OverviewLocated along Highway 150 and about a 9-minute drive from Hoover, the Embassy Suites Birmingham-Hoover is suitable for business or vacation travellers who prefer an all-suite hotel with a free breakfast, meeting/banquet space and easy highway access.
Each of the hotel's air-conditioned suites comes with free Wi-Fi, cable TV, a separate bedroom, a living room with a sofabed, a wet bar, a mini-fridge, a microwave, a coffeemaker, a dining table, a desk, a free weekday newspaper, a hair dryer and an iron and ironing board. Wheelchair-accessible suites are available, as are smoking and non-smoking suites.
Hotel amenities include an indoor pool, a hot tub, a fitness centre, meeting/banquet facilities, a business centre, guest laundry, vending machines, a free cooked-to-order breakfast and free parking. A complimentary evening reception is also offered daily, as is a free area shuttle. Please contact the hotel directly for full shuttle details. On-site dining is available at Hoover Grille, which serves lunch and dinner daily. Pets are not permitted.
Birmingham's city centre is about an 18-minute drive away, while Riverchase Galleria is a 3-minute drive from the hotel. Verizon Wireless Music Center can be found 8 minutes away by car and Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is roughly a 25-minute drive away. (All distances and travel time estimates: Google Maps)
Verified with a front desk agent: Free Wi-Fi, free parking, pets not permitted, wheelchair accessible. (Call Date: October 5, 2013)
The GoodThe majority of the reviews sourced for this analysis were positive, with much praise going to the hotel's rooms, breakfast, staff and location.
Numerous guests praised their accommodations at the hotel. They described their rooms as clean, spacious, well equipped, quiet, modern and beautifully furnished, with good Wi-Fi and comfortable beds and linens.
The hotel's breakfast was enjoyed by many reviewers, who described it as excellent, delicious, fresh and frequently replenished. One traveller noted, "The breakfast was the best we have encountered at an Embassy Suites. Everything was very organized and they had servers delivering omelets, as compared to creating a large line around the station that you see in most other Embassy Suites. They also were checking names to ensure that non-guests were not crashing breakfast, which made everything seem controlled".
The hotel's staff were the source of several compliments, and where characterized as friendly, accommodating, professional and efficient. One guest remarked, "Guest Services rep. and shuttle driver, were all courteous and appreciative of our business. Upon checkout, the Guest Services rep. gave me her card and invited me back and shared local shopping venues with me - thus, turning me from a customer into a loyal return customer".
Several lodgers were pleased with the hotel's location. They found it close to several shopping malls, highway access, restaurants and downtown Birmingham.
The Bad
While the majority of reviews consulted for this analysis were positive, there were a few common complaints about noise transfer.
A few lodgers were disappointed with the noise level in the hotel. They reported noise from guests in adjacent rooms, as well as loud children in the hallways and the pool area.
TripAdvisor.com guest reviews ranked the hotel #8 of 80 Birmingham hotels with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 from 152 reviews.
Expedia.ca guest reviews rated the hotel 4.6 out of 5 with a 97% recommendation rate from 144 reviews.
Hotels.com guest reviews rated the hotel 4.6 out of 5 from 141 reviews.
The author called the hotel on October 5, 2013 to verify some information.
