Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook, Autograph Collection

First let me say this review is for the Restaurant and wine bar. Haven’t stayed at the hotel but it’s owned and run by Marriot.
The food is a bit over priced and the service mediocre. We ate here twice once for lunch and once for Sunday brunch. The bloody Mary’s were all straight mixes and the soup semi warm. Service picked up on Sunday but we witnessed several empty tables.
Perhaps they are still finding themselves. Perhaps they are attempting to bohemian vibe and just haven’t found it yet. They get a full 2 stars just for their wine selection and out side bar.
But be warned if you eat at the restaurant and use the valet it’s $ 5.

Good location in the beautiful area of Mountain Brook near downtown and convenient to most of the better parts of Birmingham. But, poorly designed, and poorly executed. If you are familiar with other luxury boutique hotels, like the ZaZa in Dallas, you will be very disappointed. Most hotels who claim to be in this category provide a nice coffee service on each floor every morning. This one has a cheap coffee maker, no sugar or napkins, and paper cups in your room… forget about getting a newspaper. And if you like playing Room Service Roulette, order something and then bet on what you actually get! The only thing for sure is that it will only vaguely resemble the original order.
The décor is definitely Kessler Collection (I liked that), but from housekeeping to room service they are incompetent and sadly, they don’t even have a clue how they failed. You should have seen the puzzled looks we received when we asked that they finally clean our room, make the bed, and remove the breakfast service — after all, it was only 10:00…PM! It would have been nice to have had windows that opened so we could let in the beautiful surroundings, and let out the smoke billowing from the HVAC. As a hotel guest, you have to go outside to get an amateurish massage, so don’t go looking for the Spa in a robe. And you will want to shower in the room… not at the spa. That one doesn’t work very well.
Sadly, Birmingham is still in desperate need of a good hotel. This one has the potential of being better than most, but without competent management capable of hiring and training good staff, it is unlikely to happen, especially given that there are no role models within 200 miles.

We are Birmingham natives and decided to go visit the bar. We asked for two martinis: one dirty and one up with olives. Both martinis were extremely dirty; so much that it tasted like we were drinking ocean water. I have had similar experiences before at the bar. Staff is lacking skills. Hiring a mixologist would greatly help their reputation.

We had a beautiful experience and a lovely meal! Each course was better than the next. This is what I had:
1^st Course
Amuse Bouche Spring & Late Winter Vegetable Mosaic, Buratte Mousse, Micro Basil
2^nd Course
Duet of Chilled Oysters & Stone Crab Claws, Bloody Mary Mignonette, Classic Mustard Sauce
3^rd Course
1855 Beef Filet Mignon served with Cambanzolo Gratin, Potato Parsnip Purée, Hedgehog Mushroom, Roasted Romanesco
4 Course
Torta Amore, Raspberry Mousse, Dark Chocolate Sponge Cake, Warm Butterscotch
Alabama Lamb Ribeye

Back for the second time. This time on a Friday night. First of all, I don’t know of any other single venue in metro Bham with a worse parking situation. Unless you valet. Which I think is silly when I, an able bodied 30-​something am perfectly capable of parking myself. So I parked in the Botanical Gardens parking lot up and across the road, which I suspect could have gotten me towed. But there was not one single available space that was not marked «resident» on any of the four sides of the long complex– and I circled three times. As for service, it was good. As for food, it was acceptably good. Not Highlands not Ocean not Hot and Hot not El Barrio not Bamboo on 2^nd good not Great Wall Chinese good. But, still, acceptably good. The sound in the bar section though is absolutely awful. We were at a table there. There is nothing to absorb all the talking and yelling and shrieking– just concrete floors and hard walls and hard ceilings. So it has the look of an upscale place and the sound element of a college sports bar on game day. And you pay a premium for your discomfort and conversation frustration. So prepare to yell, not smoothly converse, with your friends or fellow patrons here. I would say it is worth visiting to see the eccentric interior and décor, which are unique for Bham. But go on a weeknight. It will absolutely not be a place I frequent. In fact I feel the strong sense of «been there, done that, and now back to our regularly scheduled and exciting set of options downtown.»

