Holiday Inn Columbia - Downtown by IHG

Reviews

• SB

  Shemekia Brown

  3 days ago
  4.0
  Customer service is great. You have to pay 19 a day for parking. The shower water could be hotter but it is clean.
• AC

  Alison Clemency

  4 days ago
  4.0
  This hotel is like any holiday inn except the breakfast. The rooms were clean, functional and comfortable. The location was within walking distance to tons of entertainment and dining options. For me breakfast is a big part. Here, you need to pay an additional 20 dollars for a breakfast voucher. But you only get to spend 15 and the options are extremely limited. So do yourself a favor and skip the breakfast or splurge and spend way more on very minimal.
• TJ

  Tim Jordan

  Aug 11, 2026
  1.0
  Here’s the Google review I’d leave. It hits the communication failure and the package issue hard while staying factual and defensible: ⭐ 1/5 — Extremely Poor Communication and Accountability Unfortunately, my experience with the Holiday Inn Columbia Downtown did not end when I checked out. During my three-night stay in June, I had a FedEx package that was delayed and would not arrive until after checkout. On June 4, 2026, I personally went to the front desk and instructed them to refuse the package or return it to sender. I then followed up by text at 2:16 PM on June 4 with the tracking number and also sent an email with the same instructions. Nobody responded to the text. Nobody responded to the email. The front desk never told me there would be any problem following my instructions. Despite all of this, the hotel accepted the package at 1:01 PM on June 5, 2026, after I had already checked out. FedEx confirmed delivery. When I contacted the hotel about the package, they couldn’t locate it. This became a pattern: management emails went unanswered, the hotel’s own text-messaging system went unanswered, and I ultimately had to escalate the matter to IHG by telephone. More than two months later, on August 10, 2026, I finally received a notification—not directly from hotel management, but from a third-party Lost & Found service—saying my Walmart package had been “found.” Had the hotel located it promptly, I could have simply provided a Walmart return label and received my refund. That opportunity was lost because of how long the package remained unaccounted for. Now, after all of this, the hotel wants me to use its third-party service to get my package back. The cheapest option is $51.33 for UPS Ground, with expedited options of $118.62 and $128.45. I asked management to simply ship it to me at their expense using ordinary ground shipping. They refused. Management now says the carrier wouldn’t allow them to refuse the original delivery. If that was the case, why didn’t anyone tell me that when I spoke to the front desk, or respond to my text or email before the package arrived? I could potentially have made other arrangements. Mistakes happen. What earns the one-star review is the lack of communication and accountability afterward. I gave the hotel advance notice through multiple channels, received no response, the package was accepted anyway, it remained unaccounted for for more than two months, and now I’m being asked to pay over $50 to recover it. For a major hotel brand, and particularly for an IHG Diamond Elite member, I expected substantially better communication and customer service.
• CB

  Carter’s Book

  Jul 25, 2026
  1.0
  This was, without a doubt, the WORST birthday trip I’ve ever taken. We drove over 4 hours to celebrate my spouse’s birthday, prepaid nearly $400 for a premium king room 18 hours in advance, and still couldn’t check into the room we had already paid for. The front desk clerk was incredibly rude, dismissive, and completely unwilling to help us find any solution. To make matters worse, when my booking agent contacted the hotel to request a refund since we were denied our room, the clerk simply said “No.” We were left stranded after spending hundreds of dollars, wasting an entire day of travel, and having our birthday celebration completely ruined. I can’t say for certain why we were treated the way we were, but as an LGBT couple, the interaction left us feeling unwelcome and deeply uncomfortable. Whether that played a role or not, the lack of professionalism, empathy, and basic customer service was shocking. I will never stay at another Holiday Inn again, and I will be warning everyone I know to avoid this location. This experience was beyond disappointing—it was infuriating. 0/10.
• NU

  Nomad USA

  Jul 10, 2026
  1.0
  Coming off a week touring around on my motorcycle I decided to stay in Downtown Columbia rather than an IHG hotel off the highway. While convenient, it was not ideal. Checking in was cold and indifferent. Not welcoming. I felt the opposite of welcomed. I saw there was available parking when I selected the hotel, like most Holiday Inns. However this one wanted 19 dollars per night. I had a car and motorcycle. So 38 dollars for parking, when most Holiday Inns are free. The parking was in a construction zone. Unmonitored and kind of sketchy, down a dark alley. There was a sign for valet parking but no valet parking. No free breakfast or cookies upon arrival. The room was the tiniest corner room. I felt like I was in Europe. I asked for the city view upgrade. What I got was a view of a garbage dumpster. And it was super loud with construction banging all day. I checked my decibel meter on my phone, it was 88 at times. The room itself was badly planned. I could hear the ice machine drop ice, people talking in halls. It was a King room and only one night table. No table. Little storage. Barely room to manage or put the suitcases. Not many plugs. Non working USB. TV, could not make sense of it or the channels. It was badly programmed. No channel guide card. Rooms had little lighting. The room had a funky odor, like old smoke. Also, literally nothing to around this hotel. Museum closed, park closed. Most restaurants were closed. Staff were barely friendly. Mostly staring down at their computer screens. Hightailed it out early the next morning.

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