Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa — Hotel in Hoover

It seems they figured out every way possible to ruin what was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. I was super excited to visit Birmingham for the first time to cheer on a friend's son who was racing at Barber Motorsports Park. I knew the resort was a bit of a drive from the park, but I thought with all of the amenities: the golf, the pool, and the spa, it would be a great source of rest and relaxation for me and my companion. With my status and all the upgrades I've accumulated from booking well in advance, I thought I could really "do it up" for a few days.||First Impressions|Firstly, while the exterior of the building is quite lovely, the interior is clearly remodeled, but not renovated. You can restore an old building to look old and beautiful, or you can make minor tweaks to remodel. This property appears to be the latter. If you like "old-world charm," as they say in realty, this is for you. The golf course is stunning. The pool is interesting, but no one was serving food or drinks or passing out towels. I never made it to the spa for reasons I'll share later, but I don't imagine it's an updated space.||Poor Service|Not only was I not given any type of upgrade, but the service in general was poor. The only exception was one housekeeper. I don't know her name, but she had short hair and blue eye shadow. She was spectacular, and I tipped her well. However, my other housekeeping experiences were poor.||On Sunday, September 8, we arrived back at the hotel at approximately 2 p.m. to see that our room had not been cleaned. We decided to rest and have them come later rather than wait. I asked the front desk what the latest time someone could come was, and they told me 6 p.m. At two minutes to six, I was still getting ready and asked Andrea if she could give me five minutes while I put some clothes on, and she said no. We let her in, and I moved around her as I apologized for not being ready. She didn't speak to me and had a very nasty attitude. She wouldn't even acknowledge that I was talking to her. Another housekeeper came in, and I said, "I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm feeling really badly right now, and I don't know why." Andrea didn't say anything, and the other lady just seemed confused and left. Eventually, Andrea walked out with the room incomplete. She didn't say, "Thank you, I'm turning it over to [name]," or "Have a great evening, it's a pleasure to be of service." She just walked out. A few minutes later, another housekeeper with blue eye shadow came in. I think her name began with a "B." She was an absolute delight. She went over Andrea's work (and fixed it) and thoroughly cleaned and straightened the room and the bathroom. She greeted me in a friendly manner and told me to have a wonderful evening. That's what I expected. Andrea was out of line and has no business interacting with guests.||Checkout Disappointment|The next day, when I decided to do an all-day R&R at the resort, Cornesia at the front desk took great pleasure in telling me that I had only 45 minutes to check out. Never have I been told I can't have a late checkout. She wouldn't even give me 30 extra minutes. I had to check out at noon, which for a resort that couldn't even clean my room by 2 p.m. the day before makes no sense. I was very nice to her. She proceeded to tell me with a smug smile that "had I stayed at one of their other resorts before I would understand that sometimes resorts get full and they can't accommodate." I proceeded to let her know that I've stayed in resorts from here to Africa, and I've never experienced this. Still, she took great pleasure in making sure I knew that she was not giving me any extra time.||As an aside, when I've stayed at other Marriott resorts, the general manager has come out to personally greet me, give me their business card, and thank me for staying. They proactively gave me a nicer room and checked on me to see how I was enjoying my stay. So NO, Cornesia, my experience is not that.||So we lingered for a bit and left.||I doubt I would return to a place that did not value someone who has already stayed over a hundred days with Marriott, and it's just September. Or perhaps only certain people are special, based on the reviews?...

It seems they figured out every way possible to ruin what was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. I was super excited to visit Birmingham for the first time to cheer on a friend's son who was racing at Barber Motorsports Park.

I knew the resort was a bit of a drive from the park, but I thought with all of the amenities: the golf, the pool, and the spa, it would be a great source of rest and relaxation for me and my companion. With my status and all the upgrades I've accumulated from booking well in advance, I thought I could really "do it up" for a few days.

First Impressions

While the exterior of the building is quite lovely, the interior is clearly remodeled, but not renovated. You can restore an old building to look old and beautiful, or you can make minor tweaks to remodel. This property appears to be the latter. If you like "old-world charm," as they say in realty, this is for you. The golf course is stunning. The pool is interesting, but no one was serving food or drinks or passing out towels. I never made it to the spa for reasons I'll share later, but I don't imagine it's an updated space.

Not only was I not given any type of upgrade, but the service in general was poor. Except one housekeeper. However, my other housekeeping experiences were poor.

