Holiday Inn Research Park, Huntsville

My wife and I, along with another couple who are long-time close friends and business partners, were in Huntsville this past week to close on some investment properties and check out some new prospects. Highly recommended by other friends from Birmingham, we decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Research Park on University Drive near the Madison Square Mall. Our friends drive over an hour on most weekends to come stay at this Holiday Inn, eating at the restaurant and enjoying the live music, and tell us it’s also one of the only places in north Alabama they know of that has live entertainment and is non-smoking. Upon our arrival the front desk personnel were very courteous and promptly checked us into a couple of very clean nicely decorated rooms. Later in the week, we got a few chances to visit the indoor/outdoor swimming pool and exercise area. On Friday night the four of us decided to have dinner in the hotels restaurant and check out the much recommended live music. We saw the band setting up, and sat at a nearby table with a good view of the stage and dance floor. We ordered dinner, and were unexpectedly surprised that our service and meal was very good. A few tables down another couple were having dinner, and we overheard them ask the waitress if she could dim the very bright lights a little bit. She apologized that she couldn't dim the lights until after 8pm. After hearing this, we also mentioned to our waitress that the lights were really unnecessarily bright, and was hoping she could dim them, at least just a tad. As with the other dinner guest, she also profusely apologized over and over for being unable to dim the lights until after 8pm. The band didn't take the stage till sometime well after 8:30pm, so I can’t for the life of me figure out why they can’t turn down their million watt sun lamps before 8pm! We put on some SPF 1,000,000 UV sun protecting suntan lotion along with our handy welding goggles, and finished our dinner – which was kept extra warm by the million watt sun lamps. Great for the Cajun Tilapia, but it melted my pie a’la mode. After dinner we spent a few minute chatting with our friends then sat back to enjoy the entertainment, with our wives eager to get us out dancing. The band was kinda ok, but obviously not what we had expected. More like karaoke or a garage band, and definitely nothing to dance to. Our Birmingham friends had in the past bragged about “these two guys” in the band having a clean professional sound and look, and putting on an entertaining show. The band we saw was obnoxiously loud, shabbily dressed, and hopelessly boring. We asked that nice couple next to us if they knew which two “sloths” in the band were supposed to be entertaining. They laughed, then sadly advised that the regular band “Wolf & Peter” hardly come back anymore, and that if they had been there that evening, the dance floor would have been packed. Since there were only about ten people watching this band, I guess the locals knew how bad the band was and went elsewhere. We stayed for a half dozen or so more poorly done songs, then when the band went on break (hopefully to practice and tune their instruments), we decided to drive into downtown Huntsville in search of better live music. Because "The Rocket City" is such a good place for business investment, we will definitely be doing more in this area. Might stay at this Holiday Inn again due to it’s decent restaurant and proximity to our business activities, shopping, movie theaters, etc… or maybe not - depending on the quality of future weekend entertainment and those freakin ice cream melting sunlamps. I’d rather stay at the hotel downtown next to the civic center because it’s closer to better entertainment, but my wife prefers this Holiday Inn and says those other places have way too much cigarette smoke for her. The smoke-free Hopper's bar & grill is definitely a plus with us. Hope to stay at this Holiday Inn again real soon - I’ll keep you posted!

Some Holiday Inn's are kinda ratty, but this one is really nice. Like others say, the best thing about this hotel is the weekend band in the restaurant, Peter and the Wolf. They are definably expert showmen… my girlpals just love that Peter, but I’ve got a thing for that Wolfman! The hard working folks in the restaurant do a great job, too. I commend the management here for putting together such a great combination. Whenever we’re in Huntsville, we always stay at the Holiday Inn Research Park..

Let me start off by saying I've stayed in this hotel for several months now, and it seems to be two different places (before 10 pm and after 10 pm). The before 10 pm crowd is very family friendly- good restaurant, pool, etc. Overall nice facility. After 10 pm, things start getting a little rowdy. The happy hour crowd either leaves or stays late to party, and you can imagine what happens next. Peter and the Wolf, the house band, brings in some rump shakers! I tell you, the women are fine! Bring some rubbers, because you will need them! Try to score a dime piece before midnight, because the "hood element" starts showing up around that time. If you decide to stay later than midnight- watch your back. My car was broken into, and I've heard instances of gunfights and other gang activity. I've never seen any of it, though. It's perfect for me because I can stay there, it's affordable, and there are plenty of frisky women looking to hook up in the evenings. Enjoy!

When those folks were yelling DON'T SHOOT. They were gangsta wannabees that had come to see the black rapper band PLA-STATION.

I just returned home from having stayed there over the weekend. I was awakened at 2:30am to lots of yelling in the hall from the ghetto night club crowd. What concerned me most was one voice that kept repeating "Don't shoot, Don't shoot". I called the front desk and asked them to send security. I never heard gun shots, but it was hard to sleep that night.

