Hamilton Holiday Motel

Hamilton Alabama is a lovely, quaint city, and the hotel gave us the quiet and comfort we needed. Its rustic feel made it easy to slow down for a bit and enjoy some peace in the middle of our fast daily lives. This was the best hotel stay I’ve had in years. I’d recommend it to everyone and would stay again if I get the chance.

The room was clean, but pretty bare for the amount we paid. There was only a sheet and the usual bed cover, so an extra blanket would’ve helped, and the sheets had stains. Oddly enough, the decor and smell reminded me of my late grandmother’s house, which was a pleasant surprise. Fine for a night, but not comfortable if you want to spend time in the room.

We left for another hotel within half an hour. The manager offered us a room at the front of the property, but we declined. We weren’t offered a refund, though perhaps the manager wasn’t authorized to give one. The room seemed frozen in the 1970s and had only the basics, which we could have put up with for one night. What we couldn’t overlook was feeling unsafe. Less than ten minutes after arriving, someone pounded loudly on our door. My husband answered and saw a group of older boys running down the breezeway. They’d chosen only our door, and it seemed they must have known we’d just arrived. With just an old basic lock, we didn’t feel secure. Neither of us was comfortable leaving our belongings there to get food, and we worried about what might happen if it happened again, or worse, in the middle of the night. Check-in itself was ordinary, though getting a key instead of a card surprised us, since we hadn’t encountered that kind of lock in over ten years. We knew it wasn’t an expensive hotel and were willing to overlook a lot, but not safety.

We had to switch rooms three times before we got one that was decent. The first had a ceiling leak, and only half the lights worked in the second. All we got were half-hearted apologies and excuses. People were rude both on the phone and in person. We won’t stay here again. Saving a couple of bucks isn’t worth it.