Poor Service On Sunday, 9/8, we arrived back at the hotel at approximately 2 p.m. to see that our room had not been cleaned. We decided to rest and have them come later rather than wait. I asked the front desk what the latest time someone could come was, and they told me 6 p.m. At two minutes to six, I was still getting ready and asked ?Andrea? if she could give me five minutes while I put some clothes on. She said no. We let her in, and I moved around her as I apologized for not being ready. She didn't speak to me and had a very nasty attitude. She wouldn't even acknowledge that I was talking to her. Another housekeeper came in, and I said, "I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm feeling really badly right now, and I don't know why." Andrea didn't say anything, and the other lady just seemed confused and left. Eventually, Andrea walked out with the room incomplete. She didn't say, "Thank you, I'm turning it over to [name]," or "Have a great evening, it's a pleasure to be of service." She just walked out. A few minutes later, another housekeeper with blue eye shadow came in. I think her name began with a "B." She was an absolute delight. She went over Andrea's work (and fixed it) and thoroughly cleaned and straightened the room and the bathroom. She greeted me in a friendly manner and told me to have a wonderful evening. That's what I expected. Andrea was out of line and has no business interacting with guests.

Checkout Disappointment The last day, when I decided to do an all-day R&R at the resort, Cornesia at the front desk took great pleasure in telling me that I had only 45 minutes to check out. Never have I been told I can't have a late checkout. She wouldn't even give me 30 extra minutes. I had to check out at noon, which for a resort that couldn't even clean my room by 2 p.m. the day before makes no sense. I was very nice to her. She proceeded to tell me with a smug smile that "had I stayed at one of their other resorts before I would understand that sometimes resorts get full and they can't accommodate." I proceeded to let her know that I've stayed in resorts from here to Africa, and I've never experienced this. Still, she took great pleasure in making sure I knew that she was not giving me ANY extra time.

As an aside, when I've stayed at other Marriott resorts, the GM has come out to personally greet me, give me their business card, and thank me for staying. They proactively gave me a nicer room and checked on me to see how I was enjoying my stay. So NO, Cornesia, my experience is not that.

So we lingered for a bit and left.

I doubt I would return to a place that did not value someone who has already stayed over a hundred days with Marriott, and it's just September. Or perhaps only certain people are special, based on...

Arrived Friday afternoon, the tv screen notified me that there was a cocktail reception that evening from 6-7. Went to the reception found a reception, I was rudely escorted out by a man named Lucus said he was operation mgr.

This not the type of service I was expecting from this hotel at this price point. He escorted me to a set of stairs and said the restaurant was up there pointing. No concern for me, solving my issue, not providing any help or possible solutions and support. If that is the level of service provided by management it’s pathetic and totally unacceptable.

I called the front desk the young man was clueless. Explained to him what was o the tv. Hello Carter party etc. Then there was a schedule for Friday evening including a cocktail reception. No clue, no help, he said it must have been a mistake.

The hot water was turned off Monday morning without notice. Went to take a shower with cold water before a meeting, while not pleasant, I was totally awake. When I called the front desk the informed me that the boiler was being worked on. A little note would have been nice but it didn’t happen. I expected more from the property.

Went to the fine dining restaurant. Total disrespect and disaster. The waitress passed our table multiple times, greeted the couple seated just before us. She never acknowledged that we had been sat or greeted us. She then proceeded to take a drink order from them, once again never looking at us and rushed off. We sat there another few minutes and then left. Horrible customer service, never greeted, acknowledged or anything professional. We ordered delivery Sharma to the room. We never visited another restaurant on property, choosing the instead to eat in the village or drive to a restaurant, augmented with uber-eats.

The maids were all wonderfully pleasant and friendly.

Ron Wood the bellman was superb. He was super nice and helpful helping pack the vehicle upon checking out. Kudos!!

He end pleasantly what had been unnecessarily challenging stay.

Both valet and free parking in front of the hotel.

Hotel management recently responded to this review. The response was wholly unsatisfactory, full of excuses and empty rhetoric. Marvin Hill who is Director of Rooms Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf and Spa wrote some crap about “I sincerely apologize for failing to meet your expectations. I have shared your feedback with the leadership team to ensure the necessary guidelines are in place and reviewed to prevent incorrect guest information from occurring in the future.”

Could an answer been more lackluster and corporate. No clue how to address these serious issues and concerns.

No offer to refund a night or two, no offer for points, nothing. This is pathetic and helps inform the negative experiences during the 4 days...