Ramada by Wyndham Birmingham Airport — Hotel in Birmingham

I sincerely believe that the existence of the Ramada by Wyndham Birmingham Airport should be illegal. When my flight was cancelled at BHM, I blindly choose the closest hotel to the airport and I will never forgive myself for this grave mistake. Under no circumstances whatsoever, even if you just need a bed for 6 hours, should you visit this establishment.

After I arrived, I walked to the concierge to inquire about a room and he said they were $150 a night. Observing how awful the place looked, I lied on the spot and said “I called earlier and they quoting me for $70 a night”. The concierge agreed to that price because he was obviously lying initially.

It is worth noting that the incompetency of this person cannot be described with the words that exist in my lexicon. The check-in process was the most drawn-out, inefficient experience that I have ever had at a hotel. I could barely make out a word that he said through the cloud of apathy that surrounded him. The entirety of the conversation, I was given the sense that this employee was genuinely angry with my decision to choose this hotel.

As the concierge was wrapping up the handwritten paperwork(???) to document my stay, 2 people walked in the front door holding up and admiring… I kid you not… A BAG OF CRACK COCAINE. One of them wandered off into the hotel while the other stood behind me. I had never felt such visceral fear.

I took the elevator to my floor and walked down a long hall. Some doors were broken open and some didn’t have locks. My brain felt paralyzed by regret but somehow my body kept moving until I reached my room. I walked in and immediately locked both locks on my door, only to come to the realization that my room was 88 degrees because the AC was not on.

Room was disgusting. Dead bugs, cracks in the appliances, and a horrific aesthetic. I had been dying to take a shower but decided against it due to the fact that I would have felt less clean if I had. Hesitant to trust my bed, I constructed a makeshift sheet out of my clothes and laid upon on it. Then I started reading the reviews…

After seeing multiple accounts of bed bugs, used needles… and a patron even stating that somebody was MURDERED in the room next to him, I left my keys on the desk and called an Uber. Spent the rest of the night sleeping at the airport which was 100% more comfortable than the Ramada. BHM felt like a 5-star hotel that night.

Wyndham executives should have to testify in front of Congress for the crime of this location. For your comfort, safety, and sanity, never step foot on this property. The United States of America should invoke imminent domain to destroy this hotel and build a memorial that commemorates the suffering that all patrons have endured during their visit.

Do not stay...

To start, I booked the room online at the last minute (due to medical reasons or if my control) which was a king size bed room. Once I arrived to the front desk I was asked if a twin bed room would be alright for my stay, which didn't bother me. I was given a room number and key and proceeded to the room only to open the door to a mess of a room that was not clean and ready. There were clothes hampers full of dirty laundry and a very strong smell of men's cologne. Drink bottles on the stands so immediately returned to the front desk to the front desk to let them know that the room was not ready/available. And then the lady stated she would have to give me a room with a king size bed. Okay?! So I'm not sure why need the for change in the first place was there.||One of the elevators doesn't work correctly and will keep you locked in for a little while. It went to the ground floor as selected. The doors would sound as though they were going to open but would not do so. Then the elevator proceeded to every floor attempting to open the doors on each floor but could not open. Holding down the open door button didn't work either. Eventually it returned to the ground level and finally was able to line up so the dots could open. The front desk was notified but didn't seem to be of concern for them. ||The complementary "breakfast" is grits, chicken sticks, banana, and loaf of bread or bagel with the choice of individual packets of butter, jelly, and/or syrup. But you have to eat in the room of choice. I walked in and the lady pointed to the warmer and stated she "fix it" and left the room. So I was confused as I was thinking she was saying she had to fix the food. After several minutes I decided to get a banana and a bowl (only option). I open the warmer and there was only grits. So I decided to dip out some in the bowl. While doing so the lady returned with chicken sticks. I got a slice of bread to place in the toaster but only one side of the bread would toast so it had to be flipped to toast the other side. I got a couple packets of jelly and butter and the lady pointed to some tables with chairs upside down on them and stated, "eat here". I told her I would return to my room because I was there due to my cornea transplant rejection and my eyes were very sensitive, watering, and swolen. She said, "NO, Eat here!" I told her I was not able to eat comfortably there and wanted to return to my room. She stated, "No! No food room!" So I walked around to the next room to the front desk and the lady there also stated that I could not take any food to my room. So I left the food and went to my room to get ready to go get food elsewhere. I would not choose to have a room...

The hotel gets 5 stars for location. The sweet family who run the restaurant get 5+ stars for prices, service and friendliness. They were the bright spot in the whole experience. They offered a full plated breakfast every morning and an eclectic selection of very reasonably priced Chinese / bar food and drinks at dinner. And they were just so stinking nice to deal with after a long day of working. They even stayed open later than advertised to accommodate late arriving guests, and never made us feel like it was time for us to leave, or tried to rush us out at closing.

The hotel itself, on the other hand, gets 2 stars. And that's being generous. There was no housekeeping service for my entire 5 night stay. Not even a towel refresh. My room was the last room on the end of two long hall walks. (Ok, random computer selection, I get it.) It was a LONG lonely walk and I could have asked for a change, but I needed the exercise, so I sucked it up and just grumbled my way down the halls. Day 1, after working all day and standing on my feet, I come back to make the "50 mile trek" to my room and my key doesn't work. Back down hall #1 and hall #2 and an elevator ride to the front desk to fix the issue. I'm told they only authorize the key for 1 night!!! I prepaid for 4, so WTH? I didn't really understand that logic, but I got that straightened out real quickly because I didn't want to have to do THAT again!

The whole hotel is in bad need of repair and updating. The couch in my room was something from the 70's, my mattress had gross stains down the side (not bedbugs, thankfully, because I did a thorough check). The bathroom had sheetrock tape coming loose and the shower head was made for a midget. I'm 5'6" and I had to bend down to wash my hair! Finding the happy medium of hot water was a little challenging. You had to figure out how far to turn the knob to even get hot water, then wait for it get warm (end of hall first world problems), and then finesse it until it actually became hot enough to shower in. The TV was small, but at least it worked. And there was a small refrigerator, microwave and in room coffee.

Proximity to the airport, football stadium and convention center, were great. It was an easy ride back and forth, even in rush hour traffic. They do offer airport shuttle, but I didn't use it. And they offer airport parking, but I didn't use that either.

Pricing was why I stayed there, as I was on a budget and it was the most reasonably place that was close to where I was working. If you are price conscious, and not in need of any frills, then this place works. It's ok for a short, overnight stay but don't...