I travel a lot and love staying at Marriott. This is a very nice hotel for the money. Its downtown so not a lot to do, but im here on business and its close to where i need to be. There is a great sea food place just a couple blocks away. I will be back.

My husband and I stayed 2 nights in order to be near a family member who had eye surgery at the Callahan Eye Foundation, part of the UAB hospital complex. We were in an unfamiliar city and would be taking shifts in the hospital room, so didn't want to be driving back and forth and wanted a safe location for me to be alone in while he was on duty at night. We chose the Courtyard for the location and its reputation for comfort, as we have stayed at others. This Courtyard delivered what we needed. Although the Callahan does not connect to the Courtyard like the hospital does, it was only an easy 2 block walk after going through the hospital. We parked in the hospital parking garage for $6 a night, took the elevator down to the hotel, and didn't move the car again.

We had a king bed room on the 5th floor and found it quiet (except for the occasional siren, but it is located by a hospital, so what do you expect? I am a sound sleeper so was not bothered, light sleepers might need a white noise machine or fan). I did not hear any noise from other rooms. Everything was clean and spotless. The bed was very comfortable, lots of pillows, and a lightweight duvet cover . The room was small, which might have been an issue if we had been there at the same time, or if we had another person in the room to use the hide-a-bed....it would have been very cramped if that were the case. In addition to the bed and sofa, there was a small table in front of the sofa and a large desk and wardrobe on the opposite wall. All were very close to each other. I was pleased at the number of lamps in the room, a pet peeve is a room which few lighting options. The free Wi-fi worked well.

We were pleased to find a small coffeemaker that actually made 4 cups of coffee, not those awful "pod' types that do one bad cup at a time. This was on a small counter that also held the ice bucket and had a small refrigerator below it. We did not have a microwave, as some reviewers have mentioned, so if this is important, you might ask specifically if your room is so equipped.

One thing I always appreciate in a hotel room is to have the vanity separate from the tub/toilet, so that more than one person can get ready at a time. This hotel does not have that feature, it is all in one. This was not a problem this time, as we were never there at the same time. The bath itself was fine, with room around the vanity for toiletries. The tub was a little strange, it had a built in seat of granite with a glass in front of the seat, and then a shower curtain with a curved rod for the rest of the tub. Unfortunately the curtain and the glass did not make a secure fit.

Breakfast was not included, but there is a Bistro downstairs, and the food court at the hospital is very convenient and offers a Starbucks and a Charleston Market, which we utilized. There are also several restaurants right around the corner from the hotel.

If you have to be at the UAB hospital, this is the most convenient place to stay, and provides comfortable rest. I do agree that the standard discount rate of $139 is too high for what you get, but we were able to get a significantly lower rate on the weekend and with our AAA discount, by searching the internet first instead of just calling and asking for the hospital discount.

We drove 300 miles to Birmingham - a strange city - to visit a very sick family member in the University of Alabama Hospital Center. We parked in the North Tower Garage ($6.00/day) and discovered the Marriott connected directly to both the hospital and the garage. We took rooms at the hotel and could walk quickly to the hospital for visiting hours, and to an eclectic variety of places to eat without moving the car. The staff was professional, and the rooms were all we could ask for - clean, quiet, with coffee bar, microwave and fridge. Breakfast was not included at the stylish Bistro on the ground floor.
The hotel provided the exact convenience we out-of-towners needed.

Every single person in this hotel, from housekeeping to front desk was so compassionate, warm and friendly.
When a family is going through such stress due to medical reasons it was so comforting to come back to the hotel and have every single person enquire about not only one's patient, but about oneself.
The hotel itself is very comfortable and handicapped friendly, which is to be expected being virtually attached to the UAB medical complex, but I cannot praise every employee enough.
This hotel made a very stressful stay as comfortable as possible. We were very fortunate to have a positive medical outcome, and everyone who asked us about it actually cheered!
This is Southern Hospitality at its very best.