APATHY WITH A SMILE. That should be the motto for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Portland-NW Downtown. But before I get into the reasons why, let me share the positives with you: Location. Complimentary parking. Complimentary breakfast. Generous counter space in the bathroom. Green Mountain Coffee Pods. Pool and hot tub. Now for the not-so-positives.. NO HOUSEKEEPING DURING OUR ENTIRE STAY. Despite bringing this issue to the attention of the hotel staff and receiving a promise that our room would be cleaned, housekeeping didn't bother to clean our room during our multi-day stay. Our beds were not made. The towels were not replenished. The carpet wasn't vacuumed. No note explaining the reason why. They simply didn't show up. Unbelievable. INEFFECTIVE KEY CARD SYSTEM. The key cards keep failing resulting in multiple trips to the front desk. The staff are quick to blame anything and everything under the sun (with a smile of course!) for their ineffective key card system. While certain objects can demagnetize the cards, it shouldn't get to the point where you've exceeded your daily goal of steps from walking to and from your hotel room door ___ times because once AGAIN, you can't unlock the door because the key card has died. So if I were you, I would book a room on the lower level or better yet, just ask for a cot next to the front desk. You'll save time and get all the coffee pods you want. NO LOCAL DIALING FROM YOUR HOTEL ROOM PHONE What should have been a quick local call to a local restaurant turned into a near 10 min ordeal of repeated calls to the front desk only to be told that some code needed to be removed from the phone and that I had to wait to give it time to take effect (???). It would have been faster for me to send a note via carrier pigeon than to use the phone (actually a PROP) in my hotel room. HOTEL NEEDS PEST CONTROL ASAP I discovered our uninvited guests crawling on the wall and on my bed (see the attached pic). Maybe they know how to place a local call from the hotel phone? "MS. HAPPY" If the Holiday Inn Express on NW Vaughn Street in Portland, OR were to launch a campaign with the goal of promoting its apathetic culture, "Suvena" should be the face of that campaign. Her unsmiling, unwelcoming and dour demeanour reeks of not only apathy but also, a not-so-subtle contempt towards the guests of the property. CONCLUSION It's pretty obvious that the management at this property are part of the problem and not, the solution. No performance management coupled with ineffective HR practices has contributed to a culture of apathy where breaking promises and failing to meet the bare minimum standards of hospitality (see above entry about no housekeeping) is not only tolerated but encouraged. Please do not stay at this property. You've worked hard for your money and you deserve better.