Holiday Inn Gainesville - University Center by IHG

Great front desk management We all know what a Holiday Inn is and expectations are pretty dialled in. This one suprised us for 4 reasons: 1) Rooms were just finalizing renovations and because of some inconveniences management volunteered to comp us a night—management truly cares about happy guests; 2) The pizza restaurant (with a great bar) attached to the hotel has really solid food & service; 3) There is a Starbucks, good Thai restaurant and a great supermarket all right next door; and 4) The location is really walkable for the key areas of the town. Again, great front desk management is always appreciated:)

don't stay there! I booked 2 rooms more than 3 months in advance for a conference for Oct 5-9. I got a new business credit card number in the meantime. I called last week to confirm there will be rooms, and they are renovating. I asked to make sure they had the correct credit card. I was told I wouldn't need it until check in. On Monday, 4 days before checkin time, I received an email stating they ran the old card, and because it would not go through, they cancelled both rooms. I called and got a "too bad, so sad, we're all sold out" in the 20 minutes since they canceled. They offered to put me up in a hotel miles away. I will never recommend this hotel to anyone, and I advise you not to go. I was willing to stay despite the bad reviews, but because of this, I will never stay there now. I have to give 1 star. TA will not allow 0 stars.

Excellent hotel for going to Shands or the universty No complaints. Staff are very good and courteous. Housekeeping staff are very friendly and nice. Check in staff also helpful and friendly and professional. Breakfast is delicious. Staff great and cook does a terrific meal. Even maintenance personnel are quick to respond and friendly.

Terrible and Nonexistent Front Desk Service This property has nonexistent service. I sent a very important FedEx to a guest who stayed there for two weeks. It was delivered timely, as expected, and well within the guest's stay. It was never delivered, nor was it ever made known to him that it was at the hotel. The staff also took no action to contact me as the sender despite all the information being available on the FedEx label. I called the hotel to inquire and they looked and found it within a minute. They considered how they could possibly get it back to me, as they would now need to pay for the shipping. I asked who the General Manager is, and was told it is "Aksas." I asked if this was a first or last name. It is a first name and the person did not know his last name. I asked who the assistant general manager is and was told that there no AGM there, just a GM whose name they don't know.

Mildew is main decor. If you like clean rooms with AC, keep looking because this aint it. We chose this hotel based on the higher ratings and Hilton brand. After this visit, I will be canceling my Hilton Honors. We booked this room more than a month ago and prepaid using a 3rd party. When we arrived, the hotel staff couldn't find our reservation because we used a 3rd party. If your staff cannot handle those types of reservations, you shouldn't be offering or advertising with travel sites. Common sense. Second, the A/C was at 78 degrees when we arrived at 5pm. We cranked the air down and left for a few hours. Of course, we left for dinner after finding hair in the corners of the bathroom, including the short curly ones (gross) in the shower, on the floor, and on the walls. The bathroom door had not been wiped down in decades. Then to make this even more fun, I found clipped fingernails on the carpet next to the bed. This room was not adequately cleaned nor vacuumed. One issue would have been okay. But a dirty room with AC that did NOT change in 4 hours, making sleeping very challenging in the room?? I asked the front desk about these issues and they KNEW the AC was problematic and offered a new room. But, of course, no other rooms were available. Lack of appropriate ventilation had the room smelling like mildew was coated under the wallpaper and carpet. I have asthma. This is UNACCEPTABLE for a Hilton, even in Florida. But wait, there's more. The unsanitary conditions of this room coupled with AC issues and the BEST they could do was offer a free breakfast. Our schedules already included a breakfast for our event and we had to report at 730am, making breakfast at the hotel not reasonable. They refused to transfer that credit to dinner and only offered Hilton points. After this trip, I am canceling Hilton Honors, so that credit does no good. I understand life happens. Your front desk staff was super sweet. However, no one would budge to help with this issue! At least a discount..something? I paid more than $300 for a clean room and instead got the equivalent of a Red Roof Inn after a hurricane. I was told because I booked through 3rd party there was nothing they could do, which is NOT accurate. I don't think asking for a refund due to the filth and lack of ventilation was out of the question! Do NOT STAY HERE! I