Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix

In nearly 40 years of international travel, as well as working in the travel industry for over 30 years, this hotel has to be one of the worst 4* hotel experiences I've ever had. When I arrived, I noticed that there was a light brown stain on one of the sheets. I didn’t raise it as an issue as there were two beds in the room so I could sleep on the other one. A little bit later, I noticed that the mini bar had two half-empty bottles of water in it and the previous guests leftover sandwich. It clearly wasn’t checked before I checked in. I was starting to feel that things weren't great so I phoned down to let them know about the half-eaten sandwich and half-empty bottles of water. They offered to give me $30 credit towards food and drink. After returning from a day tour on day 2 (just after 5pm) I found my room had not been cleaned or my bed made up. I called down to reception and they said they would send someone up. I then went to the gym for an hour. When I returned the room still had not been serviced. I had to call down twice more and then physically go down to reception. The room was serviced around 7pm which threw my dinner plans that evening. In addition to the issues above, the furniture was extremely shabby (see photos), sunbeds round the pool dirty and the 'clean towels' quite dirty too. I decided to write to the General Manager to let him know my thoughts. I received an apology from the Housekeeping Director. The next day, to my astonishment, I arrived back at 6pm to find that, once again my room had not been serviced. I called down to reception again and was told that there was one housekeeping staff for 240 rooms so sometimes 'things don't get done'. By this time, I had already realised that the hotel had serious service issues. The Director of Housekeeping then promised me a meal 'on the house' that night. She told me to 'order what I wanted'. When I went for the meal, I ordered a bottle of wine from the menu which, of course, they didn't have in stock. The following morning I woke up with extremely bad diarrhea. This catalogue of poor experiences was made worse by the very casual and dismissive attitude of many of the staff. They simply couldn't be bothered. I then followed up my letter to the General Manager as he still hadn't responded to me personally. He said he was embarrassed and apologetic and offered a full refund for the 3 night stay. This refund has still not been forthcoming (it's over 3 weeks since my stay) despite repeated attempts to contact the General Manager, Mr Devin Mahoney. I have even tried to contact the CEO of IHG (no response either). I booked via a company called Algotels who have been equally unsupportive and unresponsive. I would definitely avoid booking with them. Needless to say, I would avoid this particular hotel at all costs; but, not only that, it has destroyed any trust I have, both personally and professionally in the IHG brand. Of course every hotel can have an 'off day' (although many I work with never do) but it is how a hotel or hotel brand responds to those situations that gives a customer trust in the brand and the product. IHG have failed on every level and the way they have handled this is inexcusable.

Phenomenal experience from beginning to end. Valet, concierge, check-in, room decor, noise level, pool, check-out, amenities, customer service is still alive and well here, and the list goes on. Cannot recommend this business high enough.

Loved the bed and bathroom. The mattress is amazing. I slept like a baby. The rooms are spacious. Soaps and shampoo are super high quality. Roof at pool is large. The 2 story gym is across the hotel and is accessible till midnight. I would stay here again.

The BEST dirty martini. The bartender Star at Eden is the best dirty martini I have ever had. Service is exceptional and the people are so nice! Got a hotel for two nights so that I could do some business in town and I am pleasantly surprised by how great everyone was at this location.

From the doormen to the front desk and on to the cleaning crew, very professional and ready to serve! Nice amenities, great food, and on the spot help when needed. Greeted at every entry which provided a safe and warm feeling. I felt like I was royalty!