Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites San Antonio by IHG

The one good part was the front desk woman, who was helpful and moved us when we needed it. My first room had a smoke detector chirping loudly, which felt unsafe as well as annoying. They switched our room, and at first everything seemed fine, but then a flying cockroach showed up. After I told the front desk, she kindly moved us again. I hoped the third room would be clear, but when I came back from the shower, there was another big cockroach on a pillow. I was disgusted. After a long day of travel, I’d expected a peaceful rest, and this was nowhere near that. If you can avoid this hotel, do it.

We stayed one night with our 5lb dog, and the hotel knew we had him. The listing clearly says pets are welcome, so they need to change that. Weeks later they charged us $250 for a “pet” fee, claiming our dog barked at staff. Nobody told us about any problem while we were there. If they had, we would simply have left. Instead, we were hit with the charge afterward. Don’t stay here if you have a fur baby and don’t want to pay $250. They won’t tell you pets aren’t allowed when you arrive, then accuse your dog of barking so they can get the extra money.

The room wasn’t cleaned properly. There was still trash in the bins, hair and an unknown substance on the bathroom floor, and personal belongings left behind. The bed was made, but my 7 year old could have done a better job, and the towels were worn out. There was also a strong smell at the pool, maybe a gas or propane leak. Then, about 30 minutes after we turned off the lights to sleep, a bug crawled onto me. That was the last straw. It was a disturbing stay.

The only thing I liked was the bacon at breakfast. The rooms were really dated for what they charge, the bathroom tiles were torn up, and there wasn’t even a floor towel. The elevators didn’t work. Housekeeping came into my room and left the door open behind them, and luckily I had nothing in there. I also waited 30 minutes at the front desk for my keys, while the guy didn’t even acknowledge the wait. Worst Holiday Inn I’ve stayed at.