Hotels near Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham

The first room was ok but the second had unfinished fixings inside and holes in the carpet

The hotel was clean and in a great location for the reason I was in Birmingham. It was near to the event that I was attending. The sink in my room had a stopper that prevented the water from escaping when I did not want it to collect in the sink during activities such as brushing my teeth and washing my face. The water was also cold and took an excessively long time to heat up even a little bit. It was not even lukewarm. Therefore, I checked out and was unable to shower. My son actually took a cold shower on a cold day, one of the coldest that we have had in Alabama in a while. I was also awakened by an emergency message and alarm to vacate the building due to an emergency only to learn later that it was a test. I learned this when the fire truck arrived and I heard an employee apologizing for not calling them to let them know that it was only a test. I only stayed overnight so there was no other opportunity for me to get a better impression. The only reason that I did not give a lower rating for the facilities is because once I reported the issue with the shower and sink, they sent a handy man to the room to make the repairs, but my son was already taking a cold shower at the time since we were scheduled to get back home to meet previously scheduled obligations. The staff person who was checking me out said that she couldn't do anything for me because I booked through a third party. However, she did state that she would refund the money that I paid for parking.

We booked an overnight stay at the Elyton and we’re looking forward to staying at another Autograph Collection Property as we have enjoyed stay at a few others in the past. We drove all day and we’re envisioning getting to our room and relaxing. Upon arrival we were told that nothing was open in the hotel due to it being Easter. Ok…..not even a hotel bar….no…..nothing. We could get a drink or food. We can understand it was a holiday however, it was not posted online or in the hotel anywhere that would have indicated if you book just know this very important fact. Our room was average at best and we had a corner room with a City view. That’s not saying much seeings how the rooms are well above $200 a night. We were looking forward to breakfast at least. We ordered a Cappuccino and a Latte……this came out as coffees. No where near a specialty coffee unfortunately. Our waiter Skylar was polite when I asked him a few questions about the coffee. He was happy to take a few tips from me in regards to how to make foam for a specialty drink. Their equipment was leaking for him to present specialty coffee drinks and they used “pod” for their Espresso drinks. Hence why our drinks were coffee. We noticed the online menu is not the exact menu presented in The Yard Restaurant. Several items were missing from the in house menu. My husband ordered the Smoked Salmon Toast….we were told….that’s the only thing we are out of. He then order the Elyon Breakfast instead. I ordered the Lemon Poppyseed Ricotta Pancakes with a Bluebery Compote and were looking forward to having them. Moments later Skylar had to inform me that they didn’t have them. They had Chocolate Chip Pancakes if I wanted those…..well no….I’m not a 10 year old at IHOP here. I reordered just the plain ole Continental Breakfast. Yogurt Parfait with Blueberries (how about Blueberry Pancakes in instead of Chocolate Chip?) half a Grapefruit and a Croissant. I thought what could go wrong with a Continental Breakfast….well things look pretty good except the Croissant was not there and was replaced with what I was told was a Catfish Head Biscuit. This thing was big for sure…..not light and airy as a Croissant but very heavy and tasteless. No thanks….my husband tried it and he agreed. He enjoyed his 2eggs/hash browns with bacon and toast. We did have the staff let us know at every turn during our disappointment if stay that Jessica (Hotel Manager) was struggling to keep up with the hotel in every area. The staff was always kind/friendly and had a quick smile. They must really like Jessica because they are always trying to cover for her and her lack of skills in managing a Marriott Bonvoy Autograph Collection Hotel. We absolutely wasted our stay and hard earned American Express benefit on this stay :-(

Great!!

This Holiday Inn Express was able to check us in at 11am when we arrived instead of the usual 3pm. This is a fairly new hotel . . . modern, spotless, well-lit lobby and initially everything seemed to work as it should. Then lots of little things went awry (locked out of our room during our 5-nite stay, flickering lamp, not all breakfast food available, mini-frig froze our food, towels not available, trash not emptied), though everything except breakfast was corrected when the front desk was notified. Receptionist Jennifer was particularly helpful . . . a model of professionalism, smarts and courtesy. Our main disappointment was the poor lighting in the room which seems to be the way at most hotels. Still, the location is great . . . just off I-65, 15 minutes from downtown and the staff helpful. And the brightly lit breakfast area became a perfect spot for late afternoon Scrabble games. We would stay here again.

Hotel service is very good

1 night stay which we would have stayed longer if we weren't just passing through. The pool looks great and was very busy at 930AM!! Restaurant was serving late so we could order a steak at 9pm! Salads were great! Room was clean and there were local shops nearby within walking distance. The resort is located at the edge of a neighborhood and I cod have easily taken a nice walk through and enjoyed viewing some of the homes. Will book here again on next road trip for sure!!