Holiday Inn Express Crestwood by IHG

The breakfast was awful, and the pancake maker was dirty. The little exercise room was nice, but it smelled bad. In room 304 on the third floor, the TV didn’t work for the whole first day and night, so we played music. Then the woman next door complained about the volume. The toilet was extremely loud, and when I showered the next day, the water wouldn’t drain properly and the tub filled up. My key card also stopped working after I went out to the car, so I had to get it reset. I’d never been charged extra for incidentals at the many Holiday Inn Express hotels I’ve stayed at, and this was my first visit to this one. It was my birthday weekend, and I’d told them that. I decorated the room, and some things I put on the floor could have been vacuumed up, but they charged me another $100 for cleaning. Is that what the incidental charge was for? This felt like staying in a motel. Never again.

The room was so dirty that we checked out at 11:22 PM, barely half an hour after returning. There was grime in the shower, hair all over the beds, streaks on the pillows, and one pillow was yellow. It was disturbing and completely unacceptable, and there was no way we were going to sleep there. We’d arrived around 6:20 PM for our Valentine’s Day booking, even though check-in was at 4, and were told the room still needed cleaning. We got in around 6:31, changed quickly, then left at 7:15 for our 7:30 dinner reservation. I’m still waiting to hear about a refund since we didn’t stay the night. What was meant to be a special Valentine’s stay became a horrible experience and a waste of money. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone. This was the Holiday Inn Express Crestwood on 133rd and Cicero.

Breakfast saved the first stay, but on my second visit most of the food options were gone and they ran out of coffee. That second time, the heat stopped working and there weren’t any towels in the room. On my first stay, there was no hot water. I wouldn’t recommend it.

I was pretty stressed because my trip came up unexpectedly for a family emergency, but the front desk attendant was so friendly and kind when I arrived. I can’t remember her name. The free breakfast came in handy, and I appreciated seeing follow-up responses to the negative reviews. Service jobs are hard, and I commend the people who do them. The rooms were clean, the location was great, and the food was tasty. I meant to write this sooner, since I don’t usually leave reviews.