SpringHill Suites by Marriott Birmingham Gardendale

The bathroom door was the main downside for me. It’s a sliding barn door made of thick translucent glass, and you can see people’s silhouettes through it and through the slot along the side. Its placement also doesn’t offer much privacy, right where a TV would usually be, so light spills into the bed area and people lying there can see the silhouettes easily. Otherwise, this is a fantastic hotel, with modern amenities, spacious rooms, clean bathrooms, welcoming staff, and a great breakfast.

Really clean hotel and rooms, with excellent service. Our DoorDash food arrived without silverware, so I called the front desk to ask if we could pick some up. Before I’d even made it out the door, they brought silverware, napkins, and plates right to our room. We’ll definitely be back.

The room had an old ice cream cone that had been sitting in the trash for a while. I could live with that, stuff happens, but things got worse. We had the do not disturb sign up and housekeeping came in anyway. Then I realized a few hours after checkout that I’d left a Christmas present in the room. They said they’d look right away and asked me to call back, which made it seem like they didn’t care. The next day they said they’d searched everywhere and apologized, but my reaction was that our company has started opening local stores and I’ll do my best to make sure we never stay here, since who knows what else could go missing. This was the only Springhills I’ve stayed at that was horrible. Don’t stay here if you have anything valuable with you. Edit: About a mouth after posting this, I found out I hadn’t received any Marriott points for the 3 night stay.

While I was asleep, a white man unlocked my room door with a key and walked right in. I was terrified, startled, and confused. This was one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had, and the service afterward made it worse: nobody apologized or showed compassion, offered an explanation, or tried to put things right. They acted as if it were no big deal, despite this serious breach of safety and security. Guests should be able to feel safe and protected where they sleep, and this hotel failed at even basic care. I won’t return, and I strongly advise anyone considering this location to rethink their stay. Marriott should be embarrassed by the negligence and behavior here.