Hotel Finial, BW Premier Collection — Hotel in Anniston

What started as a beautiful historic experience at Hotel Finial quickly turned disgusting. Our Realtor recommended Hotel Finial during our house-hunting trip to Anniston - after a delayed flight from DFW to Birmingham and an hour’s drive, we were exhausted and ready to settle in. The young woman who checked us in was lovely, and the Kirby Suite exceeded our expectations — full of charm, a spacious bedroom & bathroom, and the elegance you’d hope for in a historic mansion.

I love leaving positive reviews and rarely write a negative one, even after a less-than-perfect stay. But this involved bugs, and I feel it’s important to share. After several times throughout the night of being awakened by something like an annoying pest - I kept thinking there must be a stray hair tickling my face or maybe there was a nat in the room… finally around 5:30 am I pulled back the sheets, I found bugs in the bed (whether fleas or bed bugs, I’m not certain) and have included photos of what I saw.

I immediately called the front desk, but the response was so nonchalant — like “oh that’s too bad” - I was pretty freaked out but remained calm asking what should we do, I’ve traveled all of the world and never run into this type of situation before… I was told if we wanted we could be moved to a standard room or wait until after 1:00 p.m. for another suite. The fellow also said he could give me the owners email if I wanted it… of course I did! I emailed April, whom I assumed was the owner, but it took over two hours to get a reply,(I realize it was in the early morning hours but under the circumstances there should have been contact made by the front desk to the owner in my opinion). April did reply, and comp the one night, but it came with a very impersonal response. There was no phone call, no in-person check-in from a manager, and no real expression of concern while we were still dealing with the situation.

We ended up asking for another room as we had to shower and get ready for the day somewhere other than a bug infested room… we were given Room 107, which was a noticeable downgrade — stained carpet, peeling wallpaper, and a clogged shower drain which was almost as disgusting as having bugs in your bed. Photos of this room are attached as well.

I did receive one final email stating “just so you know, the bugs were actually fleas not bed bugs”.. as if that made it less of a bad situation?

I understand pests can happen anywhere, even the nicest hotels can get an infestation from what I understand but genuine guest care and urgency matter especially in this situation, just as much as cleanliness. Sadly, that’s where our experience fell short. We decided to check out that same morning and found another hotel in the next town over (there’s not a lot of choices for lodging...

Summary: We rented the McKleroy Room and found the history of the hotel. The McKleroys were the original owners of the home. Upon arrival, we were the only ones in the house so we were able to look around and explore the property, which was super fun. The home feels old and spirited, with good fun spirits. The Grand Ball Room was left open by someone who checked out, it was a really nice space as well. I love this house. It's so comfortable and eccentric. The breakfast was great and the local food options were good as well.

Pros: The room was nice. The house is lovely with so many seating options. The staff is courteous. Everything was homey and comfortable.

Cons: Our floor needed mopping, the door henge needs a little oily love, needed to use my cellphone as a hot spot for good Wi-Fi, and the a/c and heat is communal.

Recommendations: In the suites, there isn't always a dining option for those who don't want to go downstairs. I recommend that you purchase cute tray tables that people can use in the rooms. I recommend Wi-Fi boosters to be put in the suites in the home. Adding review of most recent stay: While lot of the above positives are still positive, there were some disappointments with my most recent trip.

To start, the issue with the Wi-Fi still hasn't been resolved for the main house. This could be resolved if the owners added Wi-Fi boosters to each room.

Next, we originally booked The Wilson, since we wanted to try another room, but with the same views of the downtown area. Sadly, we were booted from our room to The Kirby. The Kirby is still a lovely room, but we didn't have our views that we were looking forward to, and the door knob fell off as soon as we arrived.

Lastly, disappointingly, breakfast was also not the same "home cooked" styled breakfast. They did have a unique option (Chicken-and-Waffles) but I could see that the eggs and grits were the same as other hotels. Also, the parfait and juice options were taken away. Maybe these things change seasonally.

All and all, I still love this hotel. It's still lovely. However, I hope the owners really do what it takes...

When I first arrived to check-in at Hotel Finial the receptionists were friendly and welcomed me to the hotel. Unfortunately, from there my experience at the hotel seems to go from bad to worse. First, I went to my room, I opened the door, and I noticed the horrible smell. It smelled sweaty, old, musty, cigarette smell, and with like an old food smell as well. I went inside of the room the experience got worse. Second, I observed the wall paper peeling off in the corners of the room. The experience continued to get worse. Third, I observed black spots on the sheets and on the pillow cases as if they hadn't been cleaned. The experience got even worse, but I definitely discovered one of several odors in the room. Fourth, the refrigerator had old food still left inside of it from the previous occupants. The experience got even more interesting. Fifth, there was under a half roll of toilet paper inside of the bathroom with no reserve roll of toilet paper just in case you ran out. Sixth, the floor in the room felt like it was weak and creeking when you step in certain spots. Finally, I could hear fire trucks, and police sirens all throughout the morning, evening, and night. I didn't sleep well at all. Nevertheless, the property is however gated all around. You must both enter and exit the gate to get onto the property. That was interesting in itself. The morning breakfast was average. There wasn't really a lot to choose from to eat. I don't know if I will stay at Hotel Finial again. The owners or property manager would have to confirm that they have made adequate improvements and adjustments to things that can possibly be made better to accommodate their guest for a greater experience and stay. Final thoughts, I really don't know if I chose the right hotel to stay at, or I chose to wrong time to check-in, or whether or not I expected better from Hotel Finial. The pictures posted online made things look very luxurious. However, in person it looked like a low budget Inn. I was disappointed. I am not a person to really complain, but my experience overall...