Holiday Inn Express San Francisco-Airport North by IHG — Hotel in South San Francisco

On 6/20/2022, I booked a room for one night (11/11/22 to 11/12/22). I reserved a room with a roll-in shower because my wife is a wheelchair user.

Prior to booking the room, called the hotel and confirmed that the Airport Shuttle is wheelchair compatible.

A week prior to check-in, I called and confirmed that we were assigned a roll-in shower room and that the Airport Shuttle was wheelchair compatible. I was assured we had a room with a roll-in shower and that the Airport Shuttle was wheelchair compatible.

When we checked on November 11th at about 8pm, we were greeted the front counter staff member. She was friendly and helpful.

I asked her to confirm that the Airport Shuttle was wheelchair compatible. She confirmed that it was.

Just after interacting with her, the Airport Shuttle arrived. I went out and spoke with the driver, asking him if the shuttle was wheelchair compatible. He apologized for his poor English and said he didn't understand what I was asking.

I inspected the vehicle and saw that it was not wheelchair compatible. There was no wheelchair lift or ramp.

I went back inside and explained to the front counter staff member that Airport Shuttle was not wheelchair compatible. I asked if they used a different shuttle during the day. She said they did have a wheelchair compatible shuttle.

She said that, when I came down for breakfast the next morning (11-12-2022), I should inform the person working the front counter that I needed a wheelchair compatible shuttle for the airport.

The next morning, at 6:15am, I spoke with front counters staff. I explained everything above. She explained that the Airport Shuttle provider needed to be informed a day in advance of the need for a wheelchair compatible shuttle.

I explained that when I originally booked the room, and when I called a week prior to our stay, and when I spoke with front counter staff upon check-in on 11-11-2022, no one said we needed to reserve a wheelchair compatible shuttle in advance.

She said she would call the Airport Shuttle provider to determine if a wheelchair compatible shuttle was available. A bit later, she called my room to explain that a wheelchair compatible shuttle was not available. She did not offer any other alternative.

My wife and I had to Uber to the Airport, which cost us $24.96 ($17.96 fair + $7.00 tip).

While the front counter staff on 11/11/2022 was friendly and helpful, she told me the Airport Shuttle was wheelchair compatible when it wasn't. When, after seeing the Airport Shuttle vehicle and letting her know the vehicle was not wheelchair compatible, instead of calling the Airport Shuttle provider to reserve a wheelchair compatible vehicle, she directed me to address my request to the front counter staff the following morning.

And while front counter staff on 11/12/2022 was friendly and helpful, and called the Airport Shuttle provider to see if a wheelchair compatible vehicle was available, when she learned that it was not available, she did not offer any alternative. Given that we had been misinformed about the availability of a wheelchair compatible shuttle twice on the telephone and once in-person, it would have been appropriate, in my opinion, for her to offer to arrange for a ride (Uber, Lift, Taxi, etc.) for my wife and me.

On 11/12/2022, I e-mailed the hotel manager at the e-mail address the front counter staff provided to me on 11/12/2022 when I checked out. The e-mail did not bounce back to me. As of today (11/21/2022) no one has replied to my e-mail from 11/12/2022.

Because we did not hear back from my e-mail to the manager on 11/12/2022, we had to Uber back to the hotel on 11/18/022 to retrieve our vehicle, which cost $39.12.

Other than this, our stay was pleasant. Both staff members at the front counter were nice and helpful and the room was clean and very comfortable.

I share this information with you so that, in the future, more accurate information might be relayed to lodgers who are...

