Embassy Suites Birmingham

“Great hotel, coffee snobs beware”

Stayed comfortably for 5 nights with no major issues. I was concerned about the previous reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel quality. I was part of a group staying for a class at Samford University, so the hotel was booked by our school, and I didn't have any say in the location. T… Mehr

Stayed comfortably for 5 nights with no major issues. I was concerned about the previous reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel quality. I was part of a group staying for a class at Samford University, so the hotel was booked by our school, and I didn't have any say in the location. The average rate during my stay was $128 per night. I'm not sure what the going rate is for that area but the hotel felt much more upscale than that price. I'm giving it 5/5 because of previous poor reviews but it's probably a 4 or 4.5. I stayed in a King room, and it had a separate living room with extra-large pull-out couch (also King size?). A small balcony looked out on the parking lot. Each night we had a card good for 2 drinks from the bar from 6-7:30pm which also had snacks (chips/dip, veggies/hummus, each night differed). Had an excellent amaretto sour. Breakfast in the morning included a made-to-order omelet station, eggs, meat, potatoes, fruit, yogurt, waffles, cereal, bread, muffins, oatmeal. Breakfast opens at 6:30 on weekdays. My main complaint with this hotel was that you could not get coffee until that time - they had a rope across the breakfast area until it opens (although someone traveling with our group did slip in for coffee before 6:30 so perhaps they are lenient on that?). Also, I ended up with grounds in my final sip on multiple days. There is a Ruth's Chris on site that shares the middle of the atrium with the hotel breakfast area/evening bar reception. Plants and koi ponds were peaceful. On the website it lists parking costs, but they never had me display a pass or ask for my car model/tag info. I kept my sleeping in/privacy tag on each day but did remove it one day midweek so housekeeping could refresh my supplies and empty trash. They did empty trash and replaced used towels but did not restock the coffee or toilet paper. I had to call downstairs to request coffee pods (the machine is one of those that can make two cups at a time with round pods not Keurig). I think they thought I asked for coffee "pot" because an hour later someone arrived with a new machine but no coffee. After explaining they brought back extra coffee pods. The hotel condition does show its age in cracking paint in places, or stains in the carpet where I noticed someone spilled their coffee. But I didn't see a bug the entire time. If there was a problem with that in the past it was temporary and taken care of. During my stay there was a problem with the soda machine, and it smelled really bad near it. It looked like they had people working on it for several days and someone said the whole thing would need to be replaced. Pros: Clean rooms, lots of space, free nightly reception, excellent breakfast Cons: Coffee quality and limited access times

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