This is the fanciest place I have stepped into in Birmingham. Never would have imagined a luxury boutique hotel in my hometown. My local friend there suggested that we go there and said it recently opened up.
I got dolled up and ready for a fun cocktail night there at the bar. The hotel is across the street from the Botanical Gardens. Once I pulled into the valet, it took a few minutes to get served but looked like a number of folks were waiting to get their cars. It was around 8:30pm the day after Christmas. Then I headed up the elevator to the rooftop bar.
The place was beautiful from the paintings to the old world European furniture to the stunning chandeliers. Right when I got off the elevator, I was at the wine bar area where patrons must get a card to purchase wine which are situated in a long line and are offered the option of a tasting, small pour, or large pour.
After I passed the wine area, I walked by the restaurant there which was half full that evening. Then I met my friend at the bar. Service was rather slow. Then my friend ordered a Moscow mule and I got a vodka soda. The bartenders were not the most well trained in terms of knowing the liquor choices available and etiquette though they were nice. For instance, my friend ordered a second Moscow mule and the bartender asked if it was okay to just wash out the copper cup she just used and serve her in same cup that because they were running low on copper cups. Someone mentioned that patrons were stealing those cups! Pretty shocked if that was really occurring at an upscale bar.
At that point, we decided to get a wine card and serve ourselves which turned out nicely though I spent too much on wine:)
The true highlight of this place was the outdoor part of the bar. Really nice outdoor rooftop ambiance. It was unusually warm that night so my friend and I enjoyed walking out there. It was more packed outside that evening than inside at the bar.
Hope the service improves at the bar. I am willing to definitely try it out again and maybe even grab some food at the restaurant next time.

The décor was beautiful and felt very upscale however the layout of the entire place was very odd. The room was lacking coffee supplies when we arrived. The bed was very comfortable. A little too pricey for what you get. No minibar either.

Fun, artistic, colorful, inspired environment for a delightful stay in Mountain Brook, Alabama. Valet, Front Desk, wait and bar staff all delightful and seemed well trained. Pool tables were a welcome distraction and the setting is glamorous. Getting in and out is a bit confusing so a little expanded signage would be helpful. There is a lot of construction around the immediate vicinity currently which isn’t pleasant but not really anything they can do about it. I will say that the valets running back and forth at night across Lane in all their black clothing isn’t a great idea. Overall, a really fun place.

I couldn’t disagree more with the other reviews of the service. Expecting the worst, I found the staff very attentive but not cloying. The décor is a beautiful modern riff on art nouveau. Couldn’t have enjoyed the stay more. Well, actually, they do need dimmers on the lights in the bar — but if that’s the only thing to complain about they are doing well.
This hotel takes Birmingham to the next level. Great addition to the city!

Awesome property! They’re still trying to get one or two little kinks worked out, but overall my two nights at the grand Bohemian were great. I’m in hotels about 80 nights a year and this is my go to place on my trips to Birmingham from this point forward

