For the final five days in Alabama on our 5 year, 50 state road trip, we decided to visit Huntsville. Our best hotel option was the Residence Inn Huntsville as, at the time, it was a category 1 Marriott Rewards property which meant it didn’t require many points to stay there.
It’s a nice enough hotel, although nowhere near as excellent as the Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross/Peachtree Corners we’d stayed at a couple of months beforehand.
Here’s our review of the Residence Inn Huntsville to explain why.
Check-In
The person checking us in was one of the least personable front desk agents we’ve ever encountered. She did allow us to check in a couple of hours early by moving us to a different room (ours wasn’t ready yet), so we did greatly appreciate that.
The reservation was made in Shae’s name and she has Platinum status, so I’m not sure if that played a part in her accommodating that request. Having said that, she didn’t mention anything about her Platinum status which is something that the front desk agents are supposed to do. This didn’t bother us seeing as we don’t need them to say “Thank you for being a Platinum member”, but lack of effort ended up being a recurring theme at the hotel.
She’d assigned us room 211 but we didn’t go to our room immediately. The only elevator in the hotel was temporarily out of service and we had far too much stuff to bring in to carry it all up via the stairs.
We’d stopped off at Taco Bell to pick up lunch on the way, so we ate outside as it was a nice day. Residence Inn properties always have nice outdoor seating areas with a fire pit and grill, so it wasn’t a hardship having to wait.
After about half an hour the elevator was fixed, so we unloaded our stuff from the car and made our way up to our room.
Living Area
We’d booked a 1 queen bedroom suite, so that meant our room had a separate living area which is where you enter. Straight ahead there was a comfortable corner sleeper sofa and coffee table.
To the side of that against the far wall was a good-sized desk and office chair, along with a TV on top of a small chest of drawers.
On the opposite side of the room from the sofa was a two person dining table and chairs.
On top of the dining table was a small basket containing popcorn, coffee, tea and more.
To the right of the door when entering the room was a narrow, empty closet.
Kitchen
To the left of the closet was a full kitchen containing a fridge-freezer, microwave, dishwasher, coffee maker and stove top.
The kitchen cupboards contained pretty much everything you need for an extended stay, from a toaster, pots and pans…
…to glasses, plates, dishes, etc…
…to silverware, kitchen utensils, knives, etc.
Bedroom
Between the TV and dining table was the door leading to the bedroom. Shae and I love staying in suites like this as it means one of us can be up with the lights on without it disturbing the other person.
One downside to our suite at the Residence Inn Huntsville was that the doors between the rooms were extremely creaky. I might have to add a small can of WD-40 to our portable kitchen for times such as these.
On the plus side, the queen bed was very comfortable.
Opposite the bed was a TV on top of a chest of drawers. It looks like there’s a small closet to the right of those, but that seems to contain the air conditioning unit and so isn’t accessible for guests.
There was a separate, larger closet though with full-length mirror doors.
Inside the closet was a hairdryer, ironing board, iron and (I think) additional bedding for the sleeper sofa.
Bathroom
Opposite the bedroom closet was the sink and vanity.
The toiletries were Paul Mitchell which seems to be the brand used at all Residence Inn properties. There were a couple of bars of soap, as well as body wash, two conditioners (they’d forgotten to leave shampoo by accident) and lotion.
The bathroom itself contained the toilet and a bathtub with shower. The water pressure of the shower was OK, but not great. The bathtub also seemed somewhat clogged up and took a little while to drain each day.
Breakfast
The breakfast at the Residence Inn Huntsville was – in theory – served until 9:30am every day during our stay. The staff working at breakfast on our first morning seemed keen to be done as early as possible though, as they started clearing everything away at about 9:20. I therefore had to take these photos on two separate mornings as not everything was available to photograph on that first morning.
There were three different cereals available each day…
…as well as a burrito station and basket of fresh fruit.
There were different hot options each day; the day I took the photos we had scrambled eggs and two different types of sausage.
Another hot option each morning was oatmeal, while there was also a good selection of breads, bagels, muffins, etc.
To the left of those was canned fruit, cheese slices and hard boiled eggs. The canned fruit was a little disappointing as the last Residence Inn we stayed at had a large bowl of freshly cut fruit each morning rather than cheap canned peaches.
The mini-fridge contained a couple of different flavors of yogurt and a couple of types of milk.
Opposite that countertop is a separate section with some additional options. There’s a microwave, bagel slicer and toaster…
…along with a waffle maker.
To the right of that are some different toppings, condiments, preserves and more.
Finally, there’s a tea and coffee station, as well as a juice machine serving orange and apple juice.
Residence Inn Mix
From Monday to Wednesday at Residence Inn properties, they have something called The Mix in the evenings. This offers free beverages (including beer and wine) as well as various snacks and light meal options.
