Holiday Inn Washington-College Pk (I-95) by IHG

The Saturday morning breakfast staff were the worst part. One person basically told me to leave because breakfast was “$19,” as if I couldn’t afford it. I explained it was included with my room and that I had a voucher. An angry-looking woman stood there supervising and yelling at people. When I tried to get my kids excited about breakfast by showing them the omelette station, she snapped at me loudly and embarrassed me. Apparently they could take whatever they wanted from the buffet, but not a made-to-order egg from a man who wasn’t busy. She was incredibly rude. Weekday breakfast also cost $19, but had neither an omelette station nor waffles. It was worse than the free breakfasts you normally get at hotels. The pool was freezing cold, so we couldn’t use it at all. I’d called specifically to ask whether it was heated, and was told it was “very warm,” which wasn’t true. The room was narrow and hard to get around. The bathroom was dirty, with water marks on the walls and fingerprints everywhere. The furniture seemed fairly new, but the beds were rock hard, and I didn’t sleep well. There was no way to adjust the room temperature, which stayed uncomfortably hot. The walls were thin and hallway noise went on constantly. Every part of the hotel had a different strange smell, some mix of fish, lemon, and mildew in varying strengths. The bar was odd, too. On Thursday, people who looked like local drinkers were scattered around the lobby with beer bottles, and a couple were at the bar. The bartender wasn’t very helpful when I asked a question. Friday night there was live elevator music. On Saturday I tried to get a drink on the way to my room, waited five minutes without seeing an employee, and the front desk said that was normal. There was also an event in the ballrooms on Saturday with some sweet kids getting a little carried away at a party. The manager yelled at them and even grabbed one to scold them. Horrible. When we arrived at 8 pm, there wasn’t an employee in sight. Eventually a girl in jeans and a T-shirt, sunglasses on her head, came out to check us in. She was friendly enough. The daytime desk staff have been less than helpful, though the afternoon and evening employees are very friendly. I wanted to like the hotel, and I’m sure it had its day, but it disappointed me from the start. It’s exactly what you pay for: cheap, with poor service, amenities, housekeeping, and facilities. I thought I might be pleasantly surprised, but I wasn’t.

The rooms were good, but I can’t recommend this place after what happened in the parking lot. One car had all four wheels stolen and was left sitting on crates. Two days later, another car was in the same situation. The property has cameras, yet said it wasn’t responsible. How often do you see two cars parked on crates?

I was moved three times in one night and barely slept, even after requesting a late checkout. The last room, next to the front desk, was clean, but by then I was checking my belongings to make sure no bugs had come along with me. In the second room, I woke from a nap to find bed bugs on me, the pillows, and the wall. I filmed them, caught one in a plastic cup, and took everything to the desk. I hadn’t unpacked, thank God. The concierge apologized and moved me again. The first room smelled musty as soon as I arrived in the late afternoon or early evening after my flight. I ran the automatic fan and went to get food nearby, hoping the smell would clear, but it was still there when I returned. The concierge understood and found me a room across the hall that smelled better, so I ate and fell asleep for a bit. I asked to speak with a manager, but was told nobody was on duty or coming in that day. No manager at all, while rooms with bed bugs were being rented? And the advertised free breakfast wasn’t available. This makes me furious because I’m a UMD alum from 2012 and College Park is special to me. As someone who works for an airline and often stays around the US and overseas, this was by far my worst experience in my college hometown. Truly sad. Samuel American Airlines

We came with a large group and were accommodated really well. Even the younger people in our group, who can be hard to impress, liked it. The hot breakfast selection is one of the best I’ve seen, and everything felt premium quality. Highly recommend, definitely an A+.