More about Brookshire Suites
Perfect Location
by A TripAdvisor Member
Surprising is the word that came to mind for my one night stay at the Brookshire Suites with my girlfriend. Location was perfect, one block from the Inner Harbor. Staff were all very friendly and helpful. Room was much larger than expected, very comfortable bed and pillows. I was offered to have the small connectivity fee reduced or removed, depending on if I needed it...make sure to ask the receptionist upon checkin. And to top it off, the breakfast was delicious with a rooftop view of the city and harbor. Park in the self park garage on the adjacent corner for a mere $8 and it truly would be difficult to ask for a better one night getaway. Highly recommended for singles and doubles.
Good Location. Average Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member JerseyMike1965
We stayed at the Brookshire Suites over the July 4th weekend. After reading the mixed reviews, I decided to book the hotel. The location is wonderful. Within five minutes you can stroll. to the Inner Harbor, Harborplace Gallery and numerous restaurants.
The hotel however in general was a little worn. Our suite, while spacious, could use some updating. The room was relatively clean, but the bathroom had a mildew smell. The bedspread also had a few holes. While not unavoidable, we were able to hear a continuous stream of traffic and sirens from the seventh floor.
The staff was very helpful at the front desk. They arranged tickets to the Aquarium which allowed us to avoid the lines on July 4th. I had no problems with billing and was able to avoid the $5.00 telecom charge by not signing-up for the service upon check-in.
The free buffet was a nice bonus. It was a full buffet with french toast, eggs, sausage, cereal and danish. The Cloud Club room where breakfast is held overlooks the Inner Harbor. Most rooms do not overlook the Inner Harbor, but a few do.
Overall, it was a mixed experience. There were some positives and negatives. Would I stay here again? Probably not. I'd opt for something a litlte more upscale even if sacrificing the location.
You get what you pay for...
by A TripAdvisor Member
I am the type of person that says " why pay $300 for a night in a hotel, when I will just be sleeping in a bed". Well, after spending 3 nights at this hotel, I think I will open up my wallet a bit more next time.
The good....pleasant staff, good free breakfast buffet.
The bad:
The shower drained very slowly so by the time you were done with a shower, the water was half way to your knees and you could be taking a bath.
The AC did not work well at all. It was 65-70 most of the time(outside). If it was any warmer, we would have died in our room. We heard several other people complain, while we were there.
The house cleaner did a HORRIBLE job. Made the bed. NOTHING else.
Coffee machine(large) was out of coffee at 9:25. No more.
We made coffee in our room from the 1 package they left. Of course, it was never re-stocked....nor was the food/drink we had from the mini refrigerator.
Every night, you get whacked for a $5 "hookup" charge. This is for faxes and the internet (1 line), which we didn't use. So $15 got added (plus tax) for 3 nights. So much for the "free" breakfast. So if someone from the Brookshire Suites reads this, please tell me this. You have about 100 rooms. Let's say you average 70% occupancy. So you have 70 rooms paying $5/night for this BS charge=$350 per night. 30 days in a month means we are paying you $10,500 for 1 months worth of internet( 1 line) and a fax machine!!!!!! You better get another ISP.
Since this ticked off several people we saw, how about this...Take away the charge and add it in to the room cost. That way, nobody will notice the $5 and you can claim you have FREE INTERNET SERVICE.
I should have been a hotel manager/CEO.
Craig
Bed Bugs Do Bite!
by A TripAdvisor Member
This past weekend (July 15-17), my girlfriend and I decided to take a weekend getaway to Baltimore. After reading about your hotels and, also, seeing that you also allowed pets, we booked our stay at the Brookshire Suites. I can honestly say that this was the absolute WORST hotel experience I've ever had.
Our less than stellar experience started when we first checked in and were given a room right across from the elevators - Room 205. We called to the front desk for a room change and they left us on hold for 10 minutes. Eventually, they came back on the phone and said they would look into it and call me back. Fifteen minutes later and still no phone call, I called again and was told there were no available rooms. It would have been nice had someone returned our call to let us know - but I am fairly certain no one even looked. Had there been no rooms, I would have accepted that and been on my way, but that was only the beginning.
The room we had, aside from its locale, was less than cleanly. There appeared to be a problem with the A/C unit to the point it was moldy and, when running, emitted some sort of black soot. This led to my being sick the next day and thereafter since the air quality in the room was less than healthy! In addition, there were no extra blankets which, under normal circumstances is not a big deal, but when the linens on the bed are dirty, ripped and barely covering the bed, extra blankets would have been nice. They were so bad, we woke up in the morning with some sort of small bug bites...which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "don't let the bed bugs bite!!" Also, the in-room hairdryer, normally mounted on the wall in the bathroom, just sat on the sink, rendering it completely useless as the steam from the shower made it even dangerous to turn on due to risk of shorting out and electric shock.
When we first arrived, my girlfriend realized that she forgot her toothbrush. We noticed a sign in the room referring to the "magic closet" for situations when guests forget necessary items at home. We asked the man at the front desk for a toothbrush and he told me they didn't have one - without so much as even looking. I thanked him and started to walk away - and, as we did, he turned to another employee and mumbled something along the lines of "this is what I have to deal with". Pardon us for intruding on his rough day...