We were out on a couple of those evenings, but we got back from a hike about 30 minutes before that evening’s Mix was due to end. The only hot option that evening was some kind of chicken and bean chili, but there was only a tiny amount left – not even enough for one person. There was no staff member to be seen the entire time and it didn’t get refilled, so that was another disappointing aspect of our stay.
Amenities
The Residence Inn Huntsville has several amenities for guests to use during their stay. Next to the outdoor seating area and fire pit (mentioned earlier), there was an outdoor swimming pool and whirlpool. The swimming pool wasn’t heated and, as we were visiting at the beginning of April, it still wasn’t warm enough to use.
Shae and I did go in the hot tub one evening though. Although the water temperature was great, the jets in the whirlpool didn’t work.
There’s also an outdoor sports court with basketball hoops.
Indoors, there’s a fitness room with four pieces of equipment and some weights.
Opposite the lobby is a large seating area used for breakfast and The Mix, as well as a business center consisting of one computer and printer.
Seeing as the Residence Inn brand is more of an extended stay style, there’s guest laundry facilities. The washer and dryer both cost $2 per load.
Service
The service at the Residence Inn Huntsville wasn’t great. I’d mentioned earlier that the front desk agent who checked us in wasn’t very personable. She wasn’t the only one though – I think we saw about 5-6 different people working the front desk during our stay and only one of them was particularly friendly.
The staff working the breakfast area were friendly on the odd occasion that we saw them, but they seemed to spend most of their time hiding out back in the kitchen, other than when they were clearing away the breakfast stuff far too early.
On another morning, there were no plates left and only two bowls when we came down for breakfast. I could hear at least one staff member in the kitchen out back and so I called out to see if they could bring some more plates out, but there was no answer. Other guests subsequently came down for breakfast but they didn’t end up getting any food as there was nothing for them to eat off.
The maintenance worker was very friendly though – we saw him several times on our way in and out of the hotel and he always smiled and said hello.
Location
The Residence Inn Huntsville is in a pretty good location for everything in and around Huntsville. It’s only 10 minutes from the US Space & Rocket Center, 15 minutes from downtown and 20-25 minutes from Monte Sano State Park.
Cost
When we originally booked our stay at this hotel, it was a category 1 property. That meant it cost 7,500 Marriott Rewards points per night. As Marriott offers the 5th night free for award stays, our five night stay only cost 30,000 points – effectively 6,000 points per night.
Well, it should’ve only cost 30,000 points, but Marriott deducted 40,000 points from Shae’s account. For some reason they didn’t deduct the points until after it had moved up to being a category 2 property which costs 10,000 points per night. We’ve therefore contacted Marriott to ensure they credit back the 10,000 points they overcharged. (Edit: They’ve now refunded the extra 10,000 points.)
If we’d paid cash, it would’ve cost us $138.85 per night which, based on our stay, is more than it’s worth. It did mean though that we got 2.31cpp (cents per point) of value by using our points which is excellent value for Marriott Rewards.
Pet-Friendliness
As we have our small dog Truffles traveling with us on our 50 state road trip, we have to stay at properties that are dog-friendly. The Residence Inn Huntsville has a pet fee of $100 per stay. That wasn’t terrible seeing as we stayed five nights and so it equated to $20 per night, but it’s a little steep if you’re only staying one night.
There were several grassy areas around the hotel your dog can use, plus it’s close to Creekwood Park which has a nice dog park that’s separated for large and small dogs.
Final Thoughts
Our stay at the Residence Inn in Huntsville, Alabama wasn’t terrible. Our 1 queen bedroom suite was nice, although they could do with oiling the door joints. It has some good amenities, although the whirlpool’s jets need to be fixed.
The biggest area of improvement for the hotel though is its service. I don’t think we’ve ever stayed at a hotel where so many front desk agents weren’t personable, nor where breakfast is ended early and plates and bowls aren’t provided on occasion.
The overall vibe of our stay was that the hotel couldn’t really be bothered. That’s not something we’ve experienced anywhere else and is especially surprising for one of Marriott’s brands.
It was good value for a stay using points, but if you’re paying cash then there are probably plenty of other hotels in Huntsville that make more effort and are friendlier than the Residence Inn.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles isn’t as fussy as her dad and gives the Residence Inn Huntsville four paws out of four – pawfect! Although the pet fee was high, it wasn’t so bad on a five night stay. She also liked having all the grassy areas, the nearby dog park and hiking trails.
Our Rating
Room = 4.6 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.3 / 5
Food = 3.9 / 5
Location = 4.6 / 5
Service = 2.9 / 5
Overall Value = 3.9 / 5
Total = 4.03 / 5
Address
Residence Inn, 6305 Residence Inn Rd, Huntsville, AL 35806
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