Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bradenton East-Lakewood Ranch by IHG

STAY AT YOUR OWN RISK! This review is not just against the staff of this hotel but against IHG Main Offices! As for our room, my biggest complaints were the dirty filter in our heating and air unit, the non-working bathroom fan, and the unsafe bathtub with NO safety handles! Now to the main complaints. To start, this hotel should NOT have been open to the public during the massive renovation they were having, nor did they advise this during booking! Almost a third of their parking area was filled with construction trailers and equipment...and the main lobby welcomed us with two desks shoved together for a temporary check-in area. There was boxed furniture and equipment throughout the main floor, and brown paper lined the aisle ways to walk on, which was strewn with paint, drywall dust, and mud from the parade of contractors in and out! An uneasy feeling set in pretty quick, but after pre-booking a week's stay, we were hoping for the best. And here comes the worst! Who would have ever thought a hotel chain as large as this would NOT have security cameras in the parking lot...especially with ALL the construction going on! Does IHG not care about the safety of guests or employees? Bottom line, during our stay...our vehicle was STOLEN from their lot! And from what we hear from the Sheriff's Office, this is NOT the first time it's happened! Plus, cars have been broken into! Where is IHG's liability concerns! What were we awarded from the hotel? A lot of, "I'm sorry(s)" and the offer of an extra night's stay...of which we STILL paid for! I'm not naive, I know bad people cross the paths of good people sometimes, and be assured, their sins will find them out...but I am DISAPPOINTED in how the lack of security by a major hotel chain helped and aided in ruining our trip! Until this hotel is finished with construction and CHANGE their security policies...I would advise future guests to stay elsewhere! Otherwise...stay at your own risk!

Being remodeled We were disappointed that the hotel did not warn us that it was remodeled. It needs it. The room was stale, a/c filters dirty, carpet had debris indicating poor or no vacuuming. Breakfast was below average with watered down juice, dry eggs and hard biscuits. There was no warning that the hot tub was closed. Before you book call and ask if the remodeling is complete because the price we paid was as if it was improved already.

Great hotel and staff This was my first time staying at this property in Lakewood Ranch. I have stayed at other in the area in the past, and the Holiday Inn Express did a great job this past weekend. I was in town for a family event, but the there was many events happening in the area that weekend (major youth soccer tournament). The hotel was packed, and with lots of teenagers. The hotel was still quite for sleeping, and the wild side of the kids was controlled. The room was clean and very comfortable. The big thing was the staff. They were always very friendly and helpful. Hats off to the morning breakfast staff. With the hotel being so busy, and so many teens. The breakfast staff kept the food stacked and ready even a little later than the times said were for breakfast. They were friendly and polite, and keep the eating area very clean. Great work ladies. My only reason for the 4 star over the 5, is the location. The hotel is kinda tucked back off of Rt70, and the street with the hotel sign is easy to miss. My advice, use the light at 87th Street (Rosedale) to come and go. Thank you folks for a great weekend.

Good for a quick one night stay We had a large room with a king sized bed and separate area with couch, microwave and mini refrigerator. Unfortunately the room is a tired outdated brown motif and there was just not enough light in the room and the Tv was located so that it was difficult to watch from the couch. The couch was uninviting as there were tears in some of the fabric. The room was clean and the mattress extremely firm. The AC heat unit was the loud window unit type. No thermostat. The bathroom was fine..a large vanity and a shower tub combo. The free breakfast had a lot of variety and the breakfast area was clean but most items were low quality and unappealing.

Pretty Good Stay We had two rooms here recently. We thought both rooms (one king room and one room with two queens) were quite spacious. One room had a nice sitting area with a sofa. The sofa was a little worn but the rest of the room was still in good shape. The bed was firm and comfortable. Housekeeping kept the rooms quite clean. The bath towels were large and very clean. There was a nice looking breakfast every morning but we never ate there so I am not sure how tasty it was. My only complaint is that the rooms got a stuffy or musty smell if you didn't run the ac a lot. Otherwise it was a very good stay and I would definitely stay there again. The hotel has a pool but we never visited it. The front desk staff were super friendly and nice. We were greeted every time we entered or left the hotel.