Holiday Inn Express Birmingham Irondale East by IHG

The property was very outdated, and almost everything was broken. The ice machine wasn’t working, the bathroom shower was leaking and caused wet floors, and the AC didn’t cool the room properly. The room floor was stained and smelled like urine—smh. The highlight of the hotel was definitely the staff, especially the person who checked me in—they were kind and professional. However, I paid for a room with two beds, and at the last minute, they told me they had to switch me to a different room because the one I booked wasn’t available. Very disappointing overall.

I’ve stayed at many Hilton hotels and have come to expect a certain standard—but this location completely missed the mark. When I checked in, I noticed right away that it didn’t meet the usual Hilton quality, but I decided to give it a chance. Unfortunately, as soon as I opened the door to my room, I was hit with a strong, overwhelming smell of mildew. While the room looked clean, the odor made it unbearable. I didn’t stay the night—I immediately checked out. This experience was disappointing, and I would not recommend this location. It does not reflect the level of quality I’ve come to associate with the Hilton brand.

Everything was great from check-in to check out.

We liked the location. Easy on and off of the highway. Disappointed that no list of nearby restaurants was on hand.

Room needed vacuumed. Desk light did not work leaving that side of the room dark. Ceiling leak to the right of the bed. Someone had put coffee grounds in the coffee maker making it impossible to use in the morning. We left at 4:30 am and had to stop for coffee.

I want to talk about Holiday Inn Express & Suites. While I have enjoyed the chain in the past and even this summer, I must admit some of their locations could use an entire overhaul. There is no easy way to get them to correct an error caused on their end and frankly the use of their customer relations department is shocking. They will take your complaint as an escalation case, but you are still at the mercy of the involved location to correct the problem. The escalation dept will contact the location and try to get them to correct the issue, but it seems as if the escalation dept can only do so much. It's almost like the escalation dept needs a being higher than themselves so they can call in a complaint and receive an escalation case number in order for their client's case to get resolved. I know that sounds crazy, but I have been waiting an entire month for a refund, after multiple calls and case number assignments to the escalation dept and to the hotel. BTW, after a couple of days into the incident the hotel literally told me that the manager, who's name I will leave out, no longer works for the hotel 🤔 . However, that was not true she just didn't know how to correct the problem and error. Backing up a bit, they put an additional unauthorized charge on my credit card in their inadequate way of compensating my room. Yes, they did and that charge was for more than the original hotel stay cost. The hotel did not even tell me about that mistake which happened on the morning of our checkout as I was standing right there in front of the desk associate. The hotel manager who was responsible for kicking the can down the road in the first place should have compensated my room herself. It was she that told me that I would be compensated for the room the night before as she handed me towels to lay on the floor, instead she left it for the morning shift to correct. With no other rooms available, I stayed in a flooded room due to a leaking air conditioner. The entire carpet on the second half of the room was wet and the closer to the AC unit you got the more soaked the carpet was found to be. The hotel and area hotels were booked. The hotel knew before assigning us to this room that it was flooded because when we walked in there was a utility fan and utility cords set up to in an effort to dry out the carpet and the AC seemed to be cranked down to 50 degrees trying to help dry it out. They needed to turn off the leaking AC, extract the water, clean the carpet, and dry the carpet before assigning this room to anyone. Reservations had been made at least 2 - 3 months prior to our overnight stay in Birmingham. This chain customer escalation process is not user friendly when it comes down to taking care of customers. Every number for corporate that you call returns you to this same escalation department. So you'll never communicate with corporate. I stayed at their Holiday Inn Express & Suites Irondale location in Birmingham, Alabama on June 20, 2025. Posted pictures on linkedin

They put us in the incorrect room, king room instead of two queen bed rooms, didn’t know until I went into the room. Didn’t try to change the room because it was late and we fit. There was no TV remote or coffee maker in the room. In the bathroom only one mirror light worked. The floor/carpet felt damp. It was in a nice off path type of place, the people were nice but busy.

Hotel is in terrible condition.

The staff is super nice!

Upon arrival found room I was staying in had the back up lock broken in half as if it had been kicked in at one point, the walls had gashes in them to the drywall, and the hotel as a whole smelled of weed.

The staff was polite and professional. The internet worked very well. The breakfast was plentiful and diverse.

The property should have backup power for when the lights go out for hours. The Checkin process was very slow. I waited on others to be served. The sheet had a print of some type on it when I pulled back the covers. I stay here on occasions. It was the worst experience I had.