Best Hotels near Birchbank Open Space, Shelton

I chose this hotel based on its online photos, indoor pool with water slide and decent reviews. We were a large group all attending a wedding nearby. And the rest of the group all booked at this hotel after we did. Huge mistake. First, we planned to spend the day of the wedding by the pool with the kids until I read here that you have to book a ONE hour time slot. Not only that, but when I called the hotel to confirm I was told you can’t book ahead, or even at check in. Booking doesn’t open until 7AM the morning you want to use the pool. So if you want to guarantee a big group gets in at the same time you have to set your alarm for 7AM, and wake your whole room calling down to the front desk. I tried speaking to a manager beforehand, but only got the run around. When we checked in Friday night around 8pm, we called down for a pack n play and were told they were all out! Apparently they have THREE cribs for over 100 rooms. Front desk told us it’s a common problem at the hotel and we should have checked in earlier as they’re first come/first serve. They were ZERO help as to where our baby was supposed to sleep that night, and acted like it was our fault for having to work and then drive into town that night. If this is a common problem, why wouldn’t they just buy a few more cribs? They could have Instacarted one that night. We had to go buy a crib! When we moved the chair to fit the pack n play we bought we found dirty, open food wrappers with food still in them! My toddler has food allergies so this wasn’t just gross, but also dangerous for him. When we ran out of shampoo/conditioner before the wedding we called down to housekeeping, no response, so I went down to the front desk. The receptionist literally told me I’d have to “stalk the housekeeper” to get some, because she didn’t have any. Luckily, a manager stepped in and did say she’d send some up. But that was the basic attitude all weekend, the guests problems are not their problems (even though they were hotel related). There was also a domestic incident at the hotel that night that involved screaming, yelling, dog barking, and required a police response. This, of course, wasn’t the hotel’s fault. Overall, though, look elsewhere and save yourselves the hassle. ESPECIALLY if you have a baby.

I recently started a new job at a brand new company and was tasked with assisting with a training seminar being held at our headquarters in Shelton. I worked with John Snider over at the Hilton in Shelton to reserve rooms for our guests as well as reserve their conference room. He made the process very easy and he was very flexible. The travel arrangements as far as who was coming what days and how many days was quite complicated as our training seminar was divided in two groups. John did not hesitate whenever I needed anything. He was very responsive. The staff was kind to all of our guests and the rooms were spectacularly clean. The conference room looked very professional for our meeting and I could not be happier with the way everything turned out. Many thanks to John Snider and the entire Hilton team in Shelton for making my very first training seminar a very successful one!

I stayed at the RI in Shelton CT for a travel assignment in May of 2020. This company and hotel is amazing! It is located in a very safe area, I was only 10 minutes from the hospital. The complex is quiet and clean. My room was very large and felt like a private apartment. It had a full kitchen and even though I brought dishes and pans, I didn't need too. They provided everything. I broke a glass mixing bowl and they were not worried about the damage, they just wanted to make sure I was ok. The housekeeping service was on hold for the cleaning room due to COVID but they provided everything I needed to keep the space clean and my sheets and towels fresh! I honestly felt so welcomed and even though I was away from home I had my cats with me so it made me feel comfortable and at ease. The Staff even wrote me a note during nurses week. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. I am forever thankful to the RI staff!

Very general

Wonderful hotel in downtown New Haven with a comfortable modern decor. It has the best location for access to a large variety of amazing restaurants that are either around the block from the hotel or a block or two from the hotel. An easy 5-minute or less walk up High St. will get you to Starbucks and Atticus, which is a great place to get breakfast or lunch (from 11 a.m.). All the rooms have a gallery-style kitchenette that includes pots and pans, silverware for 4, plates, bowls, glasses, a microwave, 2-burner glass cooktop, and a small refrigerator, which, although can keep items very cold, unfortunately cannot keep ice cream frozen. The bed is firm but its surface is softened by the addition of a plush mattress pad. Each room has a desk with chair, a small sofa bed with otoman, 6-drawer dresser, and a mirrored hanging armoire, which contains a small safe and extra drawers. Interestingly right next to the entryway, there is a recessed coat hanging hooks whose base is large enough to accommodate my Travelpro Platinum carry-on 4-wheel suitcase. The king room is very spacious. The bathroom has a large amount of counter space flanking the single sink as well as a huge amount of storage under the vanity top. A small hairdryer, iron, and ironing board, like most hotels, are also provided. The walk-in shower offers very good water pressure from a shower head, adjustable from soft spray to pulsing jets of water. Both the room and bathroom are covered by an engineered wood floor, which is softer and less cold underfoot. This hotel also has one of the best equipped gyms. Not only is the gym spacious but provides a great variety of workouts accessible via LCD screens. A side mirrored room contains 3 spin cycles and enough space for other types of exercises, e.g., mat Pilates, Step aerobics, and TRX straps workouts. Thick mats, a Bosu ball, and styrofoam rollers are also furnished. The hotel not only makes a great base to explore downtown New Haven but also Yale University and Yale Medical School. Its location puts you in the heart of downtown New Haven large collection of downtown eateries, all within a short walking distance of the hotel, some, like Jack's, Pacifico, Bar Pizza, and South Bay are essentially less than a block from the hotel. Courteous staff makes checking in and out a breeze.

