Courtyard by Marriott Birmingham Downtown at UAB

The room was clean and nice, and it had a new TV. The mattresses were the big problem: both beds in our two queen room were so soft we felt like we sank toward the floor, and my back hurt badly the next morning. The outlets under the lamps between the beds wouldn’t hold a plug. The location across from UAB Hospital is convenient, and sharing the parking garage is especially useful if you’re having surgery there. There’s no continental breakfast or restaurant, just a bistro with a limited menu. The breakfast burrito tasted very good, but at $14.00 it was expensive.

This was a horrible experience. The hotel charges an incredible amount, like it’s the most expensive place in Birmingham, but the bar or restaurant can still run out of a staple menu item. There’s also nowhere to buy a bottle of water, even though the store sells wine and sodas. Spills were left on the floor, and there’s no housekeeping staff on the main floor to clean them up. Each day I had to report someone’s drink spilled in or by the elevators, a dangerous thing for sick people walking through. A lot of guests are sick and choose this place because it’s right by UAB and easy to reach from the hospital. That convenience seems to let the hotel get away with this kind of service.

On Jan 14th I was approached twice by homeless people asking for money, first at 4:30 am and again at 11:20 am. One came up in the hotel lobby by the elevator, another at the parking garage elevator, with stories about needing gas money to get home. I was trying to take my family back and forth to UAB for my mom’s heart surgery, and had to keep them at arm’s length in the lobby. As I was walking my 84 year old mom to safety, one woman told me to burn in hell after I told her to back off because I had my own problems. This place felt dangerous, and I’m glad I was armed.

At $185 a night, room 220 wasn’t worth it. A huge Chevron sign lit up our second floor room so much that we could have left our lights off. The curtains were so thin that I could read the gas prices through them, $2.95 per gallon. If you’re afraid of the dark, this might be the room for you.