Holiday Inn Express Hotels in Dripping Springs

Employees are pleasant but seem poorly trained, which has not changed in 3 visits. Am a Platinum Elite IHG Member but this provides ZERO benefits at this hotel, which basically plagues the entire IHG Rewards Program, which is known to over-hype & under-deliver. Parking lot was basically empty when I arrived at 1:45PM in the middle of the week & approached the front desk to ask if it was possibly to check-in 75 minutes before the 3P check-in time? The front desk employee DID NOT ask my name or made NO inquiry about my reservation, type of room OR any IHG Rewards status. This employee could have been offering the exact same welcome to someone wandering into an IHG property for the very 1st time Worldwide, rather than a Platinum Elite Member with 2 million points. He could have cared less & this is a hallmark of the IHG Rewards Program overall. He looked up from his telephone & simply replied: ”There are no rooms available & check-in is not until 3P” & he then looked back down at his phone. Interaction completed. Love it when unconcerned & totally uninformed hotel front desk employees respond in this manner. It is the same as telling a guest that there is not a single room in the property available NOW, but in 60, 90 or 120 minutes, EVERY ROOM in the property will suddenly become available at the SAME time. Nonsensical at best. Many of the chairs in the breakfast room were so stained we would not sit in them, as was the heavily stained chaise lounge in the room. Housekeeping overall was acceptable this time, & the employees overseeing the breakfast room are a vast improvement compared to previous visits. Other than the older front desk gentleman who does not realize that IHG Platinum Elite status INCLUDES ”early check-in & late check-out”, all other front desk employees were quite pleasant & helpful. Platinum Elite states also supposedly includes ”complimentary room upgrades”, but 90+++% of IHG properties are either totally unaware of this part of the program or are directed to simply ignore it. Do not remember the last time I received a FACTUAL room upgrade at ANY IHG property Worldwide, so this property was no exception.