Holiday Inn Gainesville-University Ctr by IHG

Reviews

• BH

  Barclay Hirth

  2 days ago
  2.0
  My family and I enjoyed our short stay in Gainesville, but I would not stay at this facility a second time. Our room and beds were comfortable. The climate control and bathroom facilities worked like they should. We were provided all the items that you should be able to expect from this type of establishment. Breakfast on the first morning of our stay hit the spot. I don’t have a specific compliment, or complaint about the staff. A sour odor throughout the building was the only indicator our stay might be sub-par. I didn’t pay that much attention at first since this is an older building and the humidity was thick enough to cut with a knife. It was our experiences on the second day of our stay that have influenced this review. After exploring the city, attempting to find all the Tom Petty murals, we hoped to relax and cool off at the rooftop pool. That didn’t last long. After getting in we noticed the water was loaded with debris. Something that could have been excrement, could have been a thick piece of a stick, was at the bottom of the deep end - we did not attempt to make a conclusion. We got out of the pool, showered off, and got dinner instead. Dinner at the restaurant attached to hotel was great, but I was not able to enjoy my leftovers later that evening. The pizza box would not fit the mini fridge so I left it out figuring it would be fine that way for a few hours. When I opened the box to finish off my pizza there were roaches inside. This led to the discovery of a trail of roaches beneath the cabinet and mini fridge. I pitched my leftovers and the rest of the other food we had brought into the room that did not make it into the fridge. I shrugged it off, blaming ourselves for leaving food out, and hoped that would be the last we saw of the roaches. When I got up that night to use the bathroom and turned a light on it was like a scene from the movie Joe’s Apartment. There were roaches of all sizes scurrying about the floor. When I made it to the bathroom, the same thing, plus there were roaches crawling all over the sink where our toothbrushes and toiletries were laid out. I put away the items I was comfortable with keeping, pitched the rest, mashed as many roaches as I could, then struggled to fall back asleep. The next day, while picking up in preparation to leave, we found evidence of sub-standard house keeping. On the floor, past the bed on the far-side of the room, were bits of food and even a prescription pill someone had lost. At that point I realized we were not to blame for the roach raid. After thinking about the fact that the roaches passed through the second floor, where the cafe was located, to make it to our room on the fifth floor, we decided against having breakfast at the hotel a second time. We checked out, ate at Chick-fil-A across the street, and took off down 441 towards Orlando. Our basic wants and needs were met. No one treated us poorly. There were lots of things to see and do, plus easy access to pretty much anything you could want, nearby. But, it was not the type of overall experience you hope for at a hotel.
• BW

  B W

  3 days ago
  1.0
  Accidentally booked this room. Was trying to book the I-75 location. Lobby had a foul smell. Parking wasn’t great. They wanted me to pay $40 for a visitor parking pass. The morning after we arrived, I went to the car to get some belongings and was greeted by homeless people outside. The absolute worst part was that the housekeeper stole my money when she realized no one was in the room!!!! I asked for a late check out which no one documented, So at the normal checkout time I wasn’t in my room and the housekeeper went in and stole from us. I still can’t believe this. Pool was small and ugly. No free breakfast like the other location… I’ll never come back to Gainesville alone because of my horrible experience at this hotel.
• AH

  Alicia Hill

  Jul 6, 2026
  5.0
  Great hotel, very pleasant employees. Clean facility (((((WARNING: Don't pay for the breakfast, it is not good,seriously the eggs tasted like saltwater and burnt egg! You also only get the breakfast for 2 adults..the kid meal is for another stay..we were not informed if this.))))) All else about the place is very nice. Great location.
• WR

  William Ritchey

  Jun 8, 2026
  5.0
  In a very nice location and staff has been helpful and I got an extra blanket really quick. Yeah its the small things...lol.
• SK

  Salman Khan

  Jun 7, 2026
  5.0
  Great hotel .didn't check out yet .having amazing time.great rooms very helpful staff.and they also coming bring you 2 bottles of waters .I highly recommend this hotel . beautiful clean environmental hotel.rop top pool . totally amazing 😍😍

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