Looks like this establishment has gotten their act together as our visit to the Grand Bohemian revealed a courteous and efficient staff, gleaming chandeliers, quirky decorating, one of a kind rooftop bar and solid drinking and dining options.
Whoever took on the task of designing and decorating this new jewel of Mountain Brook deserves public recognition as the look and feel just oozes high style. The Grand Bohemian reminds me of a favorite place of mine; Little Nells in Aspen. Opulent, yet classy.
Did I mention chandeliers? I have never seen such impressive hanging works of art! The violet chandeliers in the wine tasting room are out of this world; absolutely spectacular! I could spend hours studying the art in this place.
This visit was to dip our toes in at the bar as based on the previous reviews we were cautious! We discovered there was no need for hesitation as service was spot on, friendly and engaging. Our drinks were perfectly served (and not a 3oz glass of wine for $ 12 either, but a solid pour)! We tried the Bohemian Charcuterie which was by far the BEST charcuterie I have had in Bham. It looked so good people stopped to ask what we were eating. We also had the truffle fries which were crispy, hot and delicious. *Note to chef; some Rosemary ketchup would really work well with those fries! Take in all of the above while sitting in comfy kings and queens chairs (go and you will see what I am talking about) by a whispering fire pit (yes, it whispers). Not to mention the bar is on the roof! Nice views of Mountain Brook Village.
Kudos to the folks that dreamed up the Grand Bohemian Hotel and Spa. Job well done and thank you for turning your vision into a reality we will all enjoy. Next visit we are diving straight into the deep end!

This is a stunning hotel. We had Sunday Brunch and the food was excellent. I hope the reviewers that were so negative give it another chance. This place has only been ope about a month.

Definitely not ready for prime time.
in fact, they should go back to square 0 and start over. the Grand Bohemian is a brand. Wait. let me address that again — the Grand Bohemian is part of the MARRIOTT brand. there should not be ANY «grand opening jitters» allowed. they should have this down.
what a disaster. the building itself is sad. it’s huge and doesn’t fit nicely into the mountain brook theme. the $ 35m did not account for making a SMALL attempt to fit in to the surroundings. my architect friend noted the «fake half roofs only meant to be viewed from one angle» — and I agree! for that money, and for that village, i would expect more. the interior décor is something out of 1999 — as in PRINCE’s 1999. purple and gold and bright and shiny. when i say «bright» (and shiny) i mean it. they got confused about the direction they were going when they designed the space — it’s like they wanted to have an open kitchen but forgot to account for it when they did the lighting. all the fluorescent lighting is a bit bright for a contemporary intimate setting. it was unnerving to eat dinner!
the staff is a joke. i can’t tell how many hipster dudes in slim cut suits (c’mon guys — do you ALL have to look the same — get a little creativity going here) were lingering around to «help» but it seemed like at least 7 in the bar area. but they weren’t talking to the guests — they were just lingering around.
what started as an evening of cocktails, ended up being cocktails and dinner … eventually. however, we weren’t sure that we were going to get a table when we got there. we were told that they were booked for the evening — even though most tables were empty. then we were told that they might be able to fit us in. the bar wait staff was equally out in left field — every time we’d order drink, shed bring one, then bring the next one — and not in any timely fashion either. i don’t think we were ever able to have a proper salute with our dining companions! it was a mess.
the dinner menu looked good, but the food is a huge miss — presentation and taste. i had a blob of mashed sweet potatoes with a piece of fish that was a dense as a brick. others at the table had the shrimp and grits — 2 shrimp and 2 scallops on a small potion of grits, and another guest had the boar chops — seems they might need to re-​name that dish «wee little piggy chops». when we elected not to have the head cheese on our cheese plate, our wait person didn’t bother to offer something else in its place. wait … what? And then … the wine list was embarrassing — i’ll bite double the bottle price — some great places we ate at in NYC even did 2.5 — but this place wants to jack you for 3x retail. thats insulting.
sad to say (because we all had such high hopes for this place), to sum it up — the Grand Bo needs to start over from scratch on this one.

Not a charitable bunch, these Unilocal reviewers. A bunch of two– and one-​star reviews for what is, in my humble estimation, a fine property. What? Did the managers spit on the flag? Burn down a church? I don’t get why these folks are shrieking like harpies. I mean, cut these guys some slack for some grand opening jitters how about it?
My review is for the restaurant only, not the hotel. As far as I could tell, the bar and restaurant make for a worthy addition to the local scene. Overall, it’s a great place for the Mountain Brook trust-​fund né’er-do-wells to gather and compare plaid shirts with one another.
For starters, there’s a bar that’s happening, an outdoor area complete with fire pit, rather spiffy artwork on the walls, a cooking class, a wine-​by-​the-​glass area, and a host of private nooks where you can break the news that the divorce won’t be going through after all.
On to the restaurant. My steak was superb. My wife’s trout was impeccable. Both arrived promptly. The dessert was so decadent, it made 1920s Berlin seem like an Amish prayer meeting. The service was practically telepathic. All we did with our dinner companions was grunt compliments to one another as we dug in. The only quibble was the price. See the loan officer at the door before you go in. His table is right next to the maitre’d’s station.
So, yeah, go. Worth it for a special night out.

