Tuscaloosa ~ things to do…
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g30889-Activities-Tuscaloosa_Alabama.html
http://www.tuscaloosa.com/visitor-services
Also Mercedes Benz Tour
You are right, our flight got cancelled just this past Tuesday and we received a voucher for the Quality Inn, horrible, stay away from it. Also, I have been reading all your posts. You seem very knowledgeable and helpful regarding UA. Do you have any information regarding how kids like Mary Burke East dorm? My son didn’t sign up as early as he should have for housing and got that dorm? During orientation, the kids he met told him to try to get out of the dorm.
Have those kids ever lived there? How did they know anything about it? Burke and Bryant are the tastiest food spots on campus.
**Welcome everyone! **
For those who are scheduling campus visits, here are some local lodging choices:
Country Inn & Suites 4801 McFarland Blvd. East Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 (205) 345-9999
Courtyard by Marriott 4115 Courtney Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 750-8384
Fairfield Inn 4101 Courtney Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 366-0900
Hampton Inn 600 Harper Lee Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 553-9800
Hampton Inn 6400 Interstate Dr. Tuscaloosa, AL 35453 (205) 562-9000 *
Holiday Inn Express 1120 Veterans Memorial Parkway Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 464-4000 *
Home-Towne Suites 1650 15th Street East Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 553-3828 *
Hotel Capstone 320 Paul W. Bryant Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 (205) 752-3200
Microtel Inn 6331 Interstate Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35453 (205) 556-1555
Microtel Inn & Suites 1417 Veterans Memorial Parkway Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 553-4095 *
Wingate by Wyndham 4918 Skyland Blvd. East Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 553-5400 *
Yellowhammer Inn & Conference Center 2700 Yacht Club Way NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 (205) 343-4215 *
**ANOTHER GOOD OPTION! **
**VRBO short-term rentals **- Tuscaloosa http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/alabama/tuscaloosa
VRBO rentals are often best for families/groups because of their ability to accomodate 4-8+ people in multiple bedrooms. Having 2+ bathrooms is also a convenience.
**AVOID: /B
Motel 6
Super 8
Masters Inn
Rodeway Inn
Quality Inn
LaQuinta
I would add Hilton Garden Inn Tuscaloosa 800 Hollywood Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
^ Hilton Garden Inn is very nice and would be one of my first choices. Excellent service and clean, spacious rooms. This hotel is fairly new and the location is only a short drive from campus.
800 Hollywood Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
(205) 722-0360
Embassy Suites opened last year and is extremely nice and highly recommended. Excellent location and spectacular view. Enjoy convenience to campus, the riverwalk, the amphitheater, and downtown shopping and dining. Superb service and spacious rooms.
2410 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
(205) 561-2500.
There’s also Spring Hill Suites
2410 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
(205) 561-2500 behind Academy Sports. I think it is a Marriott property.
Hilton Garden Inn and Embassy Suites should be at the top of anyone’s list who may be visiting. Other than being new, I cannot vouch for Spring Hill Suites.
We also highly recommend the Hampton on Harper Lee for convenience of location. The Yellow Hammer is a bit of a drive, but it is quiet and offers nice, spacious rooms.
UPDATED LIST OF LODGING:
Hilton Garden Inn is only a few years old, and Embassy Suites and Spring Hill Suites are less than a year old.
Hilton Garden Inn 800 Hollywood Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 722-0360
Embassy Suites 2410 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 (205) 561-2500.
Spring Hill Suites 4020 Greensboro Ave, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 205) 750-2003
"Country Inn & Suites 4801 McFarland Blvd. East Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 (205) 345-9999
Courtyard by Marriott 4115 Courtney Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 750-8384
Fairfield Inn 4101 Courtney Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 366-0900
Hampton Inn 600 Harper Lee Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 553-9800
Hampton Inn 6400 Interstate Dr. Tuscaloosa, AL 35453 (205) 562-9000 *
Holiday Inn Express 1120 Veterans Memorial Parkway Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 464-4000 *
Home-Towne Suites 1650 15th Street East Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 553-3828 *
Hotel Capstone 320 Paul W. Bryant Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 (205) 752-3200
Microtel Inn 6331 Interstate Drive Tuscaloosa, AL 35453 (205) 556-1555
Microtel Inn & Suites 1417 Veterans Memorial Parkway Tuscaloosa, AL 35404 (205) 553-4095 *
Wingate by Wyndham 4918 Skyland Blvd. East Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (205) 553-5400 *
Yellowhammer Inn & Conference Center 2700 Yacht Club Way NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 (205) 343-4215 *
AVOID:
(these places aren’t well-maintained, yet they will charge high prices during peak times…so that can be misleading)
Motel 6
Super 8
Masters Inn
Rodeway Inn
Quality Inn
LaQuinta"
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend staying at some of the ones listed above that are located off the Cottondale exit. That’s based upon personal preference and reading local newspaper articles, so others will surely disagree. Having options is good.
