Garner Hotel Virginia Beach North by IHG — Hotel in Virginia Beach

I booked a two-night stay (Friday–Sunday) for my wife, mother, two small children (ages 3 and 5), and myself. We arrived around midnight Friday and were immediately concerned by the condition of the room: there was old, partially eaten food on the floor, dead bugs, no bedding for the pull-out sofa, and no shower curtain (the hotel later claimed this was due to it being an ADA room).

Around 1:10 AM, someone attempted to forcefully enter our room, waking us in fear. My family felt so unsafe that I kept my concealed carry weapon next to me all night. My children were terrified. Throughout the night, there were loud altercations in the hallway and parking lot, prompting me to check my vehicle multiple times.

By 6:30 AM Saturday, I reported everything to the front desk. They noted the issues, acknowledged the door damage, and said the manager would be in later. I requested a refund for the first night and asked to move to a higher floor. I followed up around 9:00 AM, but a different staff member deflected my concerns and said the manager wouldn’t be in until 1:00 PM. She eventually said he would check the cameras and she’d follow up at my room in 20 minutes. After delaying our day and waiting over an hour, she never came. I found her again at the desk.

She provided instructions for requesting a refund through the third-party app (Hotels.com) and said room availability for a transfer was still uncertain. I reiterated that if the room couldn’t be switched, we’d be checking out. I contacted Hotels.com to initiate the refund, but they needed approval from the hotel. Despite multiple attempts, they couldn’t reach the manager.

I tried calling again around 4 PM to confirm the room switch but couldn’t get through. When I went back to the front desk, I was told the manager never showed up and the hotel was now fully booked. At that point, I checked out and informed Hotels.com that we would not be staying the second night. I rebooked another hotel through the same app for an additional $221.

Hotels.com later closed my case due to lack of hotel response. I then contacted IHG, who assured me someone from corporate would follow up. I eventually received a call from the hotel manager who apologized and said he would approve the refund—but Hotels.com needed to email him directly. After pushing Hotels.com to reopen the case, they finally reached the manager, who denied all of it and claimed we stayed both nights, which is provably false. I followed up again with IHG, but they ultimately stated the matter was between me and the hotel manager.

In total, I paid nearly $400 for a hotel that was unsafe, unsanitary, and unresponsive, and then had to spend another $221 to relocate my family and wasted nearly an entire day out of our already short vacation. You can see in the photos where we have to book a new room, the food, bugs, damage to the door frame and the door being bent inward to where you had to pull shut to latch. I would caution others: do not assume you’re protected just because a hotel carries the IHG name and that they care about guest safety. This experience was deeply traumatizing, disappointing and has...

Extremely Unprofessional Front Desk Experience – Ambassador Member Treated Horribly

I am writing this review as an IHG Ambassador member who has stayed at many IHG properties worldwide. Unfortunately, my recent experience at this hotel was one of the worst I have ever encountered with the brand.

I had booked a points reservation in advance for my wife and children. When they arrived at the property, they were met by front desk employee Nick Reddy, who refused to allow them to check in. This was despite the reservation being confirmed and fully valid.

When my wife called me, I immediately contacted the hotel. Mr. Reddy personally verified my identity over the phone—there was no question that I was the reservation holder. However, even after confirming who I was, he refused to add my wife and children’s names to the reservation so they could check in. Instead, he told me to “solve it with IHG” and to call customer service—on a Saturday night, knowing full well that this would leave my family stranded without a room.

As a front desk representative, his role should be to welcome guests and problem-solve—not to turn away a family with a confirmed booking, especially after verifying the reservation holder’s identity. His tone and unwillingness to help demonstrated a complete lack of professionalism, hospitality, and basic courtesy. The way my wife and children were treated was unacceptable, especially given my long-standing loyalty to IHG and Ambassador status.

This experience has left a lasting negative impression on this property and raises serious concerns about how it values loyalty members and their families. IHG should ensure that staff members like Mr. Reddy are trained not only in proper procedures but also in basic respect, empathy, and guest service.

Until this property addresses such behavior, I cannot recommend staying here to anyone who values professionalism...

We had to stay here this Memorial Day weekend because of a mishap with a booking at another IHG property. We were forced to stay at this property or be charged a large penalty so we agreed. We wound up paying $340 a night which is real similar to the larger brand hotels that were right on the beach.

We stayed in room 601 which did have a view of the ocean. That was not bad however the walls are paper thin and the large family of 6 or more in room 603 were screaming all weekend. The first night this occurred for us we muscled it out and sucked it up. The second night, we called the front desk and they called the room to ask them to quiet down and then we had to call back 30 minutes later to ask them to actually visit the room and that finally happened ending the noise. I wish they had made the visit right away as it was close to 11pm at night, the screaming was loud, and I had warned the front desk that day ahead of time.

Next, on Sunday night, at 1230 in the morning the fire alarm went off and stayed active for about thirty minutes. The building slowly emptied out only to find management on the first floor telling everyone it was ok to stay. It would have been nice if they made an attempt to turn it off or tell guests not to bother getting dressed and leave.

Last, they do not have the ability to hold bags. We checked out on Monday at 11am and had a couple of hours to kill before we had to leave for the airport. The front desk told us they could not watch our bags while we went for a walk. In my opinion if you pay over $300 a night, a hotel needs to have this available for travelers who arrive early or need the service on their last day.

Listen, if you get stuck here it is not the end of the world. The price to value should be more like $200 a night even on a holiday weekend. If you are going to spend $300 plus a night, go across the street to...