I will not stay at the Wildwood (State Farm Parkway) location again or recommend it to people who, like me, have jobs in the Birmingham/Homewood area and need a place to stay Monday-Thursday because their homes are too far away for a daily commute. The only good thing about the location is the office staff, who were very friendly!
The exterior of property is dark and feels old and unsafe, with people hanging out in the parking lot, working on cars (every single night...) It just feels sketchy.
Unloading/loading luggage from my car, was very inconvenient, since there isn't an elevator - stairs are the only way to get to the 2nd floor from the lobby/office and there are no luggage carts, which would have been helpful since I had several clothes bags/a few groceries and work related items...you know, enough stuff for an EXTENDED stay. I felt like a pack-mule!
The room itself smelled stale and musty; the carpet was disgustingly dirty (word of advice, if you spill a bottle of water, just let it dry on its own because you do not want to witness what a white towel will soak up - See above reference to rubber soled slippers); the mattress sagged on the sides and had a big hump in the middle, and the pillows stank. Febreze helped with the smell but not the uneasy feeling I had about the lingering source of the odor - glad I packed my own pillow.
The kitchen appliances and TV are outdated. The oven settings were no longer visible so you have no idea what temperature it is set on...and the fact that any and all kitchen items must be requested from the office, including a coffee maker which is standard in all other hotel rooms, is very inconvenient. The microwave worked, so I guess that's the silver lining.
Thank goodness for my phone's hot spot, a laptop and Netflix/Amazon Prime accounts, because the (Dish) satellite-cable was always searching for a signal and the free WiFi kept disconnecting.
The bathroom is small and does not have counter space for toiletries/make-up and, like the rest of the room, did not seem clean. Oh, and keep in mind that you will need to stand on a chair or the bed in order to see how you look before you leave the room....no full length mirror.
Grab-and-go breakfast....? The baskets of pre-packaged muffins and granola bars were not stocked daily and were empty on at least one occasion. Considering everything else, missing out on the complimentary breakfast was no big deal!
Since my first and only experience at Extended Stay America Wildwood, two weeks ago, I have been staying at the Country Inn and Suites by Radisson, which is cleaner, comparably priced and located in the same general area....and they have a real, hot breakfast!!