Seriously - reading the other reviews, I wasn't expecting much but people need to set their expectations appropriately in accordance with the price point. This HIE - like most other Holiday Inn Express (HIE) spots - tend to cater to the business traveler/no-frills traveler. It's not run-down, but don't go expecting the Intercontinental when you're paying as much for the room as the Best Western across the street. ||As an IHG Platinum member, there wasn't a welcome amenity - but the first gal that checked me in (and was also the one that checked me out) said I'd be getting 500 points instead. That never came, but IHG customer service took care of me.||That said, I had a pleasant stay. It was one night, and it was to connect to another flight - which is why this HIE's location just minutes from the San Francisco Intl. Airport - was advantageous. I didn't need luxury nor did I expect it - I just wanted a safe and relatively clean place to rest in between my flight schedule. ||I didn't get the first gal's name in the morning - but she was friendly and understandably, was not able to procure a room for me to check into early (my flight landed sooner than expected). When I came back later to check in, I was assisted by friendly Lila (sp?). ||Both my pre-saved preferences on my IHG profile for "high floor" and "away from elevator" were accommodated. My room had a view of SFO Airport in the distance, and a McDonald's parking lot - which again, is fine - you can't expect scenic views at a hotel this close to the airport. It's more of an industrial area.||I had a "King Room with Extra Space" - tons of space, actually. All lights worked, everything was clean (I did my usual flashlight sweep before settling in). I appreciate the workdesk with an office chair that was actually comfortable and height-adjustable. ||All outlets worked - although it would be helpful to offer USB ports for "today's" tech traveler. There is a microwave/mini fridge/coffee maker setup as well - something that I wished more hotels I've stayed at would offer. I've stayed at quite a few Intercontinentals (same parent company of HIEs) - and they don't have a microwave, only a fancy coffeemaker and a stocked minibar that has no space for your own things. A microwave allows travelers to reheat food, rather than sending them to waste. ||Water pressure is good, would've liked it if the water could get a bit hotter though. I miss the individual-sized toiletries that most hotels have gone away with. This HIE has bulk dispensers - so not the best since they can be tampered with. ||Bottom line: If you want a luxury hotel, book a luxury hotel. Honestly, if you're looking for a relatively safe place to stay between your connecting flight - this HIE is close to SFO, and has reasonable rates. Sure, there's a loud jetliner every now and then - but you can practically see SFO from the hotel. It's like living next to a stadium and then complaining about it's noise (looking at some other reviews here). There is a limited schedule shuttle that runs in the morning and evening - when most flights take place. If you arrive in the middle of the day - take an...

Booked this hotel and prepaid, in early June, for 2 nights, to go see the Will Clark Retirement Celebration at Oracle Park. This was close to train station so we could easily and safely get in and out of the city. Upon checking in, we were informed of an additional $50 credit card (cc) hold for damage or such to room. We were told it had to be on the same cc we originally placed the reservation.

Well, our bank replaced everyone’s cc in late June, with new tap technology and so the old cc number was now non-existent. Instead of making it easy on the customer and just take another form of payment for a temporary hold they would return, they insisted it was their policy to refund the original payment (now lost in space somewhere) and then charge it again for the same payment plus $50! Now they have a hold on almost $800 of our fun money, gas money (we traveled from Oregon) and I was livid! I contacted IHG on August 1st,and they said the manager would contact me in 48 hours in regards to the billing, which they still have not (Aug 8,2022).

Be aware they also charge $15.99 a day plus tax for parking (which is really $17.27 per day). They said it’s cheaper than the airport. Well, I didn’t book the hotel to stay or use the airport. I have never been to a IHG Hotel and paid for parking. I spoke with a woman on Saturday at the front desk (with a long black ponytail) who told me I was NOT BEING BILLED for the parking and I thought to myself, well at least that WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Then one week later on August 8th they billed me the full $34.54 for two days parking! I filed a dispute with my bank.

Also, we are still in the midst of a pandemic and Monkey Pox is the highest is SF, and they have no sanitizer in their dispensers. I notified them 2 days in a row and they did nothing… they just don’t care! And God forbid you are late to breakfast! This place is privately owned and they skip on all the amenities IHG is known for. No coffee, creamer, after complimentary breakfast time. Ridiculous! Breakfast items like the eggs, turkey sausage etc. were not even warm, no gravy, no microwave - just awful. They skip on all the things that we joined the franchise for.

The rooms are old school, small TV, no charging outlets, had to ask for an extra towel (2 towels for 2 adults for 3 days) and Keurig coffee (3 pods for 2 adults) the sinks had residue that could be cleaned with any OTC cleaning product. Come on! The bed was comfy and the shower was nice & the elevator worked… thank goodness. We will never go back to this location and notified IHG. Would...