Hotel Stay at Holiday Inn Grand Rapids South by IHG in Grand Rapids, MI. Comfortable and Affordable Stay in Michigan!

Splash pad is still good but overall the hotel is still a disappointment This is our second stay here and the first time staying during covid. We chose the hotel due to the splash pad. I had hoped that I could rate this hotel a 5 now that renovations are done but sadly I have to do a lesser rating than our previous stay. The splash pad was the same as we remember from 2019 but definitely appeared a little more run down than before and could have used some cleaning and maintenance as the water temperatures were varying and it just appeared to not be as clean as our previous stay. The room which was a king bed non-smoking appeared clean when entering but could have used a deeper clean as we found wrappers in some of the nooks and crannies (on top of the dresser at the very back which is somewhat hidden since it is underneath the tv stand) and the windowsill had little circular pieces of paper all over the window track almost like someone had done a craft. My daughter also found someone's pacifier underneath the room fridge and a few other odds and ends, who knows how long they'd been there. No information was provided about breakfast times or any other information about food when we checked in nor could I find a menu in our room or any paperwork on the hotel for that matter (usually hotels have some sort of guide or paperwork that shares basic details. The next morning when I called all I was told by the front desk is that it was only until 10am and it was restaurant style. Apparently you have to pay now, which is different than when I stayed in the past. When we checked out the front desk staff person wasn't wearing her mask correctly, but since we were leaving I didn't want to say anything. I'm sure my husband will want to stay here again because of the splash pad and he's not as concerned about the details I mentioned here, but I'll definitely be looking to see if any improvements are made in any of the areas I mentioned above by the time we stay next since it does appear that management reads these reviews.

Worst Holiday Inn Experience Ever We had high hopes for our visit - which was to celebrate our sons birthday. The accommodations looked nice online and I was excited for the pool area as it offers some unique features. Check in was fine and the lobby was nice as well as clean. When we got to our room there was a rubber glove over the smoke detector as well as a significant amount of tape all over the walls and a mess in the refrigerator. We reported it and were moved to the room next door. It appeared much cleaner and we felt much better so we unpacked. The rooms are modern and spacious. When we went to the pool there were many areas that need improvement. There were false eyelashes all over one of the windowsills, used bandaids and hair extensions in more than one area of the floor. But the pool itself was clean and the kids had fun. I tried to give the benefit of the doubt to the hotel because the items I saw could have been from that day. When we went to make our sons bed (pull out couch) we found no linens in the closet so my husband went downstairs to get some. When I unfolded the bed I found the missing linens. They were still on the bed from the previous guests and there were stains on them as well as the mattress. Given COVID this was even more concerning to me than it typically would be pre-pandemic. We were offered the option to move to ANOTHER room but our 2 year old was already asleep (it was around 9 pm).... and that was going to be difficult so I remade the bed myself. The next day breakfast was a joke. One man cooked all orders and was well over 25 minutes behind. After waiting about 20 minutes for our meal my husband went to a local drive thru for food. We went back to our room to eat and returned and our meals were STILL not ready - almost 45 minutes after we ordered. When we returned to the pool the same band aids, hair extensions and lashes remained. Super disappointing. The cherry on top of our stay was when we returned to our room - 30 minutes before check out - and began to pack up. My husband and I took turns showering and while we changed housekeeping walked into the room without knocking or announcing. I was NOT dressed and it was extremely embarrassing and unacceptable. When we checked out my husband attempted to talk to the clerk about it but was not asked how our stay was and was treated as though she had better things to do. We left and called corporate who left us on hold for over 20 minutes only to say they could not confirm our experience with the hotel manager (what?!) and there was nothing they could do. Needless to say - we will NEVER stay here again and it definitely ruined our weekend. Not at all what we have come to expect from Holiday Inn’s.

Dirty dysfunctional room, Fun water area Our first floor room was dirty, scattered food crumbs on the floor. Mattress had broken potato chips in it!, and candy wrappers, empty chip bags on floor. Toilet would not flush and heat wasn’t working. Asked for maintenance. Kids had fun in pool area, but it definitely needs a clean, obvious dirt at entry to kids swim area, and mold on the floors. We planned to order dinner at the in-hotel restaurant, but again bummed when we found out they were closed and only offered chicken tenders and pizza rolls for the day. Honestly we would not have stayed night if there wasn’t an ice storm. Heat was up/down all night. We left early, no breakfast included, they want $5 for a breakfast sandwich. Our toilet wouldn’t flush again, so that was a mess... Would not recommend staying here until they clean this place up! Really disappointing since this is one of few hotels in Michigan with water play area.