Well, this was one very interesting experience. I got there a little after 8:00pm on a Saturday night and was amazed by the hotel. It looks beautiful on the outside. The parking lot is large and the hotel is huge. I grabbed my two bags and walked in to the lobby to be greeted by no one. I waited at the front desk for about 9 minutes, when finally a receptionist came around. Her name was Kris. She was nice and polite but was swamped with all the guests coming in. There was a big 5K run this weekend and a soccer tournament, so the hotel was flooding with guests. I was surprised Kris was alone at the desk.
I checked in and she gave me my room key. I mentioned that I am an IHG Rewards member and she told me that they took it into the account. I took my bags and took the elevator to the 2nd floor. I found my room but when I tried to use the key, it didn't work. I tried a few times and then decided to head back downstairs. As I came down I noticed a couple waiting to check in. Once again no one was at the desk and they waited for a little while. Since no one was coming around we started calling the hotel phone to see if anyone will come. Kris finally came back and was surprised when she saw me. I told her the key isn't working and showed her the room number that she wrote. She re activated the key and I headed back upstairs with all my bags, once again.
Well, that's when it got interesting. I definitely didn't expect what I saw in the room. I had to head back downstairs and ran into the couple I was waiting with at check in by the elevator. They asked me if the key worked and I said "It worked alright, but there are people in the room." Yea, there were definitely people living there with their clothes all over the bed and shoes on the floor. So I went up to Kris and told her what happened. I had to repeat myself twice. She looked at the computer and said well that's not your room and gave me a key to room 203. Well, it's not my fault she wrote the wrong room number in the first place.
The rest of the night went much smoother. I explored the fitness center and hung out at the bar while waiting for food. I went back upstairs to my room. Let me tell you, the room was spacious with huge TV, beautiful painting, a bunch of lamps and a great bathroom. Everything was going great until I was ready to go to bed. Well, the heater kept making the crackling noise. I tuned it off completely and it still made the noise. For half the night I was trying to make music out of that annoying noise, debating if I should switch rooms. I finally fell asleep.
In the morning, I head to head out around 8:15am to get to my 5K race. I stopped by the desk and got a breakfast coupon. I went to the bar and asked them for an apple juice since it was too early for me to eat breakfast. A nice woman by the name of Deneece gave me apple juice and a straw. As I was waiting there, her co worker came up saying to her "I don't understand why people think they can get free food." Well, I am sorry but we as guests are given breakfast coupon to get free food. Was the restaurant staff not informed? We shouldn't feel bad for doing something we are given. I didn't say anything but definitely felt a little sad for the couple with their two kids sitting and happily chatting at the table. They were the table the waitress just left and was most likely complaining about.
This was definitely an interesting experience that I never experienced in any of my hotel stays in over 15 years. I would highly suggest the management to have extra staff at check in especially Saturday night. One person can't do it. Furthermore, when I was checking out this morning, Kris was at the front desk. Last time I saw her was at 11:00pm at night. This poor woman should get some rest.
I rated the hotel 4 out of 5, because I believe you can do better. The building and location is perfect and the rooms are spacious. With a few extra staff members and hopefully no more hotel keys made for wrong rooms, and no more crackling noise from the turned off heater, this hotel can definitely be a gem in Milwaukee. I would also like the breakfast coupons to be either used or taken out all together, so the restaurant staff doesn't have to complain. I wish the hotel staff all the best and thank you Kris for working so hard last night with the amount of people you had.

The employee Leonard that worked the front counter was absolutely amazing. His customer service was beyond expectation. He helped my son and I with a phone charger since the airport was shut down and we had to get a hotel. He was very friendly and you can tell he loves his job. Will be back to see him again.

Holiday inn provides shuttle services to nearby locations, e.g. from hotel to my office. It was really good. Jeff who was the shuttle driver was available over a phone call whenever I needed the shuttle. He is very pleasant and I always have fun conversation with him:)