Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Dallas South - Desoto by IHG

Update: I'm changing my rating from two stars to one. This is my second week here, and this room is much better; staff have been nice. But at 6:34 a.m. I went down for breakfast thinking it was ready. I got a plate, and the breakfast attendant rudely yelled that I had to wait for the light to come on. How was I supposed to know? There was no sign saying to wait for the light. I sat just five feet away, then the attendant switched it on. I didn't eat and left for work. Such a bad experience. Breakfast is fantastic, but that's about all I can say for the place. Housekeepers keep coming into the room, even with the do not disturb sign on the door. The toilet seat is tiny, about half the size of the toilet rim, and the bathroom fittings are loose. There's a half-inch gap between the tub faucet and the wall where you can see the copper pipe, and the shower curtain fittings are loose on both sides. The shampoo and conditioner holder on the wall is broken, so the bottles won't stay put. Cell service was only one bar or SOS the whole time, though that's not the hotel's fault. Some counter staff are friendly, others seem snappy. I won't be back.

The rooms were beautiful and clean, and our suite was huge. The hallways smelled amazing, breakfast was good, and the staff were warm and welcoming. A very pleasant stay, thanks!

The location was good, with downtown about 15-20 minutes away and gas stations and other things easy to reach. We'd stayed at the La Quinta last year and had a great experience, but it wasn't available for the dates we needed this time. The photos here fooled me. For nearly $900, I was disappointed and disgusted. This hotel badly needs updates, and upper management needs to listen to complaints and take action. I won't stay again. I'll contact management about a refund, and if they refuse, dispute the charge with my bank and contact a health inspector. I strongly suggest staying elsewhere until the problems are fixed. Three of the four front desk staff we met were wonderful and helpful, doing the best they could. Two were women and one was a man. The other, a short-haired woman working later afternoons, had a lot of attitude and always seemed annoyed, like she hated her job. It's a shame the desk staff have to deal with all the complaints when management isn't fixing things. The room didn't seem clean when we arrived. There were water splashes on the bathroom mirror, dust on both desks, and the carpet didn't look vacuumed. Stains were everywhere, including the couch, desk chair, lampshades, and carpet. Mattress toppers had burn marks, and the sheets and blankets had holes. That made me worry about possible bugs or rodents, or whether the bedding had been changed. I felt dirty and uncomfortable all trip, kept looking for bed bugs, cockroaches, or mice, and barely slept. After I reported it, housekeeping changed the bedding and brought towels, but didn't do the full cleaning I'd been promised. The mirror still had water marks, the desks weren't wiped, and the carpet wasn't vacuumed. In the bathroom, one light flickered most of the time, and nothing was done after I told the front desk. Paint had peeled off a wall, and the tub and shower looked like they needed resealing and hadn't been updated since the hotel was built. The water pressure was nearly nonexistent, just little drops, so rinsing off took forever. The outlets at the desk and by the bedside lamps didn't work, and the few that did weren't very good either.

The location was good, but it wasn't worth it. The room smelled horrible, and the floors, walls, sheets, furniture, and bathroom were filthy and stained. The property needs an upgrade. Breakfast was bad too. The juices were very watered down, and guests complained both mornings, but no one seemed to care. We only needed two nights, thank goodness. Don't stay here. Worse, around 1:30-2 a.m. on the first night, a couple tried to enter our room. I was half asleep, so I can't recall the exact time. The front desk employee had assigned them an occupied room. I opened the door and they were standing there apologizing. I went to the desk angry, but the employee, who was on the phone with a coworker about it, didn't apologize or even acknowledge me. Kim was the coworker. There was no manager on duty on the weekend, and I still need to contact them. It felt completely unsafe, especially with children in the room. A few things going differently could have made it a very bad situation. I'll never stay at this chain or this hotel again.