I spent seven nights at this hotel the first week it opened and over $ 3,000. It was an absolute disaster. Given that the hotel is billed to be a five star hotel experience, i expect it to be five start even when it just opens. I understand there might be tweaks as it opens but nothing to the extent I experienced.
The service was inconsistent and lackluster.
– The first several days the restaurant wasn’t open due to electricity issues so they had an open buffet… The buffet was not very appealing but I initially looked past it.
– Room service was not available the first few days either due to the kitchen issue. when room service was finally available, there was not menu available. I called the front desk to get one. 30 minutes later laser printed black and white copy was brought to my room.
– I was working remotely from my room on conference calls. The internet would drop frequently and the electricity went out daily the first four days I stayed. The first day they had staff in the elevator with flash lights due to the lights being out.
Once the restaurant was open, the service was very inconsistent and with the food. For breakfast there generally were only a three or four tables occupied but the service was slow. One day I ordered fruit and yogurt. It took 45 minutes to finally get it… again just a couple tables occupied. The waitress broke into tears because she said the kitchen was a disaster and she couldn’t find her manager… she had to leave she was so upset.
– I tried dinner as well. The wait staff said that they just opened and no one knew what they were doing. I had a couple good entrees and a couple not so good.
– The valet took forever to pull cars around even though I would send a text requesting the car. I would receive a text saying my car was ready… but when I would come down, my vehicle would not be there. This happened on multiple occasions. One day I waited 20 minutes. They thought someone was getting my vehicle and then they figured out that they lost the ticket and didn’t know which car my was. The valet attendant said they had valet staff that did not know what they were doing.
– My room was generally not cleaned until 5PM or after 50% of the time. One evening I had to call at 6:30PM and remind them that my room was still not clean.
The facilities have potential but it was not ready to open.
– They were still installing the landscaping and irrigation while we were there.
– There were contractors grouting the tile in the elevators while we were there.
– Since the place was obviously not fully complete, the floors and walls were dirty in the common areas due to the construction activity (i.e. landscaping, grouting, etc)
– You could hear constructing noise during the day occurring inside the building.
– The guest room walls are thin. I had to put a couple towel in between the connecting doors because there was a 2 inch gap at the bottom on tile floor. I could hear every conversation next door.
– The held a fashion show above my room at 9PM Sunday night so I heard stomping for a couple hours. I had to call the front desk three times before it was resolved at 10PM.
I called for the manager one evening when my room was clean after 6PM. I held for 10 minutes while they tried to locate him but no luck. They said they would have him call me back that evening. He never did.
I finally ran into the manager in the restaurant when he happen to ask me how my stay was. I told him some of the issues. He said, «well we just opened and are still working out the bugs». This was the same message I received from the service staff as well. After I heard the manager say that, I understand where they heard it and more importantly why they thought it was okay to give that kind of response. If you sanction your employees to provide excuses for mediocre service, then that is what you get.
On the day of checkout, of course their system was down and could not provide me a copy of my bill. So much for speedy checkout via a copy of my bill under the door… someone forgot that too. Nonetheless, they said they would email me a copy. Two weeks later, no email.
They should have delayed their opening and trained the staff on how to provide quality service given the premium charged.

