Sonesta Select Birmingham Colonnade

The staff were friendly, and checking in was quick and easy. That's about where the good parts ended. We spent four nights, and our room was never cleaned. No trash pickup, fresh towels, or changed sheets. The room had a stained foam headboard, mildew on the windows, and someone else's hair on the shower soap dispenser. The TV had bright dots from its backlight that made it hard to watch. Towels and bedding felt cheap, and the thermostat looked like it was left behind from an old AC setup. The rest of the property was dirty and poorly kept too. Floors were sticky, and the dark-stained carpets clearly needed steam cleaning. The pool was marked closed for maintenance, but I wondered if that was just to avoid the cost of looking after it. The elevator had no safety inspection posted, and the so-called free breakfast was just a loaf of bread in a warming pan. Spend your money somewhere that values your business.

The staff at least tried to help and offered us another room to shower in the next morning, but we were in a hurry. Our room had several problems: the shower didn't work, the sink only gave cold water, and there were very few outlets. Some outlet faceplates were missing, and the bathroom floor was badly marked. I can't understand how they let anyone stay in that room. Wish I'd checked the recent reviews first, because they were right. Google's rating system sure seems off.

I booked a king bed, but at check-in they said all the king and queen rooms were occupied and put us in a room with two standard beds instead. In other words, someone else got the room we'd reserved. Then they charged my card twice for the November 1 and 2 stay. The first charge at check-in was correct, but the exact same amount appeared again on departure day. When I called this morning to get it fixed, they initially denied charging me twice, then said a manager would call back sometime, with no specific time. Completely unacceptable. I'd give zero stars if I could.

The room itself was okay, except for wrappers left behind the nightstands and empty shampoo, soap, and conditioner dispensers. The front desk staff were pleasant in the end, though some of their explanations for why the room wouldn't be ready until 8 p.m. didn't sound entirely believable. We booked that morning without any trouble, then arrived at 5:15 p.m. and learned our third-party same-day reservation hadn't appeared in the system. They said we'd have to wait two and a half hours. Tech problems happen, so we sat in the lobby. Guest after guest seemed to be getting a different version of the same explanation. Eventually we were told there was no cleaning staff and they were rushing to turn rooms over. A straightforward explanation would've gone a long way.