Review of Holiday Inn Express Birmingham Irondale East, an IHG Hotel 2*

Ashley, the front desk worker was very disrespectful to us. Even after trying very hard to be nice to him, he repeatedly talked to us like we were children and was not someone I would want representing my business. Also, the hotel was undergoing renovation, and there was materials and tools laying around everywhere. Whomever is doing the work is not being told to pick up their things when they complete their work for the day. Thankfully we had no kids with us, but that would have made for a huge safety hazard. The room was clean, but one of our beds had broken springs and was basically a 1-person bed. There was also a terrible musty smell in the bathroom, and the bathtub drained very slowly. We had about 4" of water in the tub after our showers. To top it all off, the fire alarm went off at midnight, and we all evacuated. I felt awful for the families with small children. But… NO ONE from the hotel ever came outside to notify us that it was safe to go back in, issue an apology, etc. No firetruck or emergency personnel ever showed up. We stayed outside for about 15 minute before the alarm went off. Upon seeing no smoke… all of the guests decided to go back in and go to bed. The next morning, we tried the continental breakfast. Everything was good except the milk in the small cooler. It was very bad… clumpy and curdled… even though it was within the expiration date and did not smell bad. We believed the cooler was not cold enough to hold milk at a safe drinking temperature. I can't believe no one has gotten sick yet. No apologies were issued about the fire alarm. Definitely won't be back here.