This was an unbelievably terrible experience. Despite having made the reservation three months in advance, the male receptionist offered absolutely no solution. He simply stated that he could not find the reservation and told me to contact Expedia. The booking was clearly confirmed on Expedia and had not been canceled. When I showed him the latest confirmation again and asked him to double-check, he then suddenly claimed that the reservation had been canceled.
He proceeded to offer an alternative room at an outrageous price. As a result, our family’s four-day holiday weekend trip was thrown into chaos, and we were left without accommodation on a Saturday night, when no nearby hotels had availability. We were forced to drive one hour north to a hotel in a remote area that was more expensive and of lower quality than the original hotel.
After the fact, we were told that the reservation had been automatically canceled because the credit card was not charged. If that were the case, we should have been notified immediately by email or through Expedia that the reservation had been canceled. Had we been informed even one day earlier, we would have had more than enough time to secure alternative accommodation.
This level of service is completely unacceptable. I will never stay at Holiday Inn again, nor will I ever recommend it to anyone.