Homewood Suites by Hilton Birmingham-SW-Riverchase-Galleria

The suite ended up being better than I expected. Our family of three had a king one-bedroom with a comfortable soft bed, modern, clean finishes, and large Smart TVs in both the living room and bedroom with Netflix and YouTube. The kitchen had everything we needed, including a full-size fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, pots and pans, and a small table. Breakfast was a real highlight, with eggs, sausage, grits, French toast, potatoes, cereal, pastries, oatmeal, and coffee. We were in town for a college graduation, and the staff were professional and polite. I liked the stay enough to join Hilton Honors, and we’ll keep Homewood Suites in mind for another visit.

The complimentary breakfast had plenty of variety and was actually tasty, and the evening social hours gave me a chance to unwind without going out. I also felt safe and comfortable the whole time. My suite was spotless and roomy, with a full-size fridge and dishwasher in the kitchen. I could keep work and downtime separate thanks to the living area. The team really made the stay special: people from the front desk to housekeeping knew my name, and they remembered that I like extra coffee pods. The bed felt like a cloud, and the whole property looked polished and smelled fresh. I’ve stayed at plenty of upscale hotels, but this Homewood Suites felt like coming home. I’d give it ten stars if I could. (Lillian, Amanda, Bernard, Keith, Raven, Marina, Chris, Sam)

The room itself had cigarettes under the dresser. The stay was also a mess from the start: my existing two-night reservation was entered as one night, so other guests were sent into our room about two hours after we arrived. The next afternoon I came back and couldn't get in because the system still showed only one night. I was charged another $144 that nobody could explain or even find, and after management got nowhere with it, I had to dispute the charge through my bank. They only charged me for one night and acted as if I hadn't stayed the second night, though I spent about two hours dealing with problems at the hotel and another six hours afterward trying to sort it out. The manager also promised 15,000 Hilton Honors points for the trouble, but they never arrived. The communication was awful, the issues weren't properly resolved, and this was one of the worst managed hotel stays I've had. I wouldn't recommend it, and hope they improve how they handle guests.

It took going up to four floors before we found an ice machine with ice, even though the desk clerk said they were all supposed to be working. She was very nice when she checked us in, but in the morning no one was there at checkout, and nobody picked up the phone number posted on the sign. In the room, the tub wouldn't stop dripping, its inside had hair from a previous guest, and the bathroom door hook was half detached. The sheets looked old, and the mattress clearly seemed worn out. The place felt poorly maintained, so seeing all the high ratings made me wonder if some were fake. As a longtime Hilton customer, I found it a poor reflection of the brand.