We arrived at 5:30pm. The front desk said rooms would not be ready for 15-20 minutes and that someone would bring over the keys if we waited in the lounge. After 30 minutes of watching numerous groups get their keys, I asked for an update. The 2 concierge women kept brushing me off and finally snapped back when I asked for an estimate on how much longer we'd have to wait. One of them then said that they cannot guarantee an estimated wait time. When I reminded them that they said it would only take 15-20 minutes, they thoroughly denied any recollection of that, even though everyone in my group of 3 heard them. If they didn't give us an estimate, we wouldn't have stayed and would have left for dinner!
After waiting over 45 minutes, which should have been a major red flag, we finally got the keys and a halfway reluctant apology. I didn't want to make things worse, so I just said thanks and went upstairs. The elevators and hallway smelled musty. The room was ice old, even at 75 degrees, and the most bizarre part was the sliding door to the bathroom, which had gaps on both sides that you can see into and the door did not lock. Thankfully, I was sharing the room with a friend that I trust. The fridge had ice frozen all over the shelves, and the pillows were square and half the size of a normal pillow, pretty uncomfortable since you couldn't turn at night without falling into the crevice of 2 square pillows.
At checkout, I was told that my account would be credited 2,000 points for the check-in inconvenience and of course, I only received 600 points. Thankfully, I booked this stay with points, but I wouldn't come back here if they paid for my entire stay. IHG should feel ashamed to associate themselves with this particular hotel.