Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kendall by IHG

Two of our three nights went by without room cleaning. The response was that they’d inform the concerned department, nobody was available to clean at night, and they’d compensate us with 500 points. That’s nothing. I wasn’t after points, I wanted service. The keys for both rooms also failed as soon as we arrived and had to be reprogrammed every time we left. Then another guest was assigned our room and opened the door while we were inside. Thankfully we were awake and dressed. That’s upsetting and potentially dangerous, what if someone walked in while you were asleep or naked? Only one of the two elevators was working. It was super slow, and maintenance staff used it at the same time as guests. It made strange sounds as it approached the fifth floor, like something was about to break. A very bad stay at this hotel. It doesn’t deserve a good rating, that’s the truth.

Roaches were crawling all over me while I slept, and both my wife and I woke with itchy skin. The beds sag in the middle, and the AC smells mildewy. Staff offered neither compensation nor even an apology. My flight was canceled and there was no other availability nearby, so unfortunately I had to book another room. Literally a roach motel. Don’t stay here.

The first night was a nightmare. Guests partied loudly past 3:30 AM, and since the room phone was dead, I had to look up the hotel number and call the front desk from my cell. The noise went on for hours. We asked to move rooms and were refused because the hotel was “booked to capacity.” On Saturday we tried to leave at 6:00 AM, only to find the elevator completely broken. The front desk attendant basically said “Too bad,” and told us to carry all our luggage down five flights of stairs. He also wrongly said I didn’t need a key to get back into the exterior stairwell. I did. When I asked him to unlock it so I could help my husband, he moved as slowly and indifferently as possible. No apology, offer to help, or acknowledgment of the inconvenience. The room had a barely working first-generation microwave, faulty power outlets, no hot water at the bathroom sink, and a sink and tub that drained badly, with the tub fully backing up. The phone didn’t work at all. We reported every problem to the front desk and maintenance, but nothing was fixed and nobody followed up. When we ran out of toilet paper, housekeeping gave us a box of Kleenex instead. We were told the pool was heated, but it wasn’t even close. The only elevator that worked when we arrived was terrifying, making loud grinding noises that got worse the longer it ran. We were on the fifth floor, and you could hear it from five rooms away. We’d asked for a luggage cart because there were none in the lobby. The agent said they “only have two” and guests probably left them in the hallways, but made no effort to find one or help us. This Holiday Inn Express on 131st Ave was hands-down one of my worst hotel stays. I know they’re renovating, and we tried to give them grace, but renovation doesn’t excuse broken essentials, incompetence, or staff apathy. It felt unsafe and badly maintained, with staff who clearly don’t care. It shouldn’t be operating under the Holiday Inn Express name. If I could give negative stars, it’d be a solid -5. Avoid it at all costs.

I stayed three nights at the holiday inn express & suites Miami- Kendall, 13475 SW 131 st St. My daughter booked it for me based on the reviews, but the stay was terrible. Bugs bit my legs, roaches were on the furniture, and there were other bugs on the bed and in the bathroom. The toilet wouldn’t flush, and the TV didn’t work. I told the front desk, and they sent someone to repair the toilet, but it wasn’t fixed and kept running all night. I shared photos and videos with the manager Monday morning. He apologized, but refunded only two of the three nights. I’d recently had a shoulder replacement and have other medical issues, which made this especially disappointing. I wouldn’t recommend this location to anyone.