Holiday Inn Omaha Downtown - Waterpark by IHG

Reviews

• AM

  Ashley M

  5 days ago
  1.0
  The pictures are not up to date. The pool and splash area were too cold for our toddler and almost too cold for us adults. The hot tub too hot and the bubbler didn’t work. The second day the water area didn’t work, front desk was aware. The bathroom had no trash cans in a pool area which is weird since hygiene products should be used for swimming. Everything’s cashless but the arcade only takes cash and the change machine can’t break 20s. “Breakfast” was 14.99 and your only drink options were water, coffee and OJ and when asked for something else couldn’t provide it. The water fountain had a red light for the filter needing changed and water bottles were $4 a piece in the purchase area. Our first day after check in our tv had no audio and said they’d call someone but probably be at least an hour. They did get it fixed thankfully. Now the absolute worst our second night the people above us were so loud. Quiet hours are 9-9 which is great. We have 2 small kids so I let the noise above us go until about 1030 pm. Then I called the front desk. They said they’d handle it. I let it go until about 1115 and then my spouse went to the front. No one was there. After waiting he addressed it and she said they’d take care of it and if not we could move rooms. At this point it’s almost midnight and our 1 year old and 3 year old are now wide awake. We debated just driving 3.5 hours home vs staying. I used to manage a hotel I know things happen but this was absolutely the worst stay I have ever had. The only pros was the room was clean and location was convenient. Was not worth the money or the awful sleep. There was also a big chunk of the metal frame hanging out at the bottom of the bed and we didn’t want the 1 year old to get cut so we tried to get it back in place eventually just removed it and put it in the closet to prevent injury. The reason this is 1 star is we did try to address with the front desk multiple times for different things and had I been the one working I’d have offered a refund. We ended up getting about 3 hours of broken sleep before having to leave.
• LH

  Lauren Hynek

  Aug 10, 2026
  1.0
  Ew. Would not stay here again or recommend staying here. The first sign it would be a downhill experience- a homeless man digging in their trash while staff let it happen. The first room we were assigned had a visibly broken AC unit (front panel removed and laying on the ground) along with leaking rivers of water coming from it with a wet towel laying in the middle of the room. The second room we arrived to had not been swept well at all, had black hairs on the towels, and smelled of smoke. After being in the room for 45 minutes, I got a notification of an attempted break in to our car (parked in the additional cost parking lot directly out back of the hotel.) While we were sleeping, staff tried entering our room and then claimed “they didn’t know anyone was in the room.” Luckily it was dead bolted. ALARMING!!!! The “waterpark” was very lack luster and busy. The second night we were there, an abundance of families were leaving the water park immediately due to chlorine levels so high it was causing them to cough.
• SE

  Syerra Emperley

  Aug 9, 2026
  1.0
  We just came home from our stay at this hotel. Our family of 6 booked two adjoining rooms for our stay so we could be together when we were at the hotel. I had booked these months ago with a customer service representative. Upon arrival to the hotel they had informed me that we did not have adjoining rooms and there was no way to switch rooms due to being fully booked.. just a simple “I’m sorry.” As the night went on, we checked in got our luggage upstairs and situated, we come down to a ticket on our car for not paying for our parking yet. We hadn’t even been there for 45 minutes.. I had asked the front desk about the ticket and they emailed other staff for me. During the conversation with the other staff they pretty much told me I was SOL for not paying for parking right when we entered the parking lot, which now means I have paid double for parking.. going on further to that night, one of our rooms AC went out in the middle of the night. When going down to the front desk for it to be fixed, they could not get it fixed and wanted to try and move rooms. My husband knowing I was already upset due to us not getting the adjoining rooms we had booked, wound up fixing the AC unit so they wouldn’t have to more floors.. Onto the next day, we had gotten the shuttle to take us back and fourth to the Zoo so we wouldn’t have to mess with the parking. The shuttle was suppose to pick us up at 9:30am, when getting down to the lobby we were told the shuttle was not going to be there until 10am. Fine, we went and played some of the arcade games, which was also a disaster because half the machines did not work and there were no signs saying so.. the shuttle then was not only late, but double late and didn’t show up until 10:20am. We had talked to the manager at the front desk before we left to see what we needed to do in order to be picked up at the right time. She said to call a little bit before we were ready to go to give them time to get there (our hotel was 10 minutes away). When we called them at 2pm to be picked up (we were splitting the zoo into two days) they informed us that they could not come get us until around 4:30pm.. so the next day we drove ourselves. When addressing all concerns and complaints with the Manager and staff all they said was “I’m sorry”. It’s very unfortunate that this happened and it was one thing after another. The frozen yogurt machines went down and quit working. The restaurant service was terrible, we had to find someone to ask for refills on our drinks. When you go to a hotel for a vacation, not everything is going to go your way, but it should not have been this bad. Also while I am on this rant and complaining, the pool area is WAY over chlorinated. I understand it’s a very busy place and they want to keep the water as clean as they can, but when it burns your eyes to walk in there it’s no good. My family will definitely NOT be going back.
• DT

  Dominique Taylor

  Aug 9, 2026
  1.0
  While I always choose to stay at a holiday inn express, this particular hotel left me very disappointed. I want to make myself clear it was not because of the staff but because how this particular IHG hotel does business. I was not aware of any parking fee that’s required before getting there. One should not have to pay for parking when 1. They are already paying to sleep here and 2. Parking spots are very limited and very small. Another thing that irked me was not having a complimentary breakfast. The breakfast offered at 14.99 is the same breakfast items at any other holiday inn express. Kids can eat free with a voucher that you have to get at the front desk each time. The breakfast experience having to pay was less than mediocre. This hotel price gouges their guests. My bill for a 2 night stay was $404 and nothing complimentary was included in this price. Yes it comes with a water park but the ventilation is terrible leaving not only my family with burning eyes but everyone in the water park was coughing. I will never recommend this particular IHG holiday inn express to anyone. The only good thing about this hotel was the staff and walking distance to amazing restaurants downtown.
• JW

  Jolee Williams

  Jul 31, 2026
  3.0
  Came for an overnight with kids in July. Overall it's just okay. Waterpark was warm and clean. Numerous chairs needing repairs at the water park. Something a basic handy man could fix. Jets didn't work in hot tub. Room was two king beds which was really nice! The room itself was clean with a few areas that need repairs like the window blinds with stains and rip. The workout equipment didn't work. Of the two treadmills, stair stepper, and workout machines only about 25% were in working condition. I get the vibe it's been like this for awhile and no one's working on getting them repaired. No help with the arcade. Took the kids money and they couldn't play. Front desk when approached about it said she'd talk to her manager and call out room. No follow up thoguh. Parking is not free which wasn't clear when I booked the hotel. Also the only place to get your code to pay for parking is in the parking lot or front desk. Seems like an easy thing to have printed and posted in the rooms. Or at minimum front desk bc able to text link (I tried and they said they couldn't). For no more than we spent for the night we will be likely to return in the future but may consider other hotel with continental breakfasts.

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