IL Chicago Suburbs Holiday Inn Roll Mdws Schaumbrg

[lialmn]

Well, this was indeed a disappointing stay and the reviews that I have read about this property has all been true, but I guess all is somewhat tolerable when I'm paying such a low price for a hotel.. This a fairly runned down property that has been poorly maintained.

The lobby actually looked fairly nice compared to the rest of the hotel. The lobby was more than I expected from the reviews that I have read. Checkin was somewhat slow, and I really felt for the lady that was handling the phones and checkin. There seemed to have been two people but it seemed that only one person was handling the show. She was definately being overwhelmed. The process was all slowed down because of all the outside phone calls and hotel guests calling the front desk. There was no specific mentioning of priceline, as she said the credit card is for incidentals only and the room has been prepaid. I requested a room that is more "quiet," and she gave me a room with two double beds near the backside of the hotel. I was given a map/layout of the hotel and it seems that the hotel is divided into two separate buildings.

Parking is free and plentiful. I drove to the appropriate area and I approached the building. The most striking thing was the overflowing garbage/cigarette receptacle right near the door and right near the keycard reader. I arrived on Friday afternoon around 330pm and the same garbage + even more garbage (now on the floor) is still present when I left on Sunday morning.

I entered the room and it was somewhat clean (no obvious problems), but everything was really old. The beds were definately old and soft/saggy. A 20" television in provided with no premium cable channels. The amenities in the hotel were definately on the below-average side compared to the other HI's that I've stayed in. Dial bath soap, Tone complexion soap, and Shampoo was provided (I don't remember the brand since I didn't use it. All I remembered that there was no conditioner provided and I used the Pantene-ProV conditioning shampoo [which I got from a previous HI stay] bottle that I brought with me from home.) Water pressure in the shower was on the weaker side, but the water was hot. Towels were adequate and clean.

I slept okay on the two nights I've been there so far. I have one more night to go.

Now comes the issue of internet access. I knew that there was no high-speed internet access available (one of the few HIs that don't offer it), so I came prepared. I am currently typing this review at a Panera Bread (1140 Plaza Dr., Schaumburg, IL) that is about 5-10 minute drive away. The WiFi is free (as opposed to what is offered at Starbucks). What surprised me is that one of the small signs on the desk say that "Internet is now available!") However, in the small print on the back of the sign, it said that you can get internet access from one of these machines where you pay per minute, or you can connect wirelessy in the lobby for some charge or you can get wired access in the conference room for a charge.

I would have paid for access if it were in the room, but I just decided that I would visit Panera bread every morning and evening during the trip.

Overall, I would NEVER pay retail price for this hotel, and I would not electively stay here. Avoid checking off below 3* in the Schaumburg area if bidding by Priceline.

The folio said that priceline paid 26$/night for this room. I guess I overpaid by 3$/night.

Check-In Date: Friday, May 6, 2005

Check-Out Date: Monday, May 9, 2005

Hotel Name: Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows

3405 Algonquin Road

Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008

847-259-5000

Summary of Charges

Your Offer Price: $29.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 3

Subtotal: $87.00

Taxes and Service Fees: $18.19

Total Charges: $105.19

[madymo3d]

I second the previous reviewer. For the price we paid of $30/night the experience was acceptable. But at retail price I would have been quite disappointed. The furniture in our room looked quite new; we did have the Starz channel, I don't know if that's considered premium or not. And no, I would not bid below 3* in this zone again.

We stayed here 2 nights after July 4. The place was pretty empty, we got a king room in the building farthest from the street. Looked like the oldest building, but it had interior corridors and was next to the outdoor pool. I was really worried to stay here after reading mostly poor reviews on Tripadvisor, but I have to say it was worth the price I paid ($30 through Priceline). It did feel old, the common areas were dated, signs of water damage in the hallway ceiling, and the entrance area was dirty, but the room was perfectly acceptable. It was clean, furniture was in good condition, cloth iron, coffee maker, everything was working fine. Everyday someone came to check on the outdoor pool at least once. There was tree debris in the pool and the bottom felt rough, perhaps it needs to be relined. It was not filthy by any means. I took my 3 year old in it, and I consider myself somewhat of a clean freak when it comes to public facilities.

I was not all that impressed with the Helidome and did not utilize any play equipment. The pizza place inside the hotel was shut down. Good thing, because we ended up having really good pizza from Gino's down the street (Algonquin and Golf next to a Meijer grocery store).

Overall it was a nice stay. It was definitely a run-down hotel, worsened by its size (400+ rooms according to AAA), but the room served its purpose. I just wish it had free Internet connection and free breakfast like most other Holiday Inns.

[tomereid]

Be very cautious about bidding for a 3* hotel in the Schaumberg, Chicago suburbs zone! Priceline has included the Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows in this area, and the hotel is in awful shape. Our company does a lot of traveling, and we use Priceline a great deal of the time. Having had good bidding luck in the Chicago area before, we didn't think anything of using Priceline again. However, instead of getting the Doubletree, Hyatt or Marriott, as expected for a 3*, we won a bid for the Holiday Inn Rolling Meadows.

We had a female employee scheduled to work in the area for two weeks and won a bid for this hotel at $55 a night - a higher price than normally charged for this area. The reviews we read were favorable since a recent renovation. However, the written report I received back from the employee verifies that that is not the case. The hotel is an old property, and has not been renovated as described on various websites; carpet worn out, peeling paint. When she arrived on Monday, the roof was leaking throughout the hotel - ceiling tiles damaged and falling onto the floor, and the whole placed smelled of mildew. Only one elevator was working at the time. On Tuesday morning, when she left her room, the hallway was littered with fallen tiles and the floor was covered in 2" of water. The hallway was quiet, and she could hear rats running through the ceiling. When she arrived at the elevator, she discovered that the doors to the hallway were open, but the elevator itself was stuck between two lower floors - with the open shaft visible! This was bad enough for her to experience, but there were also children on the same floor! It snowed the entire time she was in Schaumburg, but they never plowed the parking lot, only haphazardly the area in front of the office.

We've contacted Priceline - who reports that the hotel is definitely a 3* (since it is reported as such by Travelocity, Orbitz and AAA - didn't know that Priceline used other sites' ratings to determine their own), and they refuse to downgrade the hotel or remove it from their list. So far we've had no luck with Holiday Inn either; but have reported this to every travel site I could find. The hotel is unsafe and unsanitary, and travelers should be very wary of bidding in this area, for fear of getting this hotel.