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My family recently came back from a great stay at SpringHill Suites by Marriott Columbia Downtown/The Vista in South Carolina. We visited Columbia because we are huge fans of the University of South Carolina’s Women’s Basketball Team. They recently won the 2022 NCAA March Madness Women’s Basketball Tournament. So there was a parade last week in the team’s honor, and we had to go see it to cheer for the team!
We picked SpringHill Suites by Marriott Columbia Downtown/The Vista due to its location. We knew we could walk to the parade and wouldn’t have to bother looking for parking. But we ended up loving the hotel for so many reasons other than just the location. I’ll tell you about them in the review for this hotel.
Location
So as I said, the main reason my family chose to stay here was the location. It has a wonderful location in the Vista area of downtown of Columbia. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. We reviewed the nearby Liberty Tap Room and Grill here.
You can walk or take a short drive to the University of South Carolina. So it is a great choice if you are visiting the University.
Now most hotels with a downtown setting generally have large parking fees. But parking is free at this hotel, which is great! In fact, the price of this hotel considering the location is very reasonable. You can see for yourself here.
Another thing about parking at a downtown location like this is that you often have to park in a far-away parking garage. But there is plenty of parking right in front of the hotel. And since the parking is right in front, you can easily get back to your car after you’ve parked. Which is great when you want to drive somewhere else. Or you forget to take one of your bags in, which I did.
Pool
One of my favorite features of this hotel is the pool.
It is an indoor pool, which I love as I am quite pale and need tons of sunblock when I swim outside.
Now, it is not a large pool. And I prefer pools that also have a hot tub.
But it goes to five feet deep, which I like. And it is big enough to swim some laps, which I like. It was nice and relaxing to swim at the pool the night I got here.
Breakfast
The hotel also has a great free breakfast.
It can get quite busy, but there are plenty of seating. There are numerous options. You can get hot options, like fresh eggs, bacon or turkey sausage.
They have a lot of different pastries, like croissants and English muffins.
There is plenty of cereal.
There is also a waffle maker so you can make yourself waffles.
They had yogurt, but mine was, unfortunately, a bit too frozen.
They also have coffee, juice options, and fruit.
We really liked the food we had while we were there. We were even able to change up what we had for breakfast each day.
Bathroom
There were thinks I liked and did not like about the bathroom situation.
A pro of the bathrooms was that it was a great that there were two separate bathroom areas. One area had a shower and the other had the toilet. I really like that they separated these areas because it meant someone could be brushing their teeth or getting dressed in one separate area while someone else used the toilet. This is a really great feature for families.
It had sliding doors to each area, which is great for saving space. It also eliminated those situations where you open the door and like most of the bathroom is gone because the bathroom is so small (yes, I’m looking at you, Fairfield Inn Greensboro).
But here’s the negative. The sliding doors are a bit thin, which isn’t great for noise cancellation (or smell cancellation, honestly). Additionally, it was very hard to close the doors all the way. And because the bathroom areas were right across from the beds, it made those problems a bit worse than if it had been at a separate part of the room.
But these were honestly only slight annoyances. It did not spoil the trip at all for my family.
Bed & Living Room Areas
The additional space you do get from the bathroom setup makes for a separate living room area. I love how the rooms at most Springhill Suites I have stayed in before have both the area with the beds and the living room area.
The desk space was great if you needed to work on your trip. The sofa was very large.
It is a pull-out sofa, which means that more than four could be in a room with two queen beds. The only negative, though, with it being a pull-out sofa is that like with a lot of sofa beds, the sofa part is not comfortable at all. Sitting up in my bed was actually more comfortable than the sofa.
Still in all, I love that the living room area is separate. And it makes it more like a suite, though I personally would not consider it a suite since there is no door between the living room area and the bedroom. There is, however, a partial wall.
The living room also has some kitchen amenities. There is a refrigerator, microwave, and a Mr. Coffee coffee maker.
Also, the beds? So comfortable!
Bar
Now, Springhill Suites does not have an onsite restaurant. Though as I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of eating options within walking distance.
But what it does have is a bar in the lobby.
It opens at 4:00 PM. It serves drinks and some food. Here is the current menu.
White Wine
- Pinot Grigio
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chardonnay
Red Wine
- Pinot Noir
- Merlot
- Cabernet Sauvignon
Beer
- Budweiser
- Bud Light
- Miller Light
- Michelob-Ultra
- Coors Light
- Yengling
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
- Wicked Weed
- Corona Light
- Palmetto
- Blue Moon Belgian White
Snacks
- Vista Burger: A juicy ground up burger cooked your way
- BBQ Chicken Flatbread: A crispy, flatbread layered with mozzarella cheese, red onions & tender BBQ chicken
- Margherