I stayed here for two weeks while working over at the Smyrna Airport and chose this hotel for myself and my clients based on location and earlier reviews. The hotel is very nice, clean and modern. The staff is generally quite friendly, especially Peggy, the breakfast chef, who does a very nice job.
The room had a good quality, king size bed, was smoke free, came with a mini fridge, microwave, flat screen TV, desk & office chair (could have had better support, swayed back too easily). The bed was very comfortable and even had adjustable firmness, which is quite nice. It has a little dial along the side of the mattress, by the head/pillow area. Its tucked away in a little pocket, so you've got to look for it.
The business area was adequate, though scanning was not working. Printing was fine.
Ruby Tuesday's and Cracker Barrel are within walking distance. Otherwise, there are plenty of restaurants just on the other side of I-24, within about 1 mile, but mostly chains. More local establishments can be found along US-70S, closer to the Smyrna airport. Nothing special, though.
So, overall the hotel was very good. It did have some downsides, however.
1) Its proximity to the highway came with the usual traffic noise. I-24 has a lot of truck traffic, even late at night. If you are at all noise sensitive, I suggest asking for a room far from the highway. I was in 212 and it was tolerable.
2) The internet was INCREDIBLY SLOW, whether you were using the wireless or ethernet. For a hotel of this quality & name, it should have been FAR better. Word was that they were working on it, but it did not improve at all during my 2 weeks there. Get a new server, people.
3) For those that must have their evening cookie, you better plan on getting it before 8pm, otherwise they tend to be gone... plan to get even earlier on the weekend, when this hotel was particularly busy due to local events.
4) The bed and breakfast deal costs and extra $10 day on top of your regular room rate. Unless you plan to eat omelets and other things that are to be made for you, you can save money by paying a la carte.
5) Pool was tiny. Hot tub was broken the whole time that I was there.
Regarding BBQ recommendations below, Nick & Jim's is really good and its close to the hotel. For real, local takeout BBQ that's literally from a little BBQ shack with a smoker, find CBQ BBQ on US 70S, over near the Nissan Plant. Really nice people working there, good quality food. Ribs fall off the bone. Plan to take it someplace else to eat it, though, and expect a real hole-in-the-wall sort of place... but that's where I've tended to find the best BBQ in the south.
- Hilton Garden Inn Smyrna
- Hilton Smyrna
- Smyrna Hilton
