1) At check-in, the lady wanted my phone number and email. That's strange because they're already included from my Expedia account at all the other Holiday Inns. She was using that information to sign me up on their membership, which I did NOT consent to or agree with. Within 15 minutes, I was getting spam email from them. The lady probably gets some bonus for signing people up, although this practice is illegal.
2) They advertise "breakfast included", but there was NO breakfast. There was a sign in the breakfast area that said "Sorry, no breakfast". They should have offered each guest an automatic discount for the inconvenience, but they didn't. They just keep all the money and offer no breakfast.
3) There was a noisy party starting around 12:30 AM. While loud guests isn't directly the hotel's fault, the non-working room phone is their fault. I had to look them up on my cellphone and call the front desk to complain.
4) The lady on the phone said the hotel has a noise policy at 12:30 AM, but the party continued, so she didn't call them to stop.
5) Two of the bulbs in my room didn't work. I was so fed up with the poor management and shady practices of this hotel, I didn't even bother to tell anyone. Just wanted to leave.
I've stayed at many Holiday Inn Expresses before. They are not all bad like this one. Unfortunately, IHG allows some of these shady franchises into their group.