There is a parking lot. On the highway side, it is convenient to get in and out of the highway. The breakfast is quite satisfactory. There is free coffee and tea in the lobby for 24 hours. The room is very good. There is a sofa bed.

I was really surprised when I entered the room. The room is super large, small suite, with a large sofa, it is suitable for 5 people, the only small regret is that the air conditioner is old-fashioned, slow in response, and a bit noisy.

The hotel is conveniently located at the high-speed exit. Hotel facilities are old, but health is OK. Although there is breakfast, it is very simple. Fortunately, there is a small kitchen, asking the hotel to borrow kitchen utensils for Chinese food, very good! There is a big supermarket 700 meters away. I bought a dish and I am eating it myself. It is very comfortable! A good experience!

This hotel looks promising when you walk in, with high ceilings, spacious, airy common areas, and subtly modernistic décor. First, the good points about my week-long stay: the staff was friendly, check-in was fast, the room was clean, and it was nice to have daily housekeeping, which I had started to think was a relic of the past. I also liked the spaciousness of the suite I was given, with its vaulted ceiling and full kitchen area with sink, microwave, dishwasher and stand-up refrigerator--downright luxurious! The included breakfast every day was welcome--I especially enjoyed the plentiful fresh fruit bar. How often do you see fresh (not frozen) berries at a hotel breakfast bar? However, what started as minor annoyances became major gripes as the week went on. Some lights in the room didn't work, and a few switches appeared to be dummies, controlling nothing. The bathroom venting fan ran continuously and loudly, so much so that I had to keep the door shut. When I complained maintenance staff did come to look at it but afterward I still couldn't turn it off, though in fairness it did seem somewhat quieter--maybe it's not supposed to be switched off? Which leads me to the biggest complaint of all, the noise. I was assigned a room on the ground floor in a well trafficked corridor, adjacent to a door that led outside to the parking lot. Every time someone came in that door or entered or left one a nearby room I would hear a loud ”thunk!” as a heavy latch fell into place. I could actually feel the room wall shake every time this happened. If an establishment is going to install doors that swing shut so hard, the acoustic treatment of all the walls needs to be a lot better. By the end of the week I was desperate for some uninterrupted sleep, and couldn't even use the earplugs I had brought with me because housekeeping had thrown them away one morning. If I were ever to try this place again (not sure I will) I would make sure I got a room not on the ground floor and way off in a corner somewhere.

We stayed in two rooms and were very disappointed at this hotel. We have stayed at many Courtyard/ Marriott properties and this one was one of, if not the poorest maintained. The reservation was made a month ahead of our stay and because of all the graduations (reason for our trip) the hotel charged exorbitant prices for poor facilities. They also had no compassion for our plight as we had to change our booked hotel because two months after making our reservation they went pet-friendly (all Hiltons) and I have severe allergies. The front desk person was very friendly and efficient-appreciated after a long day. The issue started with a minor annoyance- no floor readout in the elevator and progressed to filthy carpets and banged up walls and renovation equipment in the hall . The halls and elevators were also extremely HOT. Our rooms were not any better- nasty stains all over the carpet and sofa, mold and a missing tile in the bathroom. The grab rail in the shower was loose and the toilet was so low that a child would best fit it. No water pressure in the shower. The A/C was also extremely loud. I realize that many of these items will be taken care of during the renovation, however to charge $350/night for a room in this condition is criminal. To top it off, unlike most hotels in this and other chains, there was no included breakfast or courtesy bottled water for rewards members. Also, in the morning all the elevators were being used by the construction and cleaning people so we had to use the stairs to go out to get food. Word of warning if you are still considering staying here in the near future… the construction is a couple rooms at a time on a guest floor and they not only hog the elevator at check out time but noise starts at 9am so don’t think of sleeping in. Why aren’t they doing a floor at a time so they could leave their equipment out of the way and free up the elevators.