The Westin Huntsville: Among Alabama's AAA 4-Diamond Elite Hotels

Review of The Westin Huntsville | 6800 Governors West Road Northwest
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Connie
Connie 
Updated
| 6 min read

Whether you are coming to Huntsville, AL for a convention, a concert, a work assignment, an athletic event or a honeymoon, the Westin Huntsville at Bridge Street Town Centre will satisfy your accommodation needs and surpass your expectations for comfort and amenities. It was awarded the coveted AAA Four-Diamond status in 2010 and has remained the only hotel in Huntsville with that ranking ever since. Business travelers flock to The Westin Huntsville during the week, while couples and families look forward to pampering and celebrating special occasions on the weekends. The Westin is also perfect for weekend shopping sprees with friends with its location adjacent to Huntsville’s premier shopping.

Impressive landmark

Exterior of the Westin Hotel at Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, AL
Source: Connie Pearson

The Westin Huntsville is hard to miss. As travelers come into Huntsville via I-565, two buildings dominate the landscape; a full-scale vertical Saturn V rocket replica marking the location of the United States Space and Rocket Center is on the right and the 11-story Westin, anchoring the Bridge Street Town Centre, is on the left. The Rocket Center and Bridge Street are only two miles apart, and both are among the most popular attractions in the city.

Boardrooms and ballrooms

Westin ballroom set up for meetings

During weekdays, The Westin is primarily involved with a working clientele, those who have come into Huntsville for the express purpose of getting their job done. They choose this hotel because of its proximity to the airport and to many corporate offices. They become repeat clients after experiencing The Westin’s numerous amenities. To relieve the stress of the day, there is a large fitness facility, indoor and outdoor pools and a great area for walking inside the Bridge Street Town Centre complex.

The Westin has over 17,000 square feet (1579.3 square meters) of meeting space with boardrooms, ballrooms and many configurations of meeting spaces in between. The highly trained sales and catering personnel are equipped to make corporate experiences measure up to the Four-Diamond rating The Westin has proudly earned.

Brides and grooms have two large ballrooms to choose from, 8000 square feet (743.2 square meters) or 4000 square feet (371.6 square meters), and another stand alone ballroom of 5000 square feet (464.5 square meters) is in plans for construction. Again, staff at The Westin will happily help with arrangements for music, flowers and everything else needed to create the perfect day.

Guest rooms with signature features

the westin huntsville: among alabama's aaa 4-diamond elite hotels | guest rooms with signature features

All guest rooms and suites at The Westin are 100% non-smoking. Overnight guests are treated to the comfort of heavenly beds with pillowtop mattresses, hypoallergenic pillows, luxurious sheets and down comforters.

Workstations feature ergonomic chairs, dual-line speaker telephones, and a data port. In addition, the rooms include a flatscreen television with 85 cable channels, a full-length mirror, an iron and an ironing board, a radio/alarm clock and an in-room electronic safe. The Westin even provides umbrellas and a turndown service.

Bathrooms at The Westin are equally deluxe. The tub and shower are separate and accessible. Bath amenities are Westin’s Signature White Tea products. Each bathroom has a shaving/make-up mirror, a hairdryer and a rainfall showerhead.

A dining experience with careful attention

Lunch at the Sage Grille - Cappellini Pasta with Grilled Shrimp
Source: Connie Pearson

The Sage Grille was the 2010 Taste of Huntsville winner and has since earned many other local awards. Those recognitions are due in large part to the commitment to excellence of Mr. Charles Lennox, Food and Beverage Director, and his capable staff. A former chef himself, Mr. Lennox loves food and the art of creating food. He especially enjoys exploring cuisines from around the world. That passion blends perfectly with the cosmopolitan flavor of Huntsville, which attracts many international scientists and engineers. Mr. Lennox says that he never reaches the point of satisfaction in the kitchen at the Westin but instead continually asks his staff, “What is the next level?”. Whether it is in terms of innovative ingredients, herbs and spices, preparation methods or drinks from the bar, he encourages them to continually create and explore to find the very best.

Sage Grille, located in the lobby, classifies itself as Mediterranean and is open from 6:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m Monday through Friday and from 7:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m on weekends. Breakfast features typical Southern favorites but goes a step further with its juicery. These juices are not a blending of juices but an extraction from the fruits and vegetables. Health conscious guests can choose from pineapple/cucumber/mint, fennel/spinach/pear or orange/grapefruit/lemon/lime. The culinary team is also very deliberate about incorporating super foods into their dishes, which are foods known to be full of antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Lunch and dinner menus tempt diners with both traditional and unexpected fare. On the day I was there for lunch, my companion ordered cappellini pasta with grilled shrimp, and I had a pan-seared tuna sandwich with avocado, tomato, pepper jack cheese and avocado cream on a sourdough crouton. We shared some eggplant fries, which were a delightful surprise. The food presentations were beautiful, and the tastes were exceptional.

Perfect location for an all-encompassing getaway

Monaco Pictures within steps of the front entrance of the Westin Hotel
Source: Connie Pearson

After enjoying several meals at the Sage Grille, guests can also find a range of restaurants serving fondue, ice cream, hamburgers, steaks, seafood, Mexican or Italian cuisine. To avoid long lines, just make a reservation from your room, wait in complete comfort, then stroll in when your table is ready.

With The Westin’s location in the Bridge Street Town Centre, guests have high-end shops available within steps of the front door. From bookstores to computers and electronics, from fashions for the whole family to home furnishings, from sporting goods to beauty products, a short stroll from the hotel will put guests within reach of their favorite retailers.

As for entertainment, there are plenty of activities and live musicians scheduled along the Bridge Street promenade, but probably the most popular place is Monaco Pictures showing the latest movies. With 17 screens, a high-end restaurant and even a V.I.P. lounge where viewers can sip a glass of wine and enjoy the movie in a recliner, the Monaco is an upscale entertainment venue. For the most-anticipated movies, guests can buy their tickets and reserve their seats online before arriving.

One more feature available while staying at The Westin for a few days is BLUE, a full-service spa located on the second floor of the hotel. Be sure to check the website for a complete list of treatments available.

Plans for major expansion

Suite in the Element by Westin with a full kitchen

Major renovations are now underway at The Westin, which include a new lobby, a complete remodel of all guest rooms, a new Westin Club Lounge and Club Level, a redesign of the Sage Grille, and a new Grab-and-Go outlet serving Starbucks products. A separate hotel brand, Element by Westin, will be joining the property and will occupy floors 7 through 11 of the building from March of 2017. Element by Westin will offer an upscale extended stay option with 150 rooms including 68 suites all with full kitchens.

Starwood owns both the Westin and the Element brands, but this will be the first property in the United States to have both brands in one location. Element in particular, is fully committed to bringing an even greater focus to green practices and policies in the operations of its hotel and is pursuing a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification in all of its properties. LEED properties use less energy, water and have lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Team spirit creates a topnotch experience for guests

From the moment you are greeted at the door until check out, The Westin Huntsville’s employees makes sure you have a superb stay. In a Guest Experience Indicator used for assessment by the staff, friendliness and helpfulness have been cited repeatedly by visitors as hallmarks of their time at The Westin.

Many rich and famous people have stayed at The Westin Huntsville since it opened its doors in April of 2008. Staff members enjoy mentioning Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell who were frequent guests while their son Wyatt played hockey when he was a student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. If they enjoyed The Westin, then you are very likely to have a great time there as well.

With The Westin Huntstville already reaching AAA’s Four-Diamond rating, it will be amazing to watch how those standards will be surpassed with the coming changes.

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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