November 2014, Weekend/Weekday, 1-night, King 1 Bedroom Suite #506
Status perks and check-in
The check-in agent was friendly and accommodating. We received an upgrade to a king bedroom suite, a welcome bag with a few candies, and Pepperidge Farms cookies and bottled water in the guestroom. I also received the 250 bonus points I have chosen on my profile.
Our key did not work when we got to the guestroom, so I returned to the front desk. Both staff members apologized and exchanged my keys. They said they had a bad batch of keys, and the bad ones must not have all been tossed out when they were replaced. The agent who had checked me in offered to return to the guestroom with me to make sure we did not have any further problems. I politely declined this offer since they seemed to know what the trouble was caused from and had given me new keys. The replacement keys worked fine when I returned to the suite.
Guestroom #506
This guestroom is located on the top floor with a view of the nature area/pond behind the hotel. It has a connecting room door in the living room, and a separate bedroom. There was a large window in each room, although neither window could be opened. There were two thermostat controls; one in the living area, and one in the bedroom.
The kitchen area contained a full size fridge, electric stovetop, dishwasher, microwave, an ice bucket, a full size coffee pot with supplies, and a table with two chairs. A telephone was on the table, and there were outlets underneath the table.
The freezer did not have an ice maker. It contained ice cube trays, and there is an ice machine on this floor. Microwave popcorn and dish detergent were provided. The cupboards were well stocked with dishes, cooking pans, silverware, and utensils.
The living room contained a sofa, soft chair, end tables, coffee table/footstool, lamps, and a flatscreen TV on an armoire.
The bedroom contained a king size bed, a folding luggage rack, nightstands with lamps, a clock, a telephone, and a large flatscreen TV on an armoire. The bed and pillows were comfortable, and we did not hear any noise from outside the guestroom while in the bedroom.
The bathroom was located in the bedroom. The bathing area contained the toilet, and a shower/tub combination. The towels were good quality. Everything in the bathroom functioned well, and we did not need to hold the handle down to flush the toilet--yay, after having this problem for four days prior to this stay!
The vanity and a large closet were located outside of the bathing area. The floor covering in front of the vanity and in the bathing area was tile.
We stayed on a Sunday night, and there is not an evening social on Sundays. Some of the breakfast foods in the morning included: muffins and breads, a waffle maker, scrambled eggs, hash browns, whole oranges, milk, juice, and coffee.
There is an outside sitting area and a pool next to the parking lot. There were a couple of couches with comfortable looking cushions in the sitting area; however, these were propped up when we visited the pool, as if they were being cleaned.
One round table with an umbrella and four chairs was located in the pool area, and there were a few loungers.
Potted trees were decoratively placed around the pool to block out the parking lot. I wondered aloud to my husband why they had not chosen to place the pool out back with a view of the pond. Since the pond is on the north side of the building, my husband said they probably did not do that because then it would not have been sunny around the pool.
This hotel does not have a whirlpool tub; however, there is one at the Hilton Garden Inn next door that guests can use. We used the whirlpool tub at the Hilton Garden Inn and the pool at the Homewood Suites. Both areas were comfortable, and the water temperature was excellent.
We had a minor inconvenience/change to our shuttle request to the airport, although I do not remember the exact details. I do recall that when we checked in, I asked if we could sign up for the airport shuttle at 2:45 p.m. the next day, and we were told the shuttle only runs every half hour. We signed up for the 2:30 shuttle, and the next day our flight was delayed slightly. We then asked if we could go at 3:00 instead, and we were told that time was not available because the shuttle was doing a full run between 2:30 and 3:00 (2:45, I think). Shortly after this (around 2:15 - 2:20), the shuttle driver came to the lodge area where we were seated to ask us to go right away (I was in the restroom at the time). I thought we were going to be to the airport very early, but we stopped at the Hilton Garden Inn on the way, and we were there about 10 minutes waiting for guests. By the time we left for the airport from that hotel, it was after 2:30. This was not a big deal for us, although passengers may want to be aware of other circumstances when deciding what time to take the shuttle.
This hotel was fairly new during our stay, and the hotel location worked out great for us.
The kitchen area contained a full size fridge, electric stovetop, dishwasher, microwave, an ice bucket, a full size coffee pot with supplies, and a table with two chairs. A telephone was on the table, and there were outlets underneath the table.
The freezer did not have an ice maker. It contained ice cube trays, and there is an ice machine on this floor. Microwave popcorn and dish detergent were provided. The cupboards were well stocked with dishes, cooking pans, silverware, and utensils.
The living room contained a sofa, soft chair, end tables, coffee table/footstool, lamps, and a flatscreen TV on an armoire.
The bedroom contained a king size bed, a folding luggage rack, nightstands with lamps, a clock, a telephone, and a large flatscreen TV on an armoire. The bed and pillows were comfortable, and we did not hear any noise from outside the guestroom while in the bedroom.
The bathroom was located in the bedroom. The bathing area contained the toilet, and a shower/tub combination. The towels were good quality. Everything in the bathroom functioned well, and we did not need to hold the handle down to flush the toilet--yay, after having this problem for four days prior to this stay!
The vanity and a large closet were located outside of the bathing area. The floor covering in front of the vanity and in the bathing area was tile.
Food & Beverage
We stayed on a Sunday night, and there is not an evening social on Sundays. Some of the breakfast foods in the morning included: muffins and breads, a waffle maker, scrambled eggs, hash browns, whole oranges, milk, juice, and coffee.
Pool and outside area
There is an outside sitting area and a pool next to the parking lot. There were a couple of couches with comfortable looking cushions in the sitting area; however, these were propped up when we visited the pool, as if they were being cleaned.One round table with an umbrella and four chairs was located in the pool area, and there were a few loungers.Potted trees were decoratively placed around the pool to block out the parking lot. I wondered aloud to my husband why they had not chosen to place the pool out back with a view of the pond. Since the pond is on the north side of the building, my husband said they probably did not do that because then it would not have been sunny around the pool.
This hotel does not have a whirlpool tub; however, there is one at the Hilton Garden Inn next door that guests can use. We used the whirlpool tub at the Hilton Garden Inn and the pool at the Homewood Suites. Both areas were comfortable, and the water temperature was excellent.
Shuttle and misc.
This hotel is located across from Gulf Coast Town Center where there are several restaurants. The hotel shuttle will take you back and forth since there is not a walkway in front of the hotel; however, we did not think it was too difficult to cross the street ourselves. There are a few restaurants in addition to the hotel restaurants on the north side of the street: Jimmy Johns, Seven Eleven with pizza, Chick-fil-A, and they were building an Arby's in front of the Homewood Suites.We had a minor inconvenience/change to our shuttle request to the airport, although I do not remember the exact details. I do recall that when we checked in, I asked if we could sign up for the airport shuttle at 2:45 p.m. the next day, and we were told the shuttle only runs every half hour. We signed up for the 2:30 shuttle, and the next day our flight was delayed slightly. We then asked if we could go at 3:00 instead, and we were told that time was not available because the shuttle was doing a full run between 2:30 and 3:00 (2:45, I think). Shortly after this (around 2:15 - 2:20), the shuttle driver came to the lodge area where we were seated to ask us to go right away (I was in the restroom at the time). I thought we were going to be to the airport very early, but we stopped at the Hilton Garden Inn on the way, and we were there about 10 minutes waiting for guests. By the time we left for the airport from that hotel, it was after 2:30. This was not a big deal for us, although passengers may want to be aware of other circumstances when deciding what time to take the shuttle.
This hotel was fairly new during our stay, and the hotel location worked out great for us.
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