Holiday Inn Express & Suites Phoenix East - Gilbert by IHG

The price was great, check-in was easy, and the staff were very friendly. The pool was great, and Mesa Airport was a good distance away. We only planned to stay once during our time in AZ, but ended up coming back. The first room was very clean; the second was clean too, though its walls were dirty.

After a 6 hour drive, I was staying overnight before an important appointment early the next morning. At 2am I woke up and realized I'd been bitten a few times. There were 4-5 bed bugs on my bedding and pillows, and I couldn't get back to sleep. The hotel was fully booked, so I couldn't move to another room. It was an unpleasant stay, and uncomfortable and unprofessional to have this happen. Check reviews and be careful where you sleep while traveling. I packed up and checked out, and received a full refund. FYI, three reviews down, someone else also mentioned dry blood on the bedding.

We'd booked a few nights here after our Airbnb fell through, then the next morning found bed bugs crawling all over my children in their bed. Check your linens before staying in this filth. We contacted the front desk and even showed them a bug we'd put in a cup, but they just stared at us. No apology, no compensation offered, nothing. We handed in our key and left. They said a manager would contact us later to discuss it, but that never happened. Be warned.

The shared areas were filthy, with barefoot kids running around, and carts left blocking the hallways while staff looked at their phones. The lot was barricaded so the front desk staff could smoke outside, leaving the desk unattended. In our room, the smell was like HOT garbage, and both microwaves were broken. Housekeeping never came for three of our four nights. Avoid at all costs.