My wife and I recently made another recruiting trip to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for our football playing son. We stayed at the Hampton Inn this time after reading more reviews on TA and decided that since the weather was supposed to turn snowy, we might just stay in a hotel near the campus instead of the Freindship Suites in which we had stayed back in the fall. (see review from 10/11) This place is easy access off of I-376 and sports a view of downtown from one side of the building as well as the Monongehela(sp?) River. Carnegie Mellon and especially U. of Pittsburgh are a very short drive up Forbes Avenue. Check in was a breeze, we got into our room and they passed the dreaded bedbug check with flying colors. Breakfast was pretty good and the girl stayed on top of the rush pretty well. They had sliced sausage links one day that didn't agree with me so well, but, that wasn't her fault. I talked to the desk staff several times as well as the courtesy shuttle driver and they were all top drawer. The shuttle driver is a hoot to talk to and they will shuttle you three miles from the hotel for free. The housekeeping staff does an excellent job keeping things picked up and our room was immaculate for the two nights we stayed. Good hot water for long showers and the bathrooms were in pretty fair shape and were plenty clean. Overall I'd give the place a A-/B+ on grade for the following reasons. There were a few signs of wear here and there with a spot or two(stains) on the bathroom ceiling, a scratched name on the elevator door inside, a scratch or two on the furniture in the room and the pipes would make a vibrating sound sometimes when you took showers that sounded like they were jackhammering. I also have a problem with the parking fees these downtown hotels slip in on you. I was aware of the charge because I asked the girl when making the reservation if parking was free and was told there is a 14.00 charge per night. I just added this to the cost of the room when I was deciding on what hotel to stay at. I think that the hotels that charge these fees are doing this to gouge patrons and that they should include the fee in the room charge and make parking free. Do it all up front with the cost of the room. This is a peeve of mine and has changed my mind before on staying at hotels that do this. No major problems at all with this hotel and I would definitely stay there again as the staff is very friendly if you get to know them. I also would like to thank the head housekeeper Lacole for taking care of a problem when we stayed there for me. She went out of her way to return some things that I forgot at the hotel and left in a parking lot and is shipping them back to me. Thanks Lacole for the extra effort!