Holiday Inn Express & Suites Braselton West by IHG

We chose this place for three nights near Road Atlanta, with one king room and one double queen room. The beds were comfortable, the building felt modern and generally clean, parking was easy, and the Wi-Fi worked well. Breakfast and coffee were decent on the two mornings we managed to get them. There were so many small hassles that together they outweighed the good. Check-in was very slow because of the systems, and our first double queen assignment turned out to be a single room. Getting a replacement took another long trip downstairs. That room had just one towel, and even after it was cleaned on Saturday, it had only one towel again. Every key for both rooms stopped working every night, so we repeatedly had to return to the desk. The king room was nearly out of tissues and had only one roll of toilet paper on arrival; it ran out over the next two days, though we left the empty box and roll where they could be seen. Housekeeping didn’t replace them. We also had to wipe down the breakfast tables ourselves. Finding the entrance was a challenge the first time. We drove around the nearby gas station, Burger King, next-door cemetery, and the new hotel being built beside it before locating the hotel. Most of the floor labels by the elevator buttons were missing, and we heard plenty of thumping from the room above us on the third floor because the ceilings seemed thin. The bathroom build quality was questionable too: a sharp screw stuck out from the sliding shower door, and I removed it and left it on the counter. The king room’s tile work looked pretty shoddy and made the fairly new hotel seem worn. I knew the rates when I booked, but they went up by another $100/night for two-thirds of our stay, apparently because of a football game and higher demand. I should have shopped around and noticed the steep increase. With all the little problems added up, I doubt we’ll come back.

After the hotel’s apology, I want to be clear that this was far more serious than a misunderstanding. On October 17th, my husband and I were denied service at your Holiday Inn Express and told to leave because of his task-trained service dog. When we explained that the dog was a registered service animal protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), staff said he would need to be deaf or blind to have one. That is incorrect. The ADA (42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq.) covers service animals trained to help people with a range of disabilities, and the remark showed a lack of understanding and training. We had to find somewhere else late at night and arrived late to my brother’s wedding. It caused severe emotional distress and needless hardship. My husband is a U.S. combat veteran, and the treatment was degrading and unlawful. I’m seeking legal counsel, moving this forward, and have begun filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. I have also contacted IHG’s Corporate ADA Compliance and Legal Departments. I will pursue this through the proper channels until it is addressed. I expect the matter to be escalated to IHG’s ADA Compliance and Legal teams, the staff and management involved to receive mandatory ADA retraining, a formal written apology and full reimbursement for expenses and damages, and appropriate disciplinary action from IHG so this doesn’t happen to another guest. When this first happened, my family was refused a room and made to leave even after my husband explained that his service dog was trained and protected under the ADA. The manager asked for his medical records to prove his disability, which is highly illegal. We had to scramble for another hotel late at night, arriving late to the wedding and facing stress, embarrassment, and expense because staff didn’t understand federal law. Service dogs aren’t pets, and hotels must allow them without extra fees or restrictions. It was discriminatory and deeply disappointing. I filed a formal complaint with IHG Corporate and the U.S. Department of Justice, and hope this location retrains its staff and management. If you need to stay nearby, Hampton Inn and Suites Braselton welcomed my family and our service dog happily.

My family and I had paid for our reservation in advance, but the hotel still refused to let us stay and told us to leave. I’m a combat veteran with a nationally registered Service Dog. At check-in, staff asked about my disability and requested disability paperwork, then said my disability didn’t qualify for a service dog and called him an “emotional support animal.” Those questions and request were illegal, and I have the proper paperwork and documentation for my Service Dog. He is not an “Emotional Support Animal.” The management and team members were incredibly unprofessional, and they are also refusing to refund our reservation. This was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. Stay somewhere else and avoid this place like the black plague.

Nyasia Thelamon, I expect you’ll respond to this the way you do to all 1 star reviews, with a copy and paste. The way the staff treated us was truly unacceptable. After your response and apology, we appreciate that you took responsibility, but this was much more serious than a misunderstanding. On October 17th, my husband and I were denied service at your Holiday Inn Express and made to leave because of his task-trained service dog. Staff said he would have to be deaf or blind to have one, even after we explained that the dog was a registered service animal protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That claim is wrong. Under the ADA (42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq.), service animals can be trained to assist people with many kinds of disabilities. The comment showed a serious lack of ADA knowledge and training. We had to find alternate lodging late at night and arrived late to my brother’s wedding. The experience caused severe emotional distress and unnecessary hardship. My husband is a U.S. combat veteran, and the way he was treated was degrading and unlawful. I’m seeking legal counsel, expediting this matter, and have begun filing a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. I’ve also contacted IHG’s Corporate ADA Compliance and Legal Departments. I expect this incident to be escalated to IHG’s ADA Compliance and Legal teams, the involved staff and management to undergo mandatory ADA retraining, the hotel to provide a formal written apology and full reimbursement for expenses and damages, and IHG to take appropriate disciplinary action to prevent this happening to another guest. I’ll continue pursuing the matter through proper channels until the violation is fully addressed.