Our family would vouch for Hilton Garden Inn, Hotel Capstone, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn on Harper Lee, and Yellow Hammer Inn, but would also consider Country Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express, and possibly Courtyard by Marriott.
I corrected the address and phone # for Spring Hill Suites after finding that I had posted it incorrectly above in post #125.
I stay at Rodeway Inn (Choice Privileges member). It’s not the Embassy, but it’s not bad. I’d avoid Econolodge on McFarland.
Re: Hampton Inn at Cottondale. I stayed there in 2011 and it was fine. Very quiet. It needed an update as far as furnishings, but it was very clean. I’ve also stayed at the Best Western on McFarland, close to I-59. While it’s an old-style outdoor entry, the rooms were very, very clean. My room actually faced the interstate but I was not disturbed by any traffic noise. I do not hesitate to recommend this hotel.
To Add to Post #126:
I didn’t see Comfort Suites (a Choice Hotel) listed. It’s perfectly fine and we were very pleased both times we stayed (2014-2015) . 3916 McFarland Blvd. East, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35405-3916. (Nicer than the Microtel on Veterans Memorial Parkway; note I stayed at the Microtel 4 nights in 2013-2014 and was pleased, FYI.)
Re: Quality Inn (a Choice Hotel) - 4541 Jug Factory Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35405. Stayed 2 nights in 2015 and would stay there again. The key is NOT being the last couple of people to check in! They have done tons of remodeling over the last couple of years, but I believe there are still just a couple of rooms (as of 8/15) that have not been remodeled. You don’t want one of those rooms. They were formerly smoking rooms and I’ve heard very bad things about them. This Quality Inn is a notch (or a half-notch) down from the Microtel, but we found it to be fine.
For those interested in UA club teams and/or Intramural Sports…
http://urec.sa.ua.edu/sportsclub.cfm <<== club teams
http://urec.ua.edu/intramuralcalendarofevents-spring.cfm <<== intramural teams
@sonnycap my neighbor’s kid is at Burke as a UA freshman, and she is fine with it (it is a traditional dorm situation); she has a small scholarship and wanted less expensive housing. The suite dorms are a lot more money. Burke is very convenient for the cafeteria on the main floor.
We did not enjoy our stay at Home-Towne Suites on 15th St in December 2015. I have documented this elsewhere on CC, I believe. There are two buildings - 1 (where you check in) looks like a regular hotel lobby, and then the extended stay (which is closest to the street). I booked on Hotwire, so that’s probably why we got the crappiest room. But if that’s what they are calling renovated, yikes. I hated it so much that I spent all of our spare time in the Target Starbucks across the road and only came back to sleep. 6.30 am I was outta there. A keep-your-shoes-on-at-all-times kinda place.
- 15th St (not Ave)
@mom2collegekids Fantastic thread! Very helpful and has really piqued our interest in UA. Question - Would you agree or disagree that UA is extremely athlete-centric? A few things I’ve read indicate that if you are not an athlete or dont care about athletics, this may not be the place for you. Are non-athletes second class citizens at UA? I would say that S is interested in big sports programs, but strictly from the spectator side. BTW, we are OOS, my son has a 3.9/4.2 w/uw and 32 ACT so the merit aid at UA looks unbeatable!
UA is not a jock school. The Honors College is just like any other school where high achieving kids congregate to share their mutual interests, most of which do not center around sports. Okay, football season is different, but that’s more of a school spirit thing.
@NoVADad99 Thanks
Anyone who makes others feel inferior because of sports is the real ‘second class citizen’ you refer to, STEM2017. I really don’t think there are many if any of these folks at UA, so this should be a non-issue. Sport is there for the taking if that’s your thing at UA. For many others, it clearly is not their thing, and it does not hurt nor affect them in any way. [On the other hand, if you support the other team/college, well, then, you might just have a problem!] 
But seriously, my son and many many many other non-sports students are huge fans of their school, with lots of school pride and spirit. It just does not manifest itself through sports, spectating or otherwise.
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thread! Very helpful and has really piqued our interest in UA. Question - Would you agree or disagree that UA is extremely athlete-centric?
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If Alabama were a tiny school of maybe 1500 students, then the answer would be YES. However, think about it…how could a school with 30,000 undergrads be even somewhat “athlete centric”??? do you think that every NCAA athlete in the country is attending UA? lol
95%+ of the student body would fall under the categories of: “spectator,” or "no interest in sports at all.
@mom2collegekids again, thank you for running this thread, very helpful and thanks to you we are now very interested in UA. But I must say, your response to my simple question made feel pretty stupid for asking, whereas others gave very helpful responses. Just sayin’
I was being a little silly; my intent wasnt to make anyone feel stupid. Sorry if it came off that way. I was trying to illustrate how it wouldn’t be possible for a school with 30,000 undergrads to be “extremely athlete-centric” or for the huge majority of non-athletes to feel like second class citizens.
In fact, it’s not unusual for students to have no idea that there is an athlete in their classroom.