Yes, this hotel is in a rural area; but there's nothing about it that feels unsafe. Room was very nice, clean, and comfortable -- with an especially spacious bathroom. Attractive and roomy breakfast area. Best of all, the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. I left my cell phone charger in the room, and when I called about it 2 days later, they had it right at the front desk and mailed it to me immediately. We were doing the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and this Hampton is very convenient to I-65 and reasonably close to the Clermont/Bardstown distilleries. While it may not be in a "destination" location, it's certainly a great choice if you're traveling down 65 and want to get a little outside of Louisville.

Let me start by saying that even though this hotel is only 15 minutes south of Louisville, it is definitely in a rural area. If you didn't know Louisville was so close, you would never guess it is near a large city.

That being said, I booked this room as a half-way stopping point from Chicago to Atlanta. I normally stop in Elizabethtown, KY, but found that this Hampton had much better rates. As I said, this area is definitely rural, but close to I-65. If you are looking for nice dining or perhaps even varied choices of cuisine, it is probably best to stop in Louisville and eat. The only dining choices around were Cracker Barrel, McDonalds, Waffle House and a couple of other fast food restaurants.

A few other reviews mentioned a perhaps sketchy liquor store in front of the hotel - not true. There is a BP with a convenience store attached, but it looked like your run of the mill gas station, no better no worse. There is a more run down looking hotel across the street, but that was of little consequence. The Hampton itself definitely seems to value security. For night entry, you had to have a key card and the parking lot was very well lit. The lobby was clean, though definitely a bit dated decor wise. Hotel staff was extremely friendly during check in. Hotel hallways and elevator were also a bit dated decor wise, but also clean.

Room decor had been updated nicely - modern wall art, furniture, lighting and television - even a painted accent wall. The Hampton beds were, as always, heavenly. Only complaint was that, while the TV was a nice upgraded flat screen, the channel numbers didn't match up with the ones on the channel listing card left in the room and there were a LOT of channels. Finding what I was looking for was a bit tedious, but that is just me being picky. The bathroom was also updated nicely with a large vanity and nice fixtures. Something I thought was a nice touch - the towels were all folded or rolled into various shapes and designs. Even the ice bucket liner was tied into a bow-tie.

The breakfast was the Hampton standard - biscuits, sausage, eggs, muffins, bagels, cereal, yogurt, fruit, waffles, juice and coffee. Nothing fancy, but it is free. Over all this was a very nice Hampton to stay at and lived up to the consistency of the Hampton chain of hotels.

Pros: Check in and check out was fast and simple. Desk clerk was friendly. Room was clean. Air conditioner worked great which was nice since it was 90+ when we were there. Ample parking. Security was nice. We arrived back to the hotel at 4 am to find the doors locked at the main entrance. However, the key card let us in. Gave a bit of an added sense that the hotel cared about their visitor's safety.

Cons: The room was rather small for three adults. Factor in our luggage and there really wasn't much space for anything. Very minimal walk space between beds and dressers. The desk chair was way too large for the room and pushed up against the bed. We were only there for the night and weren't in the room for long due to activities, but it was cramped. Maybe Hampton should omit the desk station in rooms of this size just to free up more space.

Side note: Though we didn't use it, the pool area was quite clean. Various places to eat within 5-10 minute of the hotel.

The hotel and room were OK. However, Brooks itself is not a good area to stay in, per the locals I was working with.

The worst part of my experience was the Internet Connection. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was almost bad, if not just as bad, as dial-up. My iPhone's hotspot was MUCH faster.

I rely on Internet access to catch up on work that I cannot complete during the day while visiting Clients.

By far, this is the worst experience I have had at a Hilton.