Garner Hotel Birch Run - Frankenmuth Area by IHG

Customer service has always been good, and maintenance came right away when I called about the drain that came loose and wouldn't drain after I washed my hands. Still, I was disappointed this year. My family and I come nearly every winter, but this time I was there with my fiancé and found candy by the bed, almost-empty toilet paper that hadn't been restocked, and a huge crack halfway down the door. Even though it's near the floor, someone could look through it and see across the room, which isn't comforting. We haven't tried the pool yet, but plan to tonight. The last time I was there, there were big clumps of hair floating around. I'd like to see these things fixed before I come back next year.

We were told when booking that the hot tub only heated to 94°, so we knew to expect that, even if it wasn't ideal. My daughter mostly used the pool, while my husband, son, and I spent more time in the tub. I got out after about 20 minutes, and the boys stayed longer. It smelled kind of dirty, but we brushed it off. Back in the room, my new bright orange bathing suit had turned pale salmon. Worse, my husband and son developed severe rashes on their arms and legs. My husband's faded after a few hours, but my son needed urgent care after checkout. The doctor said it was the worst case of swimmers rash he'd seen in a long time. He took steroids for two weeks and was still slightly bothered afterward. The room was fine, a bit outdated but nothing unusual, until my son did his joking “bed bug test.” No bed bugs, luckily, but he did find blood on the sheets. We went down to tell the front desk and ask about changing them. The woman cut us off rudely before we could ask, saying we could take new sheets and change them ourselves or wait until morning for housekeeping, because she wasn't going up. Her bluntness caught us off guard. Breakfast was the only positive, and only because it wasn't the worst I've had. We came a couple of weeks ago with our two kids so they could swim. We live nearby and have tried all the hotels in town, but we'll never stay at this location again. Between the ruined suit, urgent care, rude staff, and having to remake the bed like I did 20 years ago when I worked housekeeping, I'm done. I won't recommend it either.

The whole building had a strong chemical smell, and the second floor hallway had a cockroach crawling on the wall. Construction was still underway, with door numbers taped on using painters tape and paint and plaster across the floors. There was some kind of mystery crust on the walls in our room. I also heard another couple at check-in say their room had no electricity at all. We won't be back and don't recommend this place.

I work hard and wanted to enjoy a hotel stay, but couldn't enjoy this one at all. The WiFi was a joke, showing “No internet access” for the whole stay, and the hot tub was inaccessible with repeated excuses about the chemical levels being off. The room had a blood stain on the bedspread, a cobweb low in the shower, and something purple in the microwave. There were only two very small wastebaskets, and the welcome text said rooms were serviced only every 3rd day, though you had to read the whole message to find that out. That includes emptying those tiny bins.