Americas Best Value Inn & Suites-Birmingham/Calera

My stay was peaceful, and I’d happily recommend this motel. I haven’t heard other guests or seen anyone loitering, and I checked the bed for bed bugs. There weren’t any, and I didn’t see other bugs either. The rooms are clean and spacious, with a nice layout, closet, couch, desk, and so on. The furniture is a little outdated, but after seeing some overly dramatic reviews, I wanted to say this place isn’t bad at all.

My kids and I left as soon as we could, and I asked for a refund. The room was awful, smelling like a smoking room soaked in curry even though it was supposed to be non-smoking. There was chipped paint and holes in the walls, the shower looked moldy and dirty, and the air conditioner couldn’t cool the whole “suite.” The outside was scary too, and the pictures weren’t accurate. Behind the motel, a homeless woman was sitting on the sidewalk against the wall with all her belongings. I requested a room on the front side because I hoped we’d feel safer. The lobby smelled strongly of mothballs, and the free breakfast setup was just one counter with nowhere to sit. It didn’t look much like a breakfast area.

We checked in late, so I can’t say how the big-screen TV or internet worked. The king bed was comfortable, though, and we slept as well as at home. The room was clean, and the linens were enough for what we needed. It also had a coffee maker, microwave, and fridge. The floor plan was unexpectedly different, and we liked it. Would we come back? Yes.

They were very nice people, and I was so tired I couldn’t care much about the room. I’m pretty germaphobic, but staying there seemed better than passing out on the expressway when I really didn’t feel like dying that night. I’d been supposed to stay at an Airbnb that was disgusting, so this was a lot better. I was told I’d get a non-smoking room, which was fine since I don’t smoke, but plenty of people had clearly smoked in room 107. It wasn’t terribly clean, though it was much cleaner than the place I was meant to stay.