Holiday Inn Express & Suites Alpena - Downtown by IHG

I woke up with bites all over my arms, and my bed had bed bugs. At the front desk, they said they wished the cleaning supervisor had been there to check the room and asked whether I was sure it wasn’t an allergic reaction to the sheets. The bites were obvious. I asked for a refund, but the employee couldn’t approve one and said I needed the manager. The manager wasn’t there, and I had to leave for a meeting. I’d left my information, but instead of calling, they emailed me a receipt showing the refund. A phone call acknowledging what happened would have been better customer service, though the refund was the least they could do. I stay here often for work, but now I’ll need to find somewhere else. Wouldn’t recommend.

The room smelled awful, like urine mixed with mold. Check-in also took a long time because the party ahead of us had trouble getting into their rooms, though our rooms were ready by the time the clerk reached us. The hotel was quiet, and breakfast was standard. We had a good river view and could walk to lots of cool places around town. If you like hard cider, try the Presque Isle Cider taproom across the street. It had great vibes and lots of fun events during the month. We stumbled into a vinyl night by accident and had a great time.

We’d stayed here many times over the years, but this recent visit was unacceptable. The people in the next room snuck in 2/3 large dogs, which kept barking and disturbing us. When I called the front desk, William said they were service dogs and could stay despite the Holiday Inn no-pet policy. Then he changed his story and said they’d be fined because they shouldn’t have dogs, and went to check the room. I asked whether the guests could be moved, but William said no because the hotel would need to do special disinfecting for the next guest and didn’t want to pay for that twice. With the dogs barking at every little noise, we moved rooms ourselves. We got back at 9:45 p.m. and weren’t settled into the new room until after midnight. I contacted General Manager Jonna Radle and asked her to call me. She eventually did, with what I felt was a completely unprofessional attitude. She said they’d moved us and given me some points, and asked what else I wanted. She argued with me, then hung up. The poor management was the last straw, and I’ll tell people I know not to stay here. As you can see from her response, Jonna was unprofessional. Thankfully there’s a new hotel in Alpena, Hampton Inn and Suites.

My room was roomy and faced the Thunder Bay River. The Holiday Inn Express sits right along the river in downtown Alpena, within walking distance of plenty of good restaurants, bars, and pubs. The whole place was spotless, nicely decorated, and well kept, and the staff were friendly and helpful. I especially appreciated the many electrical outlets and USB connections.