AJ
Anthony Douglas, Jr.
Feb 1, 2026
I stayed at this property from January 16 through January 18 in connection with a stay to play youth hockey tournament, expecting a routine and secure experience in what is widely promoted as a premier area outside of Charlotte. What occurred instead was one of the most troubling hotel experiences I have had in years, particularly for a brand with which I have long held loyalty.
I am only now learning, as I write this review, that this stay was not applied to my IHG account and that I did not receive points for it, despite being a member and booking a qualifying stay. This discovery further underscores the lack of care and attention surrounding the handling of my reservation at the front desk.
During my stay, my vehicle was broken into in the hotel’s parking lot. The window was shattered, personal property was stolen, and damage was sustained to internal vehicle components. I was not an isolated case. Approximately fifteen other guests experienced similar break ins, making it abundantly clear that this was not an unfortunate anomaly but a systemic security failure. This was later confirmed by the local police department.
As a direct result, I am now facing in excess of $2500 in repair costs, an expense that should never have been within the realm of possibility during a short stay at a reputable hotel in a supposedly safe and well maintained area. This incident transformed what should have been a family focused weekend into a financially and emotionally distressing ordeal.
More concerning than the crime itself was the hotel’s handling of the aftermath. There was no visible sense of urgency, no clear communication strategy, and no meaningful reassurance provided to affected guests. Many of the steps that were ultimately taken occurred only after persistent advocacy by myself and other guests, rather than as the result of proactive leadership or established incident response protocols.
In the immediate aftermath, parents requested access to a conference room that we were told was reserved for meetings, not for the tournament, for a modest and reasonable purpose. The children needed a place to eat dinner together, and the parents needed a shared space to watch the NFL playoffs and decompress following the realization that our vehicles had been vandalized. This request was met with resistance rather than accommodation, despite the extraordinary circumstances and the fact that the space was not actively in use at the time.
At no point were we offered clear assurances regarding enhanced security measures, nor were we provided guidance on how guest safety would be addressed moving forward.
Ultimately, I personally paid out of pocket, in cash, to secure an additional room solely to provide parents with a private space to regroup and decompress after the break ins. Even more troubling, that cash payment later appeared as a charge on my room upon checkout, raising serious concerns about billing practices, transparency, and internal controls.
While our team was fortunate enough to succeed in the tournament, the overall experience at this property overshadowed that success. Although we won that weekend, what this hotel lost was my trust and my future business. I will not return to this location, and this incident has caused me to seriously reconsider my continued patronage of IHG affiliated properties more broadly.
Guest safety is not an amenity. It is a foundational obligation. In this instance, that obligation was not met before, during, or after a significant criminal event.
This experience reflects a failure not only of security, but of leadership, preparedness, and accountability.