. I then told them I would take room 154, that when I was told that the TV issue was not "really a maintenance or TV issue, it had to do with their cable provider" and they can not guarantee that I will be able to watch more channels in any other room. I was too shocked to even give them a response.||||-The carpets in the hallways are filthy with visible dirt and bleach marks ( I have many pictures). They also have a strong musky smell to them.||||-One of the elevators worked perfectly but the 2nd elevator really smells like something died in there. Just sad. ||||-The only floors with ice machines are floors 2 and 4.||||-Plot twist- both ice machines on floors 2 and 4 were not working!||||-The best looking part of the hotel is the front and the lobby, everything else is dilapidated. ||||- I overheard a lady asking why she was told she had to pay for breakfast when it is advertised that breakfast was included, someone was explaining to her that breakfast was included if you paid for breakfast with your reservation. I do not even know what that means but I never ate breakfast there. ||||I was so disappointed about my stay that on my way out, I had to tell the ladies at the front desk that the management really needs to do better. It appears no one cares, they just care about booking rooms and not updating or...