The rooms were very nice and comfy. We stayed on the first floor which made it easy to access. The only problem was with bfst which is a challenge because of Covid 19 and different at different chains. There was a large sign at the front desk stating that the staff were responsible for getting you the coffee which was behind the desk. It was all my fault but while waiting for my bagel, I walked to the front desk. I didn't notice the large signs saying wait for staff and served myself. Just as I finished the two desk clerks walked in from outside. (I'm guessing on a smoke break.) The night clerk explained to me that I shouldn't touch the coffee and not the area would have to be steriized. There were two guest behind me and thought is was a little extreme. While eating my bkft, a male staff member was restocking the individually wrapped pastries. He was not wearing any gloves so if he had germs they were transfered to the plastic and to the guests. I know it's hard to know what to do right now but there should be standard rules for all motels.

The hotel is clean, comfortable and safe. It is located right beside a Hampton Inn and about 3 miles from downtown Jasper. The breakfast in the morning is excellent. There is a pancake station in addition to plenty of options to choose from like oatmeal, eggs, bacon, cereal, and hot cinnamon rolls.

I stayed at this hotel in August 2019 while traveling from Birmingham to Memphis. It appeared that the hotel was fairly new and we recently built. The lobby and the grounds surrounding the hotel appeared in very good condition. The room was 'clean' and the bed was comfortable, I had no issues sleeping through the night. When I awoke in the morning, I saw a small bug crawling across the bedspread but I'm not the squeamish type so I killed it with a napkin and threw it away. I didn't think more about it until later that day I noticed that my ankles and upper arms were itchy and had a series of bites in a line. I quickly jumped on the internet and discovered that I had unfortunately been victim of bed bugs, my first experience in 5 years of traveling (100+ nights a year). I called the hotel and spoke to the front desk as soon as I was aware. I told them what had happened and they didn't seem to concerned but said they would check it out. Our conversation left me with an uneasy feeling so I called again the next morning to report it to the dayshift and hopefully a manager. Again, they didn't seem too concerned but said they would check it out. I was thinking that someone would get in contact with me to discuss the issue with the stay but several days passed and I didn't hear anything. I contacted IHG customer support through the chat function built into their website and told the CSR my experience. She told me to send a message to customer relations which I did as soon as I finished the chat with her. I retold my story as above and highlighted my concern that all attempts to notify people about this issue seem to be ignored. I never heard back from anyone at customer support. Work got busy and a few weeks passed before I decided that I would write a review on the IHG website for the hotel, figuring that would at least get SOME response. Unsurprisingly, the review that I submitted detailing my experience was never posted. To this day no one from the hotel or IHG customer relations has attempted to contact me. All I wanted was assurance that this problem was being taken seriously and would be addressed. To my knowledge that has not happened.

Months have passed since my stay in Jasper and unfortunately I recently encountered another bed bug incident at rival hotel chain in another state. This would not be relevant to this review except it was a stark contrast to my experience with Holiday Inn Express: When I notified the front desk at the other hotel chain, they were extremely apologetic, they compensated the stay (my company pays for hotels so it doesn't help or hurt me personally when they comp the stay but I feel like its the right thing to do) and gave me some bonus points for the trouble. Their immediate and appropriate response gives me assurance that the rival chain will address the problem and correct.

In closing I'd like to apologize to anyone who might have stayed at this hotel in the past 6 months and had bed bug issues like I did. If I had been better at following up and continuing to pester the hotel I might have had more impact. I’m more than happy if anyone from the hotel or IHG would like to contact me to discuss this issue. My contact info is in the previous reports I’ve submitted to your company.