Holiday Inn Grand Rapids - South by IHG

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.

Family’s “last fling” goes horribly wrong I’m normally not one to complain about situations that are out of the hotel’s control. I am 40 years old, and 38 weeks, 3 days pregnant with our last child. This was supposed to be our family’s “last fling” before the baby is born. I heard about this hotel just outside of Grand Rapids, with the cute little splash pad and pool area on one of the Mom to Mom Facebook pages. I didn’t want to travel too far from home, so the location seemed perfect. I did read a few mixed reviews online, so I was a bit skeptical. A friend from work confirmed that it was a cute, nice little place, and that her kids loved it when they went. Check-in was a breeze, and the girl working the front desk was very kind and helpful. Our room was very impressive (master suite, separate sitting area, TWO bathrooms, small kitchenette area, etc.) very clean, and comfortable. The pool and splash pad area was at limited capacity due to Covid-19. At one point during the day, we actually had the entire place to ourselves! Although the water temperature was a bit chilly (which was something we did read in the previous reviews) our three year old didn’t seem to mind at all. We took a break to head back to our room to figure something out for dinner. As soon as the elevator opened up on the third floor (which we were staying on) it was like being backstage at a Snoop concert. It absolutely wreaked of marijuana. I stayed in the room with our daughter while my husband went to go pick up dinner, and when he came back, he said there was a group of people lingering in the lobby just staring at the fish tanks, clearly had probably been on the third floor and were definitely under the influence. After dinner, we went back down to the pool for a bit. Around 10pm, back in our room for the night, it sounded like Riverdance was practicing in the room directly above us. We shrugged it off at first thinking maybe they had kids like we do, and the kids were just running around. Three hours later, after attempting to call the room upstairs ourselves several times instead of passing the buck to the front desk, (no luck) and then after a call to the gentleman at the front desk, the noise didn’t stop. I’m fact, it got worse. Louder screaming, louder music, and seemed like the stomping and thumping just got worse. (Guess they were trying to prove a point.) Mind you, this was a Sunday night! I called the front desk again, and apologized for being a pest, but I did ask if WE needed to call the police ourselves to get a handle on whatever the Hell was going on upstairs. He assured us that he was, “going upstairs to throw them out.” It’s now 2am, and all appears to be quiet. So, we do appreciate the help from the guy at the front desk trying to make things right. However, it just kind of ruined the whole experience for us. Again, the hotel has no control over who books a room. But this was by far one of the worst nights in a hotel we’ve ever had.

Freezing pool area and inattentive front desk We live 15 mins from this hotel and stayed so our 3 year old boys could enjoy two days in the pool over the holiday weekend. The area the pool was in was 67 degrees both days although multiple attempts by “maintenance” to fix it. I was in a hoody the second day and still cold. The water was freezing in the pool and splash pad area and only moderately warm in the slide area. Our kids who love water were done after 30 minutes because it was so cold. The second day we had to tell front desk staff twice to turn on the water. They barely acknowledged anyone in the lobby. The rooms were meh at best. Definitely grimy in areas and the elevator and halls smelled like weed. Unless they fix the heat issue in the pool area and front desk staff, I wouldn’t recommend staying.