Holiday Inn Express & Suites Columbus by IHG

Reviews

• CC

  cmac619

  4 days ago
  1.0
  **Absolutely Disgusting — Mold, Filth, Safety Issues, and a Refund They Never Issued** I booked the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Columbus, TX through Expedia because it was one of the most expensive hotels in the area, and I assumed I was paying more for a clean, well-maintained, reputable hotel. I could not have been more wrong. The problems were obvious before I even walked through the door. There was significant deferred maintenance around the property, including chopped-up trees and debris piled near the front of the hotel and lobby entrance. Inside was even worse. The hotel smelled awful and appeared extremely unclean and poorly maintained. Scuffed and damaged walls, cheap paper signs taped up throughout the property, and generally filthy, run-down conditions made the entire place feel neglected. I was initially given a room on the first floor. The moment I entered, I was hit with a strong mold/mildew odor. I immediately asked for another room. The second room smelled like mold and mildew as well. Walking through the hotel, each floor seemed to have its own rank odor, mixed with an overwhelming chemical smell that gave the impression something was being used to mask the underlying odors. Even more concerning, exterior side doors did not properly close or secure, creating what I considered a serious safety issue. Given the condition of the surrounding area, unsecured exterior entrances made me extremely uncomfortable staying there. At that point, I told the front desk clerk that the conditions were unacceptable and I could not stay at the hotel. Instead of being apologetic, he argued that I should still be charged because he supposedly wouldn't be able to rent the room—even though the hotel appeared nowhere near full occupancy. After some back-and-forth, he reluctantly agreed to issue a full refund of approximately $160. **He never did.** I waited several days for the refund to appear in my bank account. When it didn't, I called the hotel again and spoke with another employee. She told me she would process the refund right away. **She didn't refund me either.** So, after refusing to stay because two separate rooms smelled of mold/mildew and the property was in appalling condition, I was promised a full refund **twice by two different employees—and neither one actually issued it.** I travel frequently and have stayed in plenty of hotels at different price points. I don't expect luxury from a Holiday Inn Express, but I absolutely expect a room that doesn't smell like mold, a reasonably clean and maintained property, secure exterior doors, and hotel employees to honor a promised refund. For approximately **$160 per night**, the condition of this property was completely unacceptable. The fact that they then failed to issue a promised refund twice made an already terrible experience even worse. **I would strongly recommend avoiding this hotel.**
• NG

  Nato G

  Aug 3, 2026
  4.0
  Marriot Gold member: Positively impressed here, is a very good option if you are in transit here, FANTASTIC breakfast and staff super helpful. The parking is good and the place is safe. The room needs a coffee machine and fix the curtains , aside of that Stay here!!
• MR

  Marlena Raihan

  Jul 18, 2026
  1.0
  Disgusting!!!!! While using the bathroom, we discovered a used tampon underneath the sink. This was absolutely disgusting, unsanitary, and completely unacceptable. Finding biohazardous waste left behind by a previous guest clearly indicates that the room was not properly cleaned before we checked in. This photo was shown to the front desk and all my husband received was a smile and “I’m sorry sir.” We had already moved from another room because the sofa bed didn’t work. The tampon wasn’t noticed until late at night and my kids were already asleep or we would have left the hotel entirely. There were several areas of the room that did not appear to be clean. We chose to stay at Holiday Inn because we expected a clean, safe, and sanitary environment for our family. Instead, we were met with a serious cleanliness issue that made us question the overall hygiene of the room and left us feeling extremely uncomfortable. They will not return our phone calls or respond to emails. Don’t stay here!!!!
• ER

  Eugen Ratiu

  Jul 2, 2026
  5.0
  Nice and clean place.
• LW

  Lonny W

  Mar 9, 2026
  4.0
  Good rooms, nice hotel in the middle of Texas. I didn't give 5 stars due to the fact there was a time change and there was no compensation for the loss of an hour of sleep. Otherwise thank you for a clean decent place to sleep.

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