I am staying at a Spring Hill Suites tonight for the first time. What level of hotel should I really expect on it?

Basically it is an FI with a larger room. Definitely not at the top of the hotel "service" chain. But they also don't tend to cost as much as a room at a FS Marriott either. The ones I have stayed at were clean and well taken care of.

My limited SHS experience was so-so. We went in thinking that the brand had entirely one-bedroom suites with a layout similar to an Embassy Suites. That is, two distinct rooms with a full-sized pull-out couch in the living room.

(Not all ES have permanent doors separating the bedroom, the most stringent definition of a 1-bedroom suite. But the layout with the bathroom in the middle definitely gives ES the general feel of having two rooms.)

When we arrived, we found that our room was really just a slightly-oversized hotel room. No real two-room feel to it at all. At first, we thought they'd made a mistake and put us in some sort of downgraded room. The manager assured us that the entire building was essentially the same floorplan - there wasn't a larger room to upgrade to or even pay extra for. He allowed us to book a 2nd room at a very low rate.

If you're traveling solo, it won't matter. The room itself reminds me of the Hampton Inn "Extended King" rooms. Nice sitting area with a minifridge and sink. But it definitely isn't a "suite" in the Residence Inn or Towne Place Suites sense.

On average, I've found the SHS breakfast offerings to be slightly more robust than those at the FI.

I would put SHS ahead of FI because the breakfast is better than what FI offers. RI has a better breakfast than SHS, but you only get 5 points per dollar for room charges vs 10 at SHS and FI.

I am almost certain that SHS rooms all have microwaves as well.

SpringHill Suites is what Courtyard should have been!

I recently stayed at a newer SHS in Waukegan/Gurnee, IL. It has the new-style rooms with a frosted glass partition between the desk area and the bed(s), sliding doors for the separate toilet and shower areas and a LCD TV with HD programming. For a limited-service hotel, this one set the standard! ^

The next week was at a SHS in suburban Minneapolis with the regular old floor plan - a solid half-wall between the desk and bed(s). Rather dull in comparison to the Waukegan property - but still better than a Courtyard.

They are hardly a "suite" but the separation of sleeping and sitting area gives the illusion of more space. The breakfast usually has a couple of hot items - some egg product and a meat. The SHS brand is one of the better products of Marriott's limited-service brands.

Yes it seems like Marriott took all the shortcomings of the Courtyard brand and tried to remedy them with SHS. Free breakfast, wireless, bigger rooms, the newer ones have a very modern room interior like I have rarely seen outside of a vegas hotel room. Pretty wild deco scheme but the rooms are large and laid out nicely. Make sure you stay in one of the newer ones I have heard the older SHS's are not as nice.

I basically like SHS, Mrs. Cyberdad hates 'em.

IMHO, the tradeoff here is a cramped "bedroom" or more correctly "sleeping area" for a work area with fridge and microwave handy. Another flaw is that, as often as not, there's not enough space to navigate the room comfortably... notice I said "room", not suite....when the sleeper sofa is opened.

Breakfast isn't a lot different than most FIs, although there tends to be a few more choices.

I used to agree that SHS is what CY should have been. Perhaps that's true in some regards, but basically I've come to view them as glorified FIs.

+1

I spent two nights at the SH @ STL airport, followed by Sunday night at the Olathe, KS FI. Big diff between the levels of breakfast offerings.

I agree completely. I'm a big SpringHill Suites fan and stay at them often. They are well designed, comfortable, colorful, and they award full MR points unlike Residence Inn and TownPlace Suites.

As others have mentioned, not all SHS are the same. Some were purchased and converted from another chain, and some have older suite designs. Those aren't as nice. But the newer ones are just great, IMO.

I've avoided them because of a bad bedding experience at a Residence Inn and assumed they were the same. In addition I love the Revive bedding in the FS hotels. However, had no choice in Hagerstown a while back and found the bed was quite acceptable and enjoyed the extra space over a normal 1 bdrm room in most FS hotels. Missed no restaurant and room service though.

I've yet to have a problem with the bedding at SHS. All the ones I've stayed at have the standard Marriott bedding package.

Absolutely hate the SHS mostly based upon a new one built in Overland Park, KS some 10 years ago (maybe less) that I was forced to stay at for years.

Cheaply built to the point you can hear the guest walking above and the toilets flushing on either side. How this hotel got built in the tornado alley is a miracle. A tiny TV that has to "swivel" between the bed area and "suite" area. The window HVAC that clunks on and off all night no matter how you set it.

I don't think I've ever gone to another. But the breakfast is pretty good...

I like SHS hotels - I prefer RI's overall because of the size of the room. But SHS are great hotels - yes, the sleeping area is a little smaller, but the dividers are actually kind of nice for just sitting on the couch & watching TV. Also, much better if you occassionally eat in the room with takeout or delivery.

I can understand that you had a very bad experience a decade ago, but a lot has changed since then. IMO, you're missing out on one of the best hotel values in the industry. Not all SHS are equal, but a remarkable number of them are!