Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Pell City by IHG

The rooms were okay, but the TV was frustrating after a 14-hour workday. The DirecTV service was as bad as the staff. The bigger issue was being told to move our trucks. There were no parking signs we could see, the lot was mostly empty, and our trucks had been there about two hours before the front desk called and threatened a tow. I saw no reason to park at Cracker Barrel or Walmart with plenty of open spaces. The next morning nobody had taken the spot I was in, while a truck with a trailer was using more spaces than mine. The policy wasn't posted or enforced equally, and there was no need to bother me on my time off. The hotel response was BS. On the way out I finally saw a sign on a pole, but it couldn't be seen after dark and didn't state a policy. There was also a truck parked beside it. The lot wasn't full, and staff were disrespectful when they demanded we move. My coworker was treated the same way. We've stayed at hundreds of IHG properties where parking really was an issue. If the hotel had been full, we would have asked where to park. Even if there were a problem, it shouldn't have taken two hours to threaten a tow. Good luck towing this truck. If I'd wanted to be unprofessional, I could have dropped the outriggers and lifted it off the ground. A professional response would consider improving the signs instead of blaming customers for staff not paying attention and waiting two hours to make a threat. The management reviews seem accurate. One star at best.

The Holiday Inn Express in Pell City, Alabama, was clean, fresh, and exceptional, and it cost less than the other hotels. We've paid a few dollars more at other places and found them lacking in a lot of ways. I'll stay here again when I'm traveling through Alabama.

The floor was so dirty that after wiping my feet, the wipe came away black. I kept socks or flip flops on after that. The carpet and tile felt sticky, and ants kept trickling in from the hallway into the tile by the front door. I wonder if whatever was on the floor attracted them. The shower left a film on my skin and hair that I couldn't get rid of until I got home and showered. I felt grimy and unclean, and didn't sleep well. There were safety and noise problems too. The smoke detector was hanging open without a battery, so I had to call downstairs to get one put in. The air conditioner was incredibly loud, even though this was supposed to be a newly renovated room. At check-in, the front desk took over 20 minutes to acknowledge me because two staff were gossiping in a back room behind the counter. Another employee eventually noticed me waiting and went to get them. The attendant didn't apologize for the delay. This was my first stay and it'll be my last.

Rita was very helpful at the front desk, and it's a very nice hotel. Manager Mia Embry takes great care of both guests and staff. Tara was wonderful too. I needed a nail file, and she pulled one from her purse and gave it to me. That was above and beyond. Thank you, Mia.