While vacationing in Birmingham, I spent 7 nights at the Hampton Inn (room 514) at the Colonnade, located conveniently off of Hwy 280, just south of the Summit. Despite it's location at the I-459 / Hwy 280 interchange, it was a quiet hotel. During the first weekend (Fri - Sun), the hotel was completely booked with families in town for a soccer tournament, so the hotel was not quite as clean as it was the remainder of the week. On Monday, many business travelers arrived and I was pleasantly surprised to have the carpet in my room freshly shampooed and the hallways and elevators vacuumed.
The bed was very comfortable and the room had a microwave, coffee maker, and large refrigerator. Since coffee and tea are available around the clock in the lobby, I did not find a need to use these appliances.
Breakfast included hot coffee, tea, cereal, oatmeal, bagels, yogurt, fresh fruit, and either eggs or other hot item each morning from 6 - 10 AM. It was as you might normally expect from a Hampton Inn, but the fresh fruit was very nice healthy alternative.
The business center was a nice perk - free internet, a copier, phone directory and a printer. Unfortunately, it was not very clean with much dust on the countertop by the monitor and other equipment. A bit of regular housekeeping in this area would really enhance the use of the small space.
Although I did not use the exercise room, I did take note of the Precor eliptical trainer there. There was also a treadmill and a combination weight machine, along with a TV and fresh towels, in the room as well.
Overall, the hotel was nice in a perfect location and I would book another stay there in the future. A bit of attention to cleaning the lesser used areas would really make this hotel a first-choice!
