Review of Holiday Inn Resort Panama City Beach, an IHG Hotel 3*

I am leaving this review after contacting IHG directly and also receiving follow up from Kim Ward who seemed more concerned with excusing herself and staff than actual customer satisfaction. As you can see by the responses left by hotel staff to other negative reviews their attitude is "if you don't like it here stay somewhere else". Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering this hotel. First, parking is a major issue if you are handicapped/disabled or traveling with someone who is. The handicap parking is extremely limited and parking across the street comes with its own hazards. There are golf carts (sometimes) and an underground walkway BUT these options are not something that you are made aware of initially leading to a hair raising dash across the street. That crossing is a mess especially if your mobility is limited. Second, the Wi-Fi did not work during our stay. That was frustrating since I did have some work that needed to be completed and the IHG website clearly stated the hotel has Wi-Fi. In reality, they have wife that is accessible maybe 30% of the time depending entirely on where you are. Third, renting one umbrella and two beach chairs typically costs $50. After paying that amount of money families with their own chairs/towels can come plop down right in front of your pricey spot. As an added bonus the prices fluctuate based on the time of day since another two families who came to the beach later were charged less than we were because the first row was filled up… Fourth, some of the front staff had fairly bad attitudes. We asked a young man at the front desk questions on more than one occasion and he literally heaved a much suffering sigh like he couldn't believe we had the audacity to make him do his job. The only reason I gave this hotel a two star was because the restaurant, housekeeping, and pool staff were great. I do recommend paying to have the meals inclusive since the food is good. Also their beach bucks can be used in the restaurant. Overall my May visit was not a good experience. This was my first Panama City Beach visit and based on this specific hotel stay this will probably be my last visit. Later this month we will be going on another trip and staying at an entirely different chain of hotels to make up for that debacle. Since their attitude is there are other hotels do yourself a favor and stay at a hotel that at least pretends to care about their guests.