Holiday Inn Express Albany - Downtown, an IHG Hotel 300 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207

"If I could give this hotel zero stars, I would. Not that it matters because apparently they are closed. I booked this hotel on May 5, 2023 for a stay in February 2024. We recently heard through word of mouth that this hotel was no longer open. So we called. And sure enough, they are no longer open. No one called us to notify of us of these circumstances. The gentleman who answered the phone (was rude and dismissive, by the way) informed us that they closed 9 months ago and were going to notify us two weeks prior to our stay. I cannot express my complete disgust and disappointment in the poor planning of the Holiday Inn as well as their disregard for their customers."

"We just came back from a softball tournament and stayed at this hotel. We were a large group and we had a hard time finding a spot for all of us to get together. We started outside in the courtyard, which was really nice, but it was hot and humid outside. Sheila, the GM, was so accommodating and personable with us. She honestly made our stay more enjoyable. Her personality and the way she goes above and beyond to make her guests feel comfortable did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by our entire group."

"The location is convenient to the bus terminal which is 1-2 min walking distance. Check-in and out was smooth. The room was decent, clean sheets, towels and bathroom but hotel had a smell like old carpet. Air quality felt stuffy as my stay continued, noticing the a.c. unit wasn't working in my room, it was reading 82°F. Called front desk to see if they can handle the situation, maintenance came about 30 mins later, he flashed his light at the thermostat and flashed the light at the vent. He did a little banging at the vent and told us it would take an hour to kick in. Nothing was really solved because the air barely came out the vents. We opened the windows but there was no cross breeze. Next day room temperature read at 83°F we figured maybe as we are out and about exploring the town the air would come back on, but it was the same situation. Called front desk they requested for us to go outside to get some breeze, proceeded to tell us to open the opens that only opened about 3 inches wide. Then proceeded to tell us that they gave out fans because the entire building a.c. unit was out and that they only gave fans to the people that stay here at the hotel as though I'm not a customer here (never received a fan). So we had another hot night in the hotel. Breakfast had very limited options: served eggs, french toast, cold cereal, oatmeal, self pancakes, muffins, coffee, juice....no meats. The area itself is little sketchy there are people who hang around the building. There are places to eat/convenient stores within walking distance. Staff was okay but wished they treated all guests equally due to the a.c. power outage."

"This is a candid review, absent of political bias. The hotel is located in an area that is not conducive to a safe stay. Upon arrival we saw small groups gathering outside and 3 security guards greeted us prior to entering the hotel. Initially it looked inviting and at first the front desk hostess was friendly. We went up to the room and upon exiting the elevator we stepped over bags of garbage that were left by the elevator door. We decided to drive downtown to eat. We got back around 8 PM and the outside crowd grew to about 20 people, of which most of them were very young and did not appear to be guests. We did not know the facility was being used as a clearing station for migrants entering the country without documentation.. Well, the loud music and loud voices began and did not let up for hours. I called the front desk around 930 and was told there was nothing she could do about the noise, even though it was on IHG property because it was a smoking area. Since then the property manager called to apologize and stated he was taking corrective action with staffing"

"The bed was the only good thing about this hotel. When we pulled up the first thing we noticed were dozens of people wearing red lanyards with ID tags smoking outside the entrance amongst the several abandoned buildings. Upon walking inside at 3:30 pm there were at least 4 “security guards” sitting in each corner of the lobby, some nodding off. There was a person seated at a table immediately to the left “checking people in” but not hotel guests. It appeared there were asylum seekers dropped off at the bus station located directly behind the hotel. I was never told there was no breakfast available that was included in our stay, nor offered any money back. Opening the door of my non smoking room was utterly disgusting, the smell of cigarettes and marijuana was sickening. I also had to call the front desk right away because the bathroom light was out. The lighting in the room is minimal, even with every light on it was still difficult to see. Although there were people wearing security guard shirts throughout the lobby I felt very unsafe walking out of my room or allowing my teenage daughter to visit her friends room on the opposite side of the floor alone. The morning of checkout, when I was casually bringing things to the car, my room keys were deactivated well before the 11am checkout. I had to ask them to reactivate so I could gather the rest of my belongings. This stay was booked through a travel agent for a high profile basketball tournament in the area for our entire team and I hope they never use this hotel again."