This Holiday Inn is really nice, with its indoor/outdoor pool, multiple meeting rooms, and extra large banquets room - with plenty of restaurants and a big shopping mall all within easy walking distance. It also has Hopper’s Bar & Grill, which is one of the best bars in ALL of the Huntsville/Decatur area, hands down! The best perks are that the bar is non-smoking, and their usual band - Peter and the Wolf, are awesome! This band puts on a fantastic high-energy show with music from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, along with the latest hip hop tunes. They have excellent vocals & dancing ability, a great talent for playing keyboards/percussion/etc, and along with their excellent sound system, get the folks up and dancing - filling the clubs dance floor with plenty of happy women. The crowd is really good, but tend to turn a bit “gangsta-ish” after midnight on weekends… they definitely could use tighter security late night weekends. If this band isn’t playing, it’s somewhat a dull place. When Peter & Wolf are there, this Holiday Inn is a great place to stay on business, or to celebrate a birthday or anniversary… and always a great place to party! I'm in Huntsville on government business at least a few days or more each month, can easily afford the Westin or Embassy, but always look foward to staying here till Friday night for the lively bar and its friendly folks. Highly recommended for the business traveler who's looking to have a fun trip and doesn't need all the fancy overprices services.

Staff all very friendly, clean rooms, NICE beds, great breakfast and coffee, excellent bar, nice pool, convenient to mall for teens. Great family place.Would definitely stay again.

I have been traveling on business for many years at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama. I always stayed here for enjoyable weekends at Hopper's Bar & Grill. The food was always adequate, and a really good black singer named Rudy Mockabee was the bars singer for over 17years. He did an excellent job at bringing in good crowds of very decent mixed race people. Now the always excellent Peter and the Wolf has taken over as the weekend band, but their Hip Hop music attracts a new crowd of gangstas. I'm not talking about gangsta wannabees... I'm talking about full-blown prison tattooed head to toe pants falling off gun toting gangstas. Hopper's Bar & Grill is no longer a safe place to enjoy a drink and get your groove on. If you get up for a dance, the people from this new crowd will try to steal your table, and even challenge to fight you over it. These folks from the new crowd will sexually harass your women friends, and then dare you to do anything about. When the gangsta acting security guards are asked to help with these situations, they just laugh and say (quote) "it's all good - they just havings a good time". After 10pm the driveway and parking area has loitering gangstas hanging out making exchanges with passing cars (drug deals?), and women cannot leave the bar without escort due to the these people wanting sex, rides home, etc. Many regular guest of this hotel have begged management to change the band and security workers, and they say they will, but their response has been to maintain the status quo. Co-workers who have recently stayed at this hotel advise that automobiles are being broke into on a regular basis. Sad to see this nicely recently renovated Holiday Inn, which was such a popular restaurant and dance club, turn into to a Hip Hop Gangstas Paradise. I highly advise for your safety (and your families) to avoid this Holiday Inn at all cost. Presently, the people who I travel with are staying at the Embassy Suites in downtown Huntsville, and visiting the downtown clubs. Hopefully soon the local management at this Holiday Inn will turn this place around, and get rid of one of societies worst elements (the gangstas), before someone gets murdered either in the bar or in the parking lot.

We booked a room at this hotel because of their advertised "heated indoor pool" and their location to the Space Museum. The pool was really, really, small - too small for laps or anything else other than splashing around - and it was NOT heated, or maybe it was the fact that it connected to the outdoor pool that lowered the temperature to far less than comfortable. Also, it was only separated from the entryway to the restaurant by a low brick wall - nothing like that "fish in a bowl" feeling. The sauna was full of nasty wet towels...not a very sanitary-looking place. That clue made us avoid the exercise area altogether as well. The water in the pool was so cold, not just cool, freezing to the point of turning blue, that we abandoned the idea of even a constricted swim. The room, NONSMOKING, reeked of smoke. It positively reeked. There were no other rooms available. The room ammenties were laughable. There wasn't even a laundry bag. For the same price at a hotel located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, we received a great room, fluffy robes, a huge indoor heated pool, and excellent service. The staff could not do enough for us. The price of this Holiday Inn wasn't exhorbitant, but we should have gone down the road to LaQuinta for what we received from this very disappointing Holiday Inn site. No extras and a staff that couldn't care less. We will not be going back.

This is a wonderful hotel with great food! It's close to the family we were there to visit, and very easy for them to visit us. Parking was no problem, and having the restuarant on site was so nice! For what my family needed for the week-end, this was the perfect place. Everything was very clean, no problems with the room at all, and very comfy beds. If you are in this area, this is a great place to stay. I highly recommend this hotel!