Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlotte - South End by IHG

I went down for breakfast and started making an egg sandwich. After opening a Philadelphia cream cheese packet, I left the wrapper by the toaster while I finished preparing it, planning to throw it away afterward. Before I was done, Monica, a staff member, told me in an arrogant tone, with an annoyed expression, “The trash is back there.” I wasn’t leaving the rubbish behind, and the way she spoke to me was what upset me. What felt especially unfair was how different her service seemed toward white guests. About five minutes later, a white person dropped bacon on the floor, and Monica cleaned it up smiling and made a big fuss over them, handling it as well as possible. Her treatment of me felt like poor customer service, and I’d even say it may have been discrimination because I’m not white. I can’t understand why someone working in the kitchen, who sometimes deals with hotel guests, would act this way.

We were there for work, and having conference rooms we could reserve for client meetings was very convenient. The location also worked well, near dining, convenience stores, and a running trail, yet it was surprisingly quiet among condo and apartment buildings. Our room was spacious and spotless, and I especially liked the hard floors, with only a rug under the bed. The staff were exceptionally friendly. One of the housekeepers even saw me struggling with my things and kindly helped me to the lobby. The only thing I missed was having bottled water in the room.

I’ve gone to Carolina Panthers games about once a year and never had a bad hotel experience until this stay. Parking was awful. The lot is tiny and showed full capacity the whole time, so we couldn’t park at the hotel at all. Both side-by-side rooms, 211 and 213, had problems. Mine wasn’t cleaned properly, with someone’s snack trash on the floor beside the bed. The AC barely worked in both rooms, and in my dad’s room the microwave and fridge didn’t work either. I’d never stay here again.

I used one of the Holiday Inn conference rooms for a three-day business meeting. The room was nice and had all the amenities. I live locally and didn’t stay overnight. No complaints, and I’ll use the facility again.