voco Gent by IHG in Gent

Arrived at midnight to an empty hotel in a building site. Had to carry luggage up a small staircase through a half constructed car park (and was told hotel would not be charging for car park as it normally does!) in a room overlooking external building site. The room had PVC window where the normal seal had been removed and the tipping window was screwed to the frame. This meant no sound protection from the large busy road. This hotel is trying to operate under building conditions!

Unacceptable Conditions and Poor Service at Holiday Inn Gent Expo

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with my recent stay at the Holiday Inn Gent Expo. My experience was far below the acceptable standards of the IHG brand, characterized by a lack of transparency and substandard living conditions.

Undisclosed Renovations and Poor Air Quality
Upon arrival, it became immediately apparent that the hotel is undergoing extensive renovations. This was never disclosed at the time of booking. The entire property was filled with a pungent, biting odor of construction chemicals and paint. To make matters worse, the air conditioning in my assigned room was completely non-functional. The combination of zero ventilation and toxic fumes made the air quality in the room nearly unbearable.

Inconsistent and Unhelpful Front Desk Service
When I requested a room change due to these health and comfort concerns, the front desk staff initially refused, claiming the hotel was at full capacity and insisting that I "just deal with it" for the night. It is fundamentally unreasonable to sell a room with known equipment failures and hazardous air quality to a guest.

After nearly an hour of exhausting negotiation and persistence on my part, a room suddenly became available. This inconsistency in communication—miraculously finding a room after claiming to be full—was both unprofessional and dishonest.

Disturbed Rest
The ordeal did not end there. Despite a late night dealing with room issues, I was abruptly woken up at 8:00 AM by loud drilling and construction noise directly outside my room.

Conclusion
Selling rooms that are clearly unfit for habitation while failing to warn guests about active renovations is deceptive. The lack of empathy from the staff and the physical discomfort of the environment made this a truly terrible experience. I would not recommend this hotel until they have completed their construction and retrained their front desk team in basic customer service and honesty.

They enrolled me in a IHG loyalty membership without consent, likely violating EU and Belgium Privacy Law. They should not be trusted with personal data and Emails.

Adding: Rooms are stone cold. The AC is turned to cooling mode while outside is 10 C. They will give you mobile electric heaters if you ask. 170 euros per night by the way.