Oct 04, 2001 02:10 AM
2842 Views
Do not let anyone trick you into believing the Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama is a four star hotel. A recent weekend there proved otherwise. For starters, there is no assigned parking to hotel guests. You only have the choice of high priced Valet parking or street parking. I do not personally mind parking my car on the street, however, Tutwiler is located downtown Birmingham which is known for it's high crime volume.
Secondly, when myself and a guest checked in, we were informed there were several company Christmas parties in the hotel that night. Not a problem, BUT the bars and restaurants were closed to us for this very reason. We should have been told this when we made our reservations. We could make our plans accordingly.
Upon entering the room for this ''four-star'' hotel, it left a stale impression. The room was very small and the view was blocked by a parallel brick wall. Now I am sure other rooms had better views, but every guest deserves some view to enjoy, certainly not your hotel neighbors across the way. This forced us to keep the curtains drawn for privacy.
The hotel towels (which were provided sparingly) were stained and dirty in appearance. This is unacceptable in any hotel, much less one of this self-claimed stature. There were no vending machines or ice machines in the entire building as stated in hotel information. Several first-class amenities listed in their hotel material and website were not included and were never presented during our stay.
This hotel is historical and deserves a better fate than what it has become.
