It is always hard finding your way around any downtown area when it is your first time in that city. There is always a one-way street going in the opposite direction of your destination and there are always streets that break the grid and confuse your sense of direction. It took us a couple trips around downtown Atlanta before we reached the Embassy Suites driveway to park our car. Once we reached the entrance, there was a line of cars waiting to enter the valet parking area. We soon found out that it had nothing to do with the speed of the service or the number of guests checking in, and everything to do with the disruptive guests loitering in the driveway. These guests weren’t getting into a car and they didn’t seem to know where they were headed, but they were definitely drunk and stoned. We asked the attendant if marijuana was legal in Georgia and it is not. There is obviously a policy at the hotel of not questioning their hotel guests’ behavior. It was discouraging because the staff was noticeable stressed by the guests’ behavior, making their job close to impossible. My kids also noticed how scantily clad the women were that were leaving for the evening. My son wrote a review of his Spring Break and shared that fun tidbit about Atlanta nightlife with the kids in his class. Always a winning family moment on every trip. Fortunately, we never saw these guests again and I prayed for the house keeping staff that had to clean their rooms.
We finally were able to get our car to the valet parking staff. There was no self-parking and the valet parking is pricy. Parking in downtown Atlanta must be an issue. Even the staff at the hotel has to pay to park. While we were waiting to park our car, I tried to check-in but the employee that I approached at the check-in desk wouldn’t let me check in for my husband. This was the first time in twenty years that someone questioned me checking in for my husband. I’m guessing this has been an issue at this hotel, which is too bad. I hate it when trust has been lost. It was a little inconvenient and extended our time in the lobby and our experience of those leaving for a night on the town.
This was the first time we ran across large groups of single people staying at an Embassy Suites that were headed out to party. It has always been a peaceful experience and the most noise issues we have had are from over excited children. Like most Embassy Suites, there were actually a lot of families staying at the hotel. It is nice having a little extra space with five members in your family, especially if you are on a long road trip. I also love how most Embassy Suites are large steel and concrete construction. This absolutely cuts down on noise pollution from the neighbors and the complaints from neighbors from the noise your kids are making. While we were walking to our room we ran into some of the noise we were expecting from rowdy over excited children.
We had a great room at this hotel. It was at the far end of the building, which over-looks the Centennial Olympic Park. I actually chose this room on the Hilton App while we were waiting for our plane earlier that day. The system had given me a room not overlooking the park and that was nice being able to have the freedom to reassign myself. It also had an overhang lounge area that count down on the amount of noise that entered our room.
The open atrium that you can find at some of the older Embassy Suites, has its negatives. The noise bounces off all the walls and travels upwards and downwards to all the rooms. That is why I like to get a room that is on a higher floor, but not the top. I was never afraid of heights until I had children old enough to walk and make their own decisions.
If the atrium is where the breakfast is set up, the morning noise from breakfast is the worst. At this Embassy Suites, the breakfast was served in the Ruth’s Chris Steak House. That seemed a little odd to me. Good use of space during off hours but seems like a cleaning nightmare. The food was typical for an Embassy Suites, with cooked to order omelets and serving dishes with eggs, pancakes, sausage and bacon. I’m sure these vary from week to week with variations of the same choices. The line was extremely long when we finally made it down to breakfast at 9am and this was on a Sunday. They had baked goods, bread, bagels, oatmeal and a few nice fruit selections. It wasn’t kept up as clean as it should have been, but they were definitely understaffed.
Our room had been updated with in the last couple of years. It was sleek with blue-greyish modern earth tones and stark whites on the beds. I just can’t sleep in a hotel room that doesn’t have all white linens on the bed. The image of the blue-grey duotone magnolia flowers above the bed was a nice comforting touch. There was a small counter space outside the bathroom with a mini-fridge, coffee maker (with coffee and tea choices), but no microwave. It had a typical bathroom with a tub shower and the sink inside the bathroom area, but no sink outside. That gives you a less options for getting ready in the morning. Mirror space was also limited. There is a lot of time spent waiting for others. We were only here two nights, so it was a limited inconvenience. One nice thing about the bathroom entrance at night was when the light was on and the door was open the light shone in the opposite direction of the head of the bed. There was limited light disturbance. The slamming of the door still occurred, but that is due to user error.
If you need a pool at night to calm your kid, this isn’t the hotel for you. It has an outdoor pool that isn’t heated. Having an outside pool does cut down on the noise pollution, but it makes it unavailable a lot of times during the year.
The absolute best feature of this hotel and the only reason to stay here with your family, is its location to the Centennial Park, the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. All of these are an easy walk from the hotel. It is a rough uneven sidewalk terrain, due to the constant construction of downtown areas. I would ask to make sure your route is wheelchair accessible. It was a freezing cold walk for us the morning we went to the Aquarium, but we made it with limited complaints from the peanut gallery. Our walk back to the hotel was much more enjoyable and we cut through the Centennial Park.
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