Holiday Inn Roswell by IHG

The noise from the room above kept us awake from about 5 to 9 a.m. I reported it, then went down at 8 to ask again about the late checkout I’d requested as a member. Rose helped the woman behind me first and was just as dismissive as before. She said she’d call, but the request was denied. I believe it had nothing to do with occupancy or housekeeping, since Booking showed plenty of rooms open on that Sunday. It felt like they wanted to leave early for the Super Bowl. My wife is going through radiation and I’d just had open heart surgery, so the lost sleep hit us hard. The bed was the worst we’ve had at a Holiday Inn, where we usually stay for the comfort. We won’t be back. Check-in had already started badly. I rang the bell for nearly 20 minutes at 7 p.m. while two employees sat at the bar drinking and ignoring me. When I asked where the front desk employee was, they said she was probably in her office hanging out. One of them went behind the desk to get her, and that’s when I realized they worked there. Rose eventually came up with an attitude and no apology for the wait. I’d also asked her about the late checkout note on my reservation, but she never followed up.

The only things we liked were the location and the shower. We booked mainly for the pool and hot tub, and at check-in they assured us both were available. They weren’t. A sign said they’d been under maintenance for so long that the old paper notice had molded over. They’d put up a new plastic sign beside it, but left the moldy one there. After we raised the issue with the front desk person who had told us the pool and hot tub were open, they offered a few candy bars and sodas for our trouble. Really? We felt fat-shamed and won’t return. Breakfast was another disappointment. It only comes with the room if you pay an extra fee when booking, so calling it free is misleading. The hotel itself also feels 50-100 years old. The hallway carpet is lumpy and makes odd noises, our toilet seat was so low our knees were nearly at our throat, and the closet had a strange mirror door made of rigid plastic. There’s no bathroom fan, so it was still humid the next morning. The A/C shook the floor, and the mattress seemed older than my dead grandmother. The amenities list should remove free breakfast, pool, and hot tub.

The hotel itself is clean, but I’ve repeatedly been charged extra by the person at the front desk, usually $50 or $20. During my first stay, they charged me $177 for February 13th and 14th, though I was only around briefly and slept for two hours. I’m staying again today, Friday the 20th. They said the price was $121 because they gave me a resume, but the charge is $146.12. When I showed the manager that what she was telling me wasn’t true, she kicked me out. She’d said the $50 and $20 deposits would be refunded after checkout, but that was a complete lie. Staff are rude and don’t communicate well. I don’t recommend this place and will lower its rating.

At checkout I found an automatic breakfast charge on my room bill, though nobody had told me about it or given me a chance to have breakfast. Check-in felt cold and perfunctory, like I was interrupting the staff’s routine. I watched at least three other people check in at different times, and they seemed to get much the same treatment. It was very disappointing to pay for a meal I didn’t know I was being charged for and never got to enjoy.