Holiday Inn Citystars, an IHG Hotel

I recently stayed at Holiday Inn City Stars Hotel for three nights during a business trip in November. Here's my detailed review:

Positive Aspects

Location: The hotel is excellently located in City Stars Mall, which is highly convenient for shopping, dining, and entertainment.

Room: While the room was small, it was sufficient for one person. It was also clean and tidy.

Breakfast: The breakfast spread was delicious and diverse. The omelets, in particular, were a highlight and very well-prepared.

Areas for Improvement

Room Amenities: The room lacked basic amenities expected in a 5-star hotel, such as slippers, a bathrobe, or toiletries beyond soap and shampoo. Despite requesting slippers and the mini-bar to be emptied three times, it took hotel staff over five hours to fulfill these simple requests, which was frustrating and unprofessional.

Mini-Bar Setup: Snacks were placed on a table under the TV as part of the mini-bar, with extremely high prices. This setup is impractical, especially for families with kids, and not something I've encountered elsewhere.

Door Lock: The door lock had been removed, with remnants of it still visible on the door. This was odd and raised concerns about security and maintenance.

Electricity Key Misuse: The hotel uses card keys in electricity slots to conserve energy. However, they leave the cards in the slots permanently, which defeats the purpose.

Lighting Controls: The room design felt outdated. You can't switch off all the lights from the bed, requiring you to turn them off individually—a small but inconvenient detail.

Overall Experience

The hotel has some strong points, such as its prime location and quality breakfast, but it falls short of the standard 5-star experience. With small rooms, limited amenities, delayed service, and outdated designs, the stay was average at best and below expectations for this category of hotel.

Would I return? Perhaps for the location, but I’d explore other options first.