Springhill Sts Marriott N Shor - Pittsburgh, USA 

I am indebted to the many folks writing the TripAdvisor reviews that pointed me to this excellent hotel. I rented two rooms for a week because my sister was being treated at the nearby Alleghany General Hospital. As other reviewers have said, the hotel is very clean and only a few years old. I was pleased to find no fragrance in the lobby or hallways because I am allergic to it. There was very little fragrance in my sister's room and none in my room. Because the hotel is new and has a no-smoking policy, there are no bad odors that need to be covered up in perfume. Moreover, our rooms were well ventilated by a strong flow of air into a vent in the bathroom. I also agree that, if you are a light sleeper, you may want to request a room overlooking the parking lot on the back side. Our rooms were on the front, overlooking Federal St, which is lined with bars/restaurants. Because it was July, some of their customers were seated outside on the sidewalk. On two nights, I heard people talking. The noise was low and did not bother me or my sister's family. But that could change during a Pirates or Steelers home game when the bars fill up. We never heard noise from any rooms inside the hotel itself. The parking fee is still $18 but does come with "in and out" privileges. Like other reviewers, we liked the complimentary breakfast buffets which offer waffles, eggs, meats, cereal and fruit. Unlike two other reviewers, however, we never had to wait for a table in the lobby. Perhaps the hotel added more tables (there are about 15). My only complaint is that the air conditioning fan in my room was a little noisy. It has a high fan speed that cannot be adjusted downward. The hotel's location is superb. Because it is only one block from the 6th St. bridge, the walk to downtown takes only 10-12 minutes. It took me 15 min. to walk to Theater Square, which sells tickets for all 5 downtown theaters. Hence, this hotel effectively offers a downtown location for 2/3 the downtown price. And the hotel van departs every 30 minutes on the half hour to take you anywhere within 3 miles. To return, you call them and your request is relayed to the driver. We never waited more than 15 min. Both drivers were very friendly. We ate several times at SoHo (in the hotel) and Atria (one block south), both of which we liked. On that same street (Federal) are several more bars and, of course, the magnificent Pirates baseball stadium. The Andy Warhol Museum is one block east of the hotel. Although the Pirates had no home games during our one-week stay, we found this area to be at least as lively as the "downtown" across the bridge. It is well lighted and customers of the bars and restaurants are walking around at all hours. We therefore felt comfortable walking around the hotel at any time. During the day, we also felt comfortable walking 8 blocks north to the hospital and to two restaurants (Legends and Max's Tavern) near the hospital. I walked over there six times by myself (a 15 min. walk) but would call the van at night..

Great experience. I'm a big baseball fan, so I loved being able to hang out around the stadium. Rooms are nice, kitchenette was functioning well. Breakfast was really good, but overcrowded. Staff was excellent. Only complaint is the pool. There is clearly way too much chlorine in it. The pool area smells so toxic that my wife couldn't breathe in there, and after 1 hour of playing in the pool with my kids, my eyes were so irritated I couldn't wear contact lenses for the rest of the trip. Besides that - all good.