Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston SW - Rosenberg by IHG

After paying $174, I was woken rudely and then had to deal with the housekeeper twice more. I got the room around 12am the day before. Check-in is listed as 3pm and checkout as 12pm the next day. At about 9:50 in the morning, the room service lady knocked frantically and asked when I was leaving. I said 12, the checkout time, and shut the door. I’d been there because something was going on at home and I couldn’t sleep, so I was really disrupted. I tried going back to sleep, then at 11:52 she knocked again. I was already grabbing my bag. I opened the door and said, “What?” She stuttered, and I told her it wasn’t 12 yet and I was leaving in a second. I went back in for my pillow and headed out. When I opened the door again, that housekeeper and three others were standing there talking about me. I walked out and said, “Looks it’s checkout time now.” At reception, the woman was confused about why they’d done that. I confirmed that I’d left before checkout, and she said yes. I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels, but this was wild.

The room was clean, the location worked perfectly for us, the parking lot felt safe, and breakfast was complimentary. But the service was disappointing, especially after I’d read reviews praising the customer care. The lot was nearly empty, so the hotel seemed far from sold out, yet no one answered the phone all day when I tried to confirm amenity details. As DIAMOND ELITE members, we expected that to be recognized at check-in. We’d requested the top floor and a room away from the ice machine at the end of the hall when we booked online, then called well before arriving to follow up. We got neither. There were only two regular coffee pods in the room, and one was defective, spraying grounds everywhere. We asked the front desk for more and were handed decaf, even though we’d said we didn’t want it. The man said he had no pods but would look and hold some for us at the desk. That never happened. Would I stay again? Meh....

The bed was comfortable and the room had a nice layout, but there were enough cleanliness and maintenance problems to bring my stay to a 3 out of 5. An old French fry on the floor made me wonder how thoroughly the room had been cleaned. When I tried to lower the blinds against the sun, the large 6-foot metal frame unexpectedly fell off and hit the floor. The bathroom drain also wasn’t working right. During my morning shower, I stood in about six inches of dirty water, and only afterward did I get the tub to drain. The room has potential, but it needs better upkeep.

After a long drive down from SATX, we were given room 407, and I was shocked to find it was already occupied. Thankfully the gentleman inside was kind and dressed. We went back to the desk and waited 40 minutes before getting a disgusting room. The shower floor was so dirty we put a towel down, and the photos don’t show how bad it was. I’d called before we left to confirm the 4th floor room I’d requested when booking, only to be told they had no more rooms except suites. We agreed to pay extra. The next day, we were moved again. The new room looked clean when we entered, but the sheets were stained when we pulled them back. Luckily, I travel with sheets, and we slept on those. As an IHG member, this was the worst experience. No manager ever called us. Simone, the new employee, apologized profusely, but she’d only been on the job 2 days and could only offer points. Really? Never again. Do better.