This was probably a good hotel back in the day. The hotel is very run down and old. Only one elevator worked. There were many hallway lights out. It is obvious the owners do not spend any money for upkeep. My room had a excellent view of downtown Birmingham. The room was clean but very worn. My first night was terrible because of all the loud music from the lounge 4 floors below. I ask for a another room and the front desk staff was very accommodating and helpful and my second night was better. The bathrooms were acceptable and clean. The second night there was some kind of large party going on with the parking lot being full. People were coming and going at all hours making all kind of loud noises. The hotel is not in a good section and I never felt quite safe. For 79 dollars there are better values nearby. I would not return nor recommend.

The AltaVista Hotel & Conference Center sits atop Red Mountain, above the city of Birmingham (it is north of Downtown, off of Interstate 65).

The location is fine and there are nice views to be had of the city from this property, but not enough to make this place OK for anything other than a single night's stay.

I made two observations when pulling into the parking lot. First, the lot was nearly deserted at 9:00 on a Wednesday night. Second, the place had a great presence about it. This medium-rise hotel must have been a great property at one time.

Both of these observations turned out to be correct.

The AltaVista's empty parking lot was apparently tied to the fact that this property needs a facelift worse than a Hollywood has-been.

With its great location and views of the city from Red Mountain, this old dowager must have been something back during the Nixon Administration (it's clearly a 1960s product; I am guessing Holiday Inn).

On the positive side, the views are still there and my room-- especially the bathroom-- was very clean. Still, clean sheets on a lumpy mattress don't cut it for me.

The AltaVista's photographer and website designers are also to be commended, as the hotel looks great on the site. Far better, in fact, than it does in person.

It is also worth noting that the front desk personnel were very friendly and efficient. And my wake up call for an early flight came at the correct time.

Still, there are plenty of other places in Birmingham with better accomodations where you can stay for less money. And that's saying something for this city, which has some very mediocre hotels.

Let me end on a hopeful note. The carpet is new. And If the AltaVista would just invest in some new furniture, bedding, and paint next, this could be a great property once again.

Sadly, my guess is that the owners are doing the best they can with the resources they have-- which are insufficient.

If you need a place to stay for a single night and accomodations elsewhere are tight, the AltaVista is OK.

Otherwise, look elsewhere.

I had a guest come to come in town and this was the only location I felt my guest would enjoy considering they waited until the last minute to book reservations. Don't do this traveler's. The hotel was in a great location and my guest agreed to that but he was not pleased with the marks and smell of the elevators and the hallway. The showers were small. Overall he was please with the view but very disappointed there was no microwave or refrigerator in rooms. Oh, and I almost forgot, we were staying on the 7th floor and every guest had to go to the 1st floor to get ice and water. This was really a headache for the both of us. If you're traveling to Birmingham, make this choice your last choice.

Anytime a hotel does not have several pictures of its establishment posted on its webpage, it is a sure sign that this would not be a good place to stay. This establishment is run down and not worth making any accommodation reservations - let alone eating the complimentary breakfast. Check-In at 2:30 a. m. after a long 6-hour drive. Settled down to rest about 3:30 a. m. at 4:30 a. m. the fire alarm went off. Needless to say after just arriving and being totally exhausted, we did not want to get up to go outside so we didn't. The hotel attendants never called to say that the alarm was a false alarm so I guess we would have burned. We checked out of this establishment at 7:15 a. m. Altogther, if you are considering this establishment, consider this:
the Hotel should be alta dissed, alta dismissed from consideration, alta disgusting, and alta distanced - keep away.