We were here for one of the first Mardi Gras parades of the season. This was not my first stay at this property, but will be my last. It has really gone downhill in the past few years. The tiles in the elevators are broken and loose. Okay, public space, sees a lot of wear and tear. However the room was worse. We walked in and it was warm, musty, and nasty smelling. After just an hour in the room, the tops of our baby’s socks and the knees of his pants were BLACK from the carpet being so dirty. It’s like the A/C never runs while you are gone - every time we would come back, the room was gross feeling, smelled like mildew, and was warm. There was either no hot water, or it was so hot it would scald you. When housekeepers were cleaning the other rooms in the hall, they just let the doors slam against the safety latch every time they would go in and out of the rooms. When you have a baby trying to sleep in the middle of the day, and it wakes them up every few minutes, not good. To think we were concerned drunk revelers would be the problem - never imagined housekeeping would be. The bathroom is very tiny. The door catches on the bath mat every time you open and close it. The light in the bathroom buzzed loudly. The blackout curtains don’t close all the way, so you can never get the room truly dark during the day, and there are tons of holes in them. I don’t know how this property is passing inspections by the brand to remain an IHG. The only redeeming quality in the room was the mini fridge. It was a nice size and had a freezer section. The staff was hit and miss. Some seemed very nice and helpful. Others made you feel like you were inconveniencing them to get any assistance. I have never encountered such an argumentative staff. Parking was the WORST. There is limited parking, so you have to go to an overflow garage. Which would be fine, except there were still spots in the main lot that they had barricaded off. You couldn’t even get to the handicap spots that were open half the time. One time all we wanted to do was swap which vehicle we had parked in the main lot so that loading and unloading baby stuff would be easier, but they wouldn’t even let us do that. Sometimes there would be people manning the barricades and move them if a spot opened up, but other times there was no one even working in the lot to move the barricade if you were trying to get out, or in. My mother who has had double knee replacement had to move one herself just to get to a handicap spot. I don’t see how it is even legal to block handicap spots like that. Several times we watched the employees pull in to the lot and move the barricades so they could get in and park. So basically they are impacting guest experience so that employees can park in the lot, but not guests.....That seems backwards. We extended our trip by a few days, but stayed at the Hampton instead and had a much better experience. Now we are booking for next year and I refuse to even consider this property.
