Springhill Suites By Marriott Abilene

We ended up staying overnight after driving from Allen to Abilene for a playoff high school football game, rather than making the 3.5-hour drive home afterward. Springhill Suites at 2525 N Judge Ely Blvd had excellent service. The evening front desk crew was pleasant, and Rocky and Christine really stood out in the morning. Rocky explained that breakfast was complimentary and walked us through the bar. When I asked for lemons, he went the extra mile and even cooled down my hot tea so I could make iced tea. They were both amazing. For a trendy, cute place to stay in Abilene, I’d choose Springhill Suites on N Judge Ely. There’s also a square of cute, trendy restaurants and shops right next to the hotel.

We were there one night with my wife and kids, and had to move rooms several times just to find hot water. The first room had none, the next room didn’t either, and then I was sent to a room that didn’t exist. The following room finally had hot water. Moving the family around for showers was difficult, to say the least. The front desk guy said he’d give us a full refund. The stay was charged in full after we left. I called, and the “operations manager” said she’d look into it and call back. A few days later the front desk called and confirmed a full refund. I really appreciated that, and the staff were kind and apologetic throughout the whole ordeal.

SEWER GAS!! We don’t leave low-rated reviews lightly. We’d waited for this hotel to open because of its location, but at check-in we learned there’d be a parking charge. There was also barely any hot water. Worst of all, the sewer gas smell hit as soon as we entered and was throughout the hallways on multiple floors. The staff were friendly, but said they’d gotten used to it. I had only a mild headache at the level I experienced, but I think this could be extremely dangerous over the long term. I hope they fix it immediately. I’m not sure how the city is allowing them to stay open.

The hotel is beautiful and in a prime spot, with plenty of shops and restaurants within walking distance. It was very new, only about 6-8 weeks old when we visited. But we’d booked a month ahead, and at check-in they told us all the boilers had gone out, so there was no hot water. They said plumbers were working around the clock and were sure it would be fixed by morning, so we stayed. Around 11:30 p.m., alarms suddenly started blaring in our room and woke both my kids. They were going off all over the hotel, and everyone was awake. We found out the boiler work had somehow set them off. They kept ringing for 35 minutes. Breakfast the next morning was a nice hot spread, but the milk and chocolate milk were expired. There was no strawberry jam or sugar-free syrup, and the juice machine was out. Still no hot water, either. They thought it might be fixed by noon. We reluctantly stayed because we had morning plans with family. When we came back around 4 p.m., there was still no hot water and none would be available until Monday, though it was Saturday. They offered to reimburse us for both nights, but we still needed hot water for showers and baths. We asked if they could use our same rate at another sister hotel in Abilene. They referred us to TownePlace, but said we’d have to book online ourselves. TownePlace wouldn’t accept our Springhill rate, so we’d have to pay much more. I found it appalling that Springhill wouldn’t arrange the transfer or make the booking for us. We eventually ended up at Residence inn after a lot of trouble. I would have loved the hotel without these problems. It really upset me that they couldn’t find us another place to stay when they couldn’t meet our needs. A hotel at fault and unable to accommodate guests should at least be able to help find them somewhere else. Sad this place had so many issues.