Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea by IHG

I booked two rooms at the Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea, expecting a standard 5-star experience to showcase Jordanian hospitality to my international guests. Instead, it turned out to be a complete disaster from the very beginning, entirely ruining our trip. ​HOSTILE AND RIGID FRONT DESK MANAGEMENT ​Our check-in experience was incredibly frustrating due to the rigid and unprofessional behavior of the Night Shift Manager on duty. ​I presented my official Jordanian National ID via the "Sanad" app, which is a government-mandated, legally approved digital ID platform utilized nationwide. The manager flatly refused to accept it. ​Furthermore, while one of my international guests had her physical passport, the other had a clear digital copy. Instead of handling the situation with basic customer service skills or offering a reasonable verification solution, the manager displayed a hostile attitude and forced us to drive all the way back to Amman in the middle of the night just to retrieve the physical document. ​This level of stubbornness and poor communication from a management figure is entirely unacceptable for an international hotel chain. ​AGGRESSIVE STAFF HARASSMENT AT THE POOL ​The lack of professionalism and hospitality training across this property is staggering. While at the pool, a lifeguard actively chased down my friend and his partner, shouting and speaking to my friend in an incredibly rude, disrespectful manner—treating him as if he were a thief who had stolen something. ​The lifeguard aggressively demanded that my friend immediately go to the reception and tried to explicitly ban him from using the hotel facilities, even though my friend had his official ID on him and his international guest had her physical passport. The lifeguard kept shouting that this was "hotel policy," which is completely false and a blatant lie to justify his power trip. Paying guests have full legal and contractual rights to use the facilities, and being publicly humiliated and treated like a criminal by a lifeguard is an absolute disgrace. ​SUBSTANDARD AND DIRTY ROOMS ​When we finally managed to access our rooms, the disappointment worsened. The rooms were outdated, unhygienic, and completely lacked the basic amenities and cleanliness standards expected of a 5-star resort. The property feels neglected and poorly managed. ​WE WILL NEVER RETURN ​Let me be absolutely clear: we will never book, step foot in, or consider this hotel ever again. This property is permanently blacklisted for myself, my international guests, and my entire network. The sheer disrespect we experienced made this an incredibly embarrassing and stressful stay. ​FINAL VERDICT: ​This stay was an absolute nightmare that caused us immense inconvenience and humiliation. I strongly demand a serious investigation by upper management into the front desk management's behavior during our check-in, as well as the aggressive conduct of the pool staff. We expect an official response regarding compensation for this ruined experience. ​I highly advise international travelers and locals alike to avoid this property until they drastically retrain their staff and fix their management style.

Let's start with the positive aspects. We booked five rooms for one night. The rooms were clean, although they are in need of some updates. The cleaning staff were excellent and did a great job maintaining the rooms. Unfortunately, there were several disappointing issues during our stay. First, the rooms were supposed to be ready by 3:00 PM. When we arrived, we were given only three rooms and were told that the remaining rooms would be ready in 10 minutes. However, we ended up waiting until 5:45 PM to receive the rest of the rooms. Since check-out was at noon, I asked whether we could keep two of the rooms for an additional 2.5 hours to compensate for the delay. The front desk manager refused and said the maximum extension they could offer was only one hour. I found this unfair and felt it reflected poor customer service. When I mentioned that we received the remaining rooms at 5:45 PM, the front desk staff (was different than the person who checked us in) insisted that all rooms had been provided at 4:00 PM. After I explained again that two rooms were only given to us at 5:45 PM, the information changed to 5:07 PM, which was still incorrect. I was told that “the system does not lie.” I did not want to argue, as the hotel could easily verify the timing through their security cameras. The attitude of the front desk manager was also unnecessarily rude and unprofessional. Second, on the first day, we were asked to leave the infinity pool area at 7:00 PM, even though the sign stated that the pool was open until sunset. Sunset was around 8:30 PM, so this was disappointing and inconsistent with the posted information. Third, the quality of the drinks was poor, especially the juices and mixed drinks, despite being charged 4 JD per drink. The quality did not match the price and was very disappointing. Finally, I was charged for an extra drink that we never ordered and never received. Overall, while the rooms were clean and the cleaning staff were great, the poor customer service, inaccurate information, and disappointing overall experience mean that I would not recommend this hotel.

Just the hotel itself

الطاقم كان غير مريح منذ لحظة اصطفاف السيارة الى الاستقبال الا الخدمات. زرت عشرات الفنادق داخل وخارج الاردن لم اشعر ابدا بهذا الشعور غير المريح من الطاقم. عند سؤال عن شراء وجبات الغداء على المسبح كان الاهمال وعدم الرد والاستهتار واضح جداً للاسف. طاقم غير متعاون ومريب جداً للاسف.

The room was very comfortable. Good beach with showers and lounge chairs. They have a very good buffet but unfortunately it had no fruit.