Went to have a late lunch with a couple of friends and had a disappointing experience. Our waitress was very absent minded and kept forgetting to bring us pretty much anything we asked for; water, silverware, menus. The smelt dish was OK. The pomme fritte was good, the churros were terrible. Tasted like they were fried in chicken oil. When we brought it up with our waitress she thought it appropriate to a) SNIFF it, b) break a piece of with her hands to taste it then c) leave it on our table for us to finish (which of course we didn’t) then d) charge us for it! We were all stunned. If not for the décor, ambiance and views from the patio we would probably never give this place another chance. The wait staff need much more training for a place this ritzy. The bar menu we looked at was about average length. We ordered virgin drinks and they were pretty good.

Bar staff with the exception of one individual seem «out of place». Training seems to have been skipped unfortunately. The décor and menu are excellent however the staff seem to be fresh out of a chain restaurant without being provided the necessary skills for this type of hotel. We have been here for several hours ordering a variety of wines, beers and crafted cocktails yet each order has required over-​effort to get a bartender’s attention. Ordering dinner at the bar has also required the same over-​effort. The food is excellent if only the bar service matched. The staff was friendly but seemed out of their element; which is too bad for a hotel striving to be the best in Birmingham. Hopefully time will improve the training and therefore the service

This place is not ready yet. Great facility. Inconsistent food. Worse service. 20 minutes to put in drink order. 15 minutes for it to come. Same issues with the food. Pork was ok. Trout was awful.

Usually, I’m not the reviewer type. In fact I made an account just for that. I don’t even remember my Facebook password, lol. I’ll occasionally read a review or two to see if there’s any red flags that I should look for before trying a new place. I never write them. However, something happened today that I think shouldn’t go unnoticed.
As some may know, this place recently opened. I’ve been interested in trying the restaurant, but today wasn’t the day. I was just going on a walk (staying with friends nearby) when I stopped by the hotel (½ mile from their house). Since it was new and I have a penchant for getting lost, I found myself utterly confused after I left the bathroom. At one point I had gone up the outer staircase to the rooftop terrace next to the bar. After wandering inside I ended up on the second floor near the hotel rooms. After I made it to the exit, I was completely turned around and at this point an employee found me. I could tell they weren’t completely opened since construction crews were on site. I think I was lucky that He didn’t just assume I knew what I was doing. He approached me and instantly put me at ease. Maybe it was because he looked like a waiter (apron, long sleeve white shirt) and I just came from the restaurant so I knew he could get me back there, or because it was an employee and I knew I wouldn’t be lost anymore. Anyway, he introduced himself and welcomed me to the hotel. When I explained to him that I had been sneaking around and I wasn’t even sure they were open yet, he just laughed and said I wasn’t the first person to get lost in the building. He said he had to do his own fair share of exploring to get accustomed to the place. After a minute of him giving me some background information on the hotel, he asked me what I had seen. At this point I realized that he wanted to show me all the cool stuff! I was excited because I didn’t know what was what and what exactly I was looking at. Michael walked with me through the hotel, showing me how you could go from the hotel rooms to the art gallery (so cool btw, an art gallery at a hotel), and then we walked over to the third floor where he showed me the wine blending room and the cooking school. By the time we made it to the restaurant and bar, I saw my starting point. He took fifteen minutes of his time to show someone who wasn’t a guest or a restaurant patron all the cool artwork and amenities at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. Usually I avoid corporate establishments but I will be making an exception for this hotel. Next time I come into town, I’ll be spending the money for a room and going to the restaurant to eat instead of staying for free at a friend’s house. I’ll be asking for him, as well. I’m adventurous but completely shy as well as riddled with social anxiety, but when he showed me the hotel I felt comfortable and sociable. Strangers typically put me on red alert and I clam up, but he put me at ease. The place lost that corporate feel and felt more like it was it’s own individual establishment. And I think that’s important to remember when looking at a corporate place. A human interaction helped me realize that not all hotels are the same, regardless of it being a chain or owned by a corporation. I’ll definitely be coming to see these guys come January when I come back.