Columbus never discovered this

I have stayed in a lot of Holiday Inns in the past, and the Holiday Inn Columbus North I-85 in Columbus, Georgia was by far the worst property I have ever stayed in.

I understand that construction and improvements are necessary to maintain a hotel, and I’ve stayed in numerous hotels in the middle of a remodeling process. However, this hotel appears to have made little (if any) effort to reduce the impact for guests.

While the lobby area was fairly nice, there were large piles of construction debris around the entire hotel. The side entrance closest to my room had a mountain of debris (read trash here) that made it impossible to enter without climbing through it and collecting dirt on shoes, clothing, and luggage. There was no way into the building that one could avoid tracking dust and dirt into the hotel hallways, or back into the car. The access ramp leading to the door was covered with construction materials, and the only way I could get my rolling luggage to the door was to lift it up and over the curb – stepping through the pile instead of next to it. But I felt oh-so-much better when I saw the tattered sign placed inside the door that said “pardon our dust.”

I went into my assigned room. I couldn’t believe this was a Holiday Inn property.

The guest room sliding glass doors opened to the debris filled parking lot. The doors didn’t close tightly and had a gap large enough to let in a cold breeze. The room smelled musty or like an animal had been in it, and the mini-fridge was sitting on the floor in the entryway to the room with the cord stretched out along the wall to reach the room’s only outlet. Lamp shades were askew and the sofa cushions didn’t match the sofa. The bathtub stopper was broken, and in order to take a shower the stopper (very nasty) had to be pulled out of the drain and set aside or the water wouldn’t drain.

I am a female business traveler and I never felt safe in this room. As I look back on this experience, I can’t believe I stayed. But I did, and I survived to tell the tale.

And, in the midst all the negatives, there is one positive note. The desk staff I encountered were pleasant and professional. It is my opinion that they should be commended for maintaining professionalism in a hostile environment. Either that - or they should be awarded Purple Hearts.