Holiday Inn Express Columbia NE - Fort Jackson by IHG

I paid $600 after staying just one night, and I wouldn't recommend this place. The room was awful, with water damage throughout and stained furniture. I asked manager Phillip about canceling my next four nights because I wanted to stay nearer the military base. He first told me there'd be no cancellation charge, but now says he offered me another room and that the booking wasn't refundable. I was polite about it, and now feel like I'm being called a liar and ripped off. The hotel was disgusting and not worth the cost.

The best part was the staff. Check-in was great, and the desk attendant was cheerful and very polite. The room itself needed work: the floor looked dingy, the bedside counter was loose despite an angled drywall screw repair, and the bed was horribly lumpy with a deep dip on one side. Breakfast wasn't much better, with powdered eggs and a broken pancake machine. Compared with the Holiday INN in Fayetteville NC, this place needs help.

The location worked well, with plenty of shops and restaurants nearby. We found the rooms and beds comfortable, and breakfast was nice, with fresh ground coffee every day. The staff went above and beyond. This hotel was perfect for us.

The room was clean enough when we first came in, though the shower door wouldn't shut properly. We got a gift bag at check-in, which was a nice touch, but the extra $75 fee hadn't been mentioned when we booked. Sleep was another story. The front desk called about an hour after check-in and woke us, then about 15 minutes later the fire alarm rang for 10 minutes. There wasn't an emergency at the desk, and I don't know whether someone pulled it. After that, people yelled and slammed doors in the hall for two hours, then guests shouted in the parking lot. Traffic was loud too, so I had to put on sleep noise. It all went on until 11 PM, with a lot of disrespect for other guests. If you need sleep, this isn't the place.