Staybridge Suites Gulf Shores by IHG

The room was nice, but there were splatters on the blackout curtain by the bed and some sauce left on the dresser. The AC sounded like a dump truck and mostly cooled the couch and the entry area. Staff were very friendly. I don’t understand the praise for breakfast: it was ordinary, straight out of a bag, with nothing special about it.

I was already in a knee immobilizer brace after a fall, so being put on the top floor, room 418, despite my permanently set first-floor preference was especially bad. I’d reserved some time earlier. What’s the point of membership if basic preferences can’t be met? The room smelled strongly of mold, and the bedding felt damp. I worried I’d be stuck taking the stairs in a fire. In the bathroom, there was poop and paper in the toilet, and it was clogged when I tried to flush. It clearly hadn’t been cleaned, or someone would have noticed a plumber was needed. They moved me to room 211, which had obviously been smoked in. I gave up and won’t stay at this location again. This kind of shenanigan is why I mostly use Airbnb and bed and breakfasts now. I’d recently decided to book more with IHG again, but it doesn’t seem any better, so I’m thinking it’s time to move on.

My girlfriend and I booked a stay for a concert before reading the awful reviews, so we arrived on edge. It wasn’t as bad as we expected, but it still wasn’t good. Sand was all over the bed, the lobby was unpleasant to look at, and the elevators were disgusting. We worried there might be bugs and brought our own bottle of Raid, though we were safe. We got through the stay, and that’s about it. We’d never book here again, and we hope others don’t make the same mistake we did.

This IHG hotel was a real disappointment, and it didn’t seem to have enough staff. The front desk was often unattended. They promise light housekeeping daily, but I got it only once, after asking firmly. At first I was told it wasn’t possible, and I eventually stopped asking. The other two rooms we rented never got housekeeping at all. There were never towels at the pool; when I asked, I was told they were in the laundry.