The following night we decided to rent a movie in our room because it was raining outside and we had gotten in early. Unfortunately, the DirectTV service was out, but the in-room movies appeared to be working since the Previews were running fine. However, the remote control in the room did not have a "Select" button to allow us to order and watch any of the in-room items available. We called down to the front desk THREE TIMES and asked them for a new remote. The first attempt was the same gentleman mentioned above...no call back. The second attempt was to a young lady who was not aware of our request and said she would check...no call back...Finally, we called again and the gentleman answered and informed us that "because the cable was out, he disregarded our request." When I informed him that the movies appeared to be working, he begrudgingly agreed to bring up a new remote. He brought the SAME ONE we already had in the room that does not work with the ordering system.
Your staff was completely uncompromising, unfriendly, condescending, and downright rude at times. I've had to stay in $29.00/night hotels before and have had better service and room quality. I would expect a lot more when paying $169.00/night!!!! Needless to say, I will never stay with your hotels again, and you can rest assured that I will dissuade anyone else I can to do the same.
Disappointing
by A TripAdvisor Member
I booked my room online using the HarborMagic website which is the official website for the hotel. I selected a suite with 2 queen beds and a pullout sofabed in the living room. When we arrived at the hotel, I was told that they didn't have any rooms with 2 queens and a sofabed - only 1 queen bed and a sofabed. Although they agreed to bring up a rollaway bed at no charge, the point was that I had specifically made the reservation for a particular room and although the reservation went through indicating that everything was OK, it was not available. Secondly, they tried to charge me $10 more per night than the reservation had stated. Fortunately, I brought along the confirmation page and it was corrected at the front desk. My advice if you are booking a room here is to be sure you bring your confirmation with you and when you arrive to check-in, look over the check-in form VERY carefully before initialing and signing it.
With regard to the $5.00 per night telecommunications charge, I agree with the other person who stated that they should just increase the room rate by $5.00 per night and have free internet access. It's just such a ridiculous charge and it causes bad feelings from the very beginning.
Since I was only there 1 night, I can't comment on the housekeeping except to say that there was no shampoo in my room, only conditioner and hand lotion. Fortunately, I brought my own.
The hotel room had a rather worn look to it, though not horribly so. I did like the fact that the windows in the living room can be opened. While noisy at night, the fresh air circulation is nice. The air conditioning system is old-fashioned - there are separate systems in the bed room and living room. Ignore the temperature dial on each unit, it is not accurate. My advice is to turn both down as low as possible for a couple of hours and the room will be nice and cool in the summer.
Avoid the $25 parking charge by parking in the big parking garage next door. It is only $12 for a 24 hr stay.
The breakfast was actually pretty good, though the sausage patties were kind of gray and had a strange taste. The bacon was only half-cooked. The scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, pastries, etc.. were all very good.
Overall, considering the cost, the hotel can certainly do a better job. I cannot recommend it to others.
disappointed
by TripAdvisor Member loves2travel33
My family and I stayed at the Brookshire last week (Aug2005), and I was very disappointed. We got the Executive Suite (Queen bed + sofa bed) for $219 on a Thursday night. For that price, I thought I would be getting a real bed to sleep in, but instead we got a springy sofa bed that wasn't even prepared when we checked in at 4pm. When someone finally came to prepare it, the woman did not even change the sheets, and left the room without a saying a word. They knew four people were staying in that room, but we didn't get extra pillows or towels. The room was old and musty. The staff at the lobby was not friendly. The breakfast was not great. I won't be staying here again. If you're staying at any hotel in the Inner Harbor, just park at any parking garage - it is much cheaper than using valet parking. We parked at the parking garage next door to the Brookshire - $12/day.
Everything Was Great
by A TripAdvisor Member
The hotel was spacious, clean, and in a great location. Walk just a couple blocks to downtown - Inner Harbor Baltimore. The inexpensive standard room featured a wet bar, coffee, cable TV, desk & chair, large bed, large window - nice view, great free breakfast, iron & board, hair dryer, phone, robe, great toiletries. The hotel staff was friendly and professional. I would like to live there.
I enjoyed my stay!
by TripAdvisor Member nhtourist
I went to Baltimore for a conference and found the Brookshire on the TripAdvisor site. I was slightly nervous before my stay because there have been mixed reviews about this hotel. I stayed here for 4 nights and found it an excellent base for the Convention Center (only three blocks away) and all Inner harbor sights (only one block away). There is a very pleasant complimentary Happy Hour each week night. The staff are friendly and professional. The room was fine and the breakfast every morning was excellent. I had a few odd housekeeping issues during my stay but nothing that wasn't easily and quickly resolved. Overall I would recommend this as a pleasant hotel which is good value for money compared to some pricier options which have a lot of glitz but are in a similar location.
Yep - I'd do it again
by TripAdvisor Member JRob
Expensive area, room was small but had well stocked bar/snacks, nice touch to have breakfast included (but nothing fancy, basic edible food), however, the front desk staff and housekeeping staff were VERY friendly. For the price of the room and the size of the room that you get, I rated this as average. If the room had been a bit larger, I would easily have rated this above average to excellent.
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