Holiday Inn Express Windsor Sonoma Wine Country by IHG — Hotel in Windsor

The staff was great, the breakfasts were nice, the ambiance super, the location was perfect. However, for the expense and the Holiday Inn Express name, this hotel was a complete letdown. The hallways had a dirty smell, stained carpets, and just a little scary. Once in the rooms (I had two booked, one of which was a “suite”), the smell got worse and the carpets no better. I called down to clarify the rooms smelled bad, as if the last guests were smokers. The suite had a sofa-bed which I thought would be perfect to more evenly spread out our group. The “mattress” on the sofa-bed in the suite was also stained in various places, as was the sofa itself. The sofa-bed mattress was so dirty I was sure I could grow a grape vine in it and was torn/shredded in several places. Needless to say, it was useless to sleep on and very embarrassing for the hotel I would think. I spoke to the front desk staff about this and their response was, “we are aware of the problems, we appologize and should soon upgrade the furniture, beds, carpets, etc. soon in the problem rooms.” The hotel manager did compensate me somewhat for both rooms which I appreciated very much... wonderful gesture. I know the local management or staff was not to blame, but the corporate people should be aware and embarrassed, and a little more proactive regarding the condition of at least some of their rooms. Our group did not let the condition of the hotel/rooms bother us, and with the good attitude of the staff, we had a great weekend wedding experience. Let’s see if this review gets posted since I took the time to thoughtfully express my sincere feelings and experience and it's not generally a favorable review. Once again, the staff was understanding and agreeable, which probably saved the weekend...

Our stay started poorly and only worsened. Upon arrival late Friday night, we requested a child bed, which wasn’t set up in our room. While the night shift associate kindly provided one from storage, it was outdated and posed safety risks.||We opted to pay in cash at check-out for convenience, given the difficulty of managing our luggage and child. However, when I returned to the hotel later that day and needed a new key, I was met with poor service from George, the manager. He insisted on immediate cash payment of $404, despite my explanation that I had $300 in cash and could pay the remainder by card later. He refused to accept this and instead charged my card twice without authorization, once for $288 and then for $188.||George's handling of the situation was unprofessional and dismissive. When I requested to speak with the General Manager, I was put on hold for 30 minutes and received no follow-up. George later called back demanding $244 in cash, even though I had already offered $300.||Upon returning to the hotel that evening, I discovered that George had deactivated my room keys and attempted to access my safe. The "Do Not Disturb" sign was tampered with, and my closet door was left open. The staff seemed alarmed when I confronted them, indicating awareness of the mishandling.||Attempts to resolve these issues through the management company and Holiday Inn's service center were fruitless. I was redirected back to the same manager, and the service center could only escalate the matter to an overseas team with no real authority. I am still owed $388 for unauthorized charges and a deposit.||In summary, this experience was marked by poor customer service, security breaches, and unprofessional conduct. I strongly advise against...

POOL,SAUNA AND JACUZZI UNDER CONSTRUCTION ! SO NO SWIM FOR US.😂 The IHG website for this hotel did not say it was under construction. We were very disappointed as the website lists them as amenities.We weren't advised until we arrived at the hotel to check in.On top of this they tell us we gave you a room with a view.Guess what? It was of the pool and jacuzzi we couldn't swim in! Talk about insult to injury.Nothing like staring at an empty pool with its light ripped out sitting on the edge of the pool all lit up at night. We are IHG Silver Elite members and booked our room using 14,000 points + $62 in cash Per Night so 28,000 points + $164 total in Cash. At the hotel they didn't offer us any refund or alternative without me asking! Then they said the most they would give us is 500 points and a discount on a future stay..I was like WHAT! That's ridiculous! I felt ripped off and misinformed by the website. They Knew we were very unhappy.We based our decision where we stay by their website. Apparently construction has been going on for at least a week! P.S it gets noisy when they are working. The Windsor hotel property knew I planned to call Corporate so they refunded us 500 points + later an additional 5000 points which I did not know about until I was on the phone with Corporate. The 5500 total points didn't make it right. IHG Corporate's Guest services on the other hand sincerely apologized for the inconvenience . And as a courtesy refunded us 13000 points.Glory to God! Thank you Corporate for watching out for us and thanking us for being IHG members. In the future as a precaution I plan to call any and all IHG properties before booking. I don't like surprises unless they are a...