Holiday Inn Sydney - Waterfront by IHG

Finding bed bugs in our room turned what should have been a family trip at the Holiday Inn Sydney, Cape Breton into a stressful and costly mess. We had to bag our clothes, luggage, and ski gear right away so we wouldn't bring the infestation home. The kids missed their scheduled ski races because their equipment had to be sealed as a precaution. We've also had to pay out of pocket for replacement clothes and to isolate items that can't simply be dry cleaned. The staff were polite when we reported it, but the disruption and financial strain on our family have been significant. A hotel stay shouldn't mean weeks of stress, missed activities for children, and unexpected replacement costs. I'm very disappointed. I strongly encourage management to keep up thorough room inspections and preventative pest control so other families don't go through this.

Joe, the guest services manager, was a nightmare to deal with. We'd stayed at this Holiday Inn and other Holiday Inns before, but after this experience we won't stay at any of them again. I booked a weekend staycation for my wife and kids a few days ahead and called on the day to confirm. Joe said the reservation had been lost. Mistakes happen, and rebooking with him wasn't a big deal. Later he called to say my wife and kids had arrived but couldn't check in without me. Nobody explained this during booking, and I'd never needed to be there in person when booking a room for my wife before. When I tried to explain why I was unhappy, Joe kept interrupting and repeating the policy he'd already explained five times. He denied behaving badly when I called him on it, saying he had witnesses on his side. Then he threatened to cancel the room with my wife and kids right there. They ended up waiting in the lobby for most of an hour until I got down to check them in. Joey P handled our check-in and was exemplary. If Joe treats others the way he treated me, I don't see him staying employed much longer. Joey P should be in charge of guest relations, not the clown they have now. Edit: Even after reading this review, Joe still seems more concerned with barking policy at me than listening.

After a long travel day for Celtic Colours weekend, we arrived at the Holiday Inn Sydney Waterfront way before check-in. Chau Nguyen welcomed us and made us feel at home. His kindness and professionalism made our day, and he made the start and end of our stay easy and comfortable. We couldn't have asked for better service, and we highly recommend the hotel, especially Chau, for making guests feel valued. I asked whether he'd just started or was finishing up, since we'd arrived so early. He said he'd just started, and that he was the manager because staff had called in. It made sense for a Saturday morning, but he wasn't even scheduled to be there and had been called in. His service to us was still top tier.

We stayed October 5-7, 2025, and the roughly $560 we paid for two nights wasn't worth it. The rooms and the area were decent, but the hot tub wasn't working, which was the one problem we'd been warned about. The city had shut off the water, and we hadn't been told. Service was poor at both the guest desk and restaurant. It feels like people have forgotten what customer service is. In the pool area, the soap and towel dispensers were full but didn't work. I'll definitely look for local accommodation next time, where they seem to put more effort into service.