OH Cincinnati Holiday Inn I-275 North Northeast-Blue Ash

[myob1776]

Property address: 3855 Hauck Rd., I-275 at Rt. 42, Exit 46, Sharonville, OH 45241

Guest stay: August, 2011

Property condition: Generally faded. Older furnishings, no flat-screens, not terribly clean, badly in need of refurbishing. Bathrooms not cleaned well - hair left on toilet. Dust and dirt in corners. This is rated a 3* on Priceline but IMHO does not deserve the ranking.

Service: Rude. We arrived at about 12:45 a.m. after driving 12 hours, only to find two other guests waiting in the lobby for the absent desk clerk. One of the guests had been waiting to check in for 10-15 minutes. After a few more minutes of waiting, we all began to get concerned. One of us climbed over the desk and looked through the back rooms; another searched the hotel's conference rooms and kitchens; a third picked up the switchboard phone and found the number for someone at Holiday Inn - probably reservations, it was a hard-keyed number - and began talking to the woman about the missing desk clerk. Finally, at about 1:15 a.m., the desk clerk arrived - with full attitude in tow. She offered no apologies, instead demanding that we 'get off my phone,' and told us that any complaints should be directed to the hotel manager because "I've told him we need more help on Sunday nights," and that she had been "upstairs to get something." When we relayed this to the Holiday Inn person on the phone, who asked to speak to the desk clerk, the clerk took the phone and immediately hung it up, saying "I don't work for her." It was not the most pleasant way to end a very long day.

This hotel does not live up to the 3* standards I've experience with other Priceline properties. It was a big disappointment.