Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ardmore by IHG

After I used points for the stay, I asked for them back at checkout. The person I spoke to said they couldn't authorize that, but took my name, number, and room number and promised someone would call that day about the lack of hot water. No one called. Later, someone emailed an offer of 5,000 points, just 28% of what I had used. I replied by email with a clear “NO.” Without contacting me, they refunded those 5,000 points and still haven't followed up. This fits a pattern of the hotel not doing what it says it will. I've been a Diamond Elite IHG Member for many years, enjoy the IHG Rewards Program, and plan to keep my membership. I've had a few stays that fell short of the usual IHG standards, but in those cases management fixed things without making me do extra work. That didn't happen here. We arrived around 7:30 p.m. after driving most of the day. The desk clerk said they'd tried to call, but I had no voicemail or missed call. They confirmed the number on file was correct. The call was supposed to warn us that the hotel had no hot water. They said they were working on it but couldn't promise it would be fixed by morning, and offered a penalty-free move to another hotel. Exhausted, we took our chances. Given the Oklahoma Department of Health Administrative Code, Chapter 285, which says lodging establishments must maintain safe, hygienic facilities, including serviceable hot water, we expected a quick fix or for the hotel to close until repairs were done. Neither happened. In the morning there was still no hot water, so we had to travel after washing at the sink with ice-cold water and a washcloth.

The room was clean, the bed comfortable enough, and there were enough clean towels. For about $100 a night, the room itself was mediocre, though the plumbing and HVAC could use maintenance. My room always seemed a little humid. The hot water was out for 24 hours during my previous stay. I understand that things break, and I don't blame the staff for the outage, but their emergency response needs serious improvement. The staff seemed willing to help but didn't know what to do. The manager briefly poked her head out, said nothing, and disappeared. I felt I was expected to pay full price for a service I hadn't received unless I fought it. I might have been charged with no recourse if I hadn't escalated. Only when I said I was packing up and leaving after a long workday did they offer to move me to another hotel. That was the right response, just late. The other hotel had a cheaper rate, and I had to call and complain again before they adjusted it. To be clear, an acceptable adjustment was made to my bill.

We asked the front desk to split payment for our two rooms, but the first woman didn't do it. She was rude at check-in, and when we got to our room it reeked of cigarette smoke, despite this being a 100% smoke-free hotel. We went down to ask for a room change. She sighed and said she didn't know what she could do, then called her manager and said the previous guest, John Doe, didn't smoke. She actually said his full name in front of us, which raised privacy concerns. When told to change the room, she added that she was going to inspect it, as if we were lying. After we moved, my father had left his comb behind and asked me to get one from the desk, since the bathroom signs said toiletries were available. The same woman looked disgusted and said they had no combs. At checkout, a different woman was friendly and readily gave me one when I asked again. The first employee needs serious customer service training. I don't pay $130 a night to be talked down to.

The front desk staff member was very nice and greeted me promptly. But when I checked the room, I found hair scattered in a lot of places, which really grossed me out. Breakfast the next morning had a small selection. I'd stay again, but if another place were available, I'd probably choose it instead.