Holiday Inn Milwaukee Riverfront by IHG

A friendly welcome was one of the few good parts. The person who greeted us gave us an extra breakfast coupon, and the bed was comfortable. The Keurig made decent coffee too. We stayed here a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, so the hotel's neglected, dirty condition this time was a shock. The hot tub looked green and scummy, neither treadmill worked, and the couch and chair in our room were stained. The bed was the only place I felt comfortable sitting. The second-floor ice machine was broken, with a faded repair sign. Someone had smoked pot in the stairwell and left ashes on the floor. Breakfast looked inedible except for a few packaged items. When I asked for another bath towel, they said they didn't have any. At checkout, the elevator was out of order, with a sign directing us to the one at the other end. We were only there briefly, so we didn't raise these issues with management. We won't return, and this experience means I won't trust IHG properties anymore. The hotel's four-star Google rating seems wrong; it should be between one and two.

The staff were super nice, and customer service was good, but after several hit-or-miss visits, this will be my last stay here. We arrived to too few towels. The pullout sofa's fitted sheet had dark hairs on it, though we were given clean sheets after asking. There were no sheets, pillows, or blankets for that bed either, so we had to request them. The room and hotel smelled like marijuana when we came in. The front desk apologized after we told them, but it was uncomfortable for me, my family, and our toddler trying to sleep. The pool was okay but cold, and the hot tub was only warm and looked somewhat dirty, so it wasn't relaxing. Breakfast isn't free anymore, another disappointment. With all these problems, I won't stay again and can't recommend it unless things improve a lot.

The photos look much better than the place in person. We stayed three nights during the president cup volleyball tournament. Service was fine, and the room was okay, but the pool was very cold and not heated. The toilet wouldn't flush because the bowl mechanism was broken, so I fixed it myself. They took a $100 deposit that was supposed to come back, but my Chase account showed two charges. Chase confirmed that, so I called the hotel. They said they'd look into it. After about a week and a half with no result, I called again. Management could see only one charge and said the deposit should be back in my account. Chase still saw two charges and no returned deposit. I filed a claim and now need to contact the hotel again to find out where that $100 went, and might have to call Chase to file another claim. People should watch out.

The location was great, and the bar staff were fantastic. Our room was clean and well stocked, with soft, clean beds and linens. The pool was tiny and basic, and breakfast was messy and not replenished very well. At night the property smelled strongly of marijuana. It didn’t feel worth the price, especially after the manager seemed unwilling to help a very stressed desk employee who had assigned our room to another couple at the same time.