This was the worst hotel stay I've had in years. We reserved a non-smoking room. When we arrived, we were told the only rooms available were on the "Smoking" floor. Holiday Inn Cheyenne evidently hasn't noticed that walking through a hallway with enough smoke to cause Waffle House patrons to lodge EPA complaints doesn't impress non-smokers. The room was better only in terms of comparison to the hallway (where Backdraft 2 was evidently being filmed). The fan in the bathroom did not work, and the room was the nasal equivalent of licking an ashtray. Putting "non-smoking" rooms on a smoking floor is as effective as treating a bleeding injury by submersing it in a piranha tank.
The pool heater was broken (with no sign on the door informing guests of this fact!), so the temperature was about 70 degrees in the pool. That isn't quite glacial, but the only ones comfortable in that water temperature are penguins and polar bears.
None of the phone buttons (Front Desk, Restaurant, WakeUp Call) worked; I reached the restaurant by hitting the front desk button, and was frostily informed that I'd called the wrong number- and hung up on. TWICE. The first time, the person at least deigned to give me (the customer) the supposed Front Desk number- which reached no one. The second time, they hung up after barking at me that I'd dialed wrong. Getting a wake-up call was impossible, as apparently the wake-up call line "had been disconnected".
The number of smiles or congeniality from staff (I make it a point to interact with a number of staff wherever I stay) outside of the restaurant was ZERO, and unfriendliness seemed the rule of the establishment. The hotel is clearly understaffed, and all employees had a harried "don't bother me- I'm counting the seconds until I can LEAVE" attitude. The one bright spot was a maintenance guy riding the elevator, who was the only courteous staff member I met.
A man was wandering around in the parking lot, nearly got hit by people when he stumbled around in front of their car, and was clearly out of his mind on some substance-- but when he staggered into the hotel past the front desk and spent 20 minutes staring vacantly into the pool room, no one on the desk staff seemd to think this was an issue, even when notified of his behavior.
The breakfast "buffet" was mostly standard vat breakfast food, with the difference between, say, a Hampton Inn and here being you had to pay to eat this one, while the Hampton provides better-quality food for free. However, the waitresses in the restaurant during the day were pleasant, so kudos to them - but a resounding BOO to the night staff, who were as hospitable as cats in a dog pound.
You want a decent place to stay in Cheyenne? Try the Hampton. I've stayed there, and it's clean & nice. Or try anywhere else- I wouldn't send people I loathed to this hotel, let alone anyone I wanted to talk to afterward. Price savings or no, staying elsewhere is a better bet.
Room Tip: Make sure you get a room on a non-smoking floor. Better yet, stay elsewhere.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
August 23, 2012
I am very sorry to hear about all of the issues you experienced during your recent stay with us. We have passed your comments along to all the Department Heads and they are reviewing them with their staff so we can improve our guest service and make sure all guests feel welcome at our hotel. I would also like to note that we are currently installing a brand new pool boiler and will soon be beginning the process of turning into a completely non-smoking hotel. It is very disappointing to hear how unhappy you were with your stay, however, it does help us to know where we need to improve and we will continue to strive for excellent customer service and satisfied, happy guests. I hope that you will consider staying again with Holiday Inn in the future. Please don't hesitate to contact me at 307-638-4466 if you would like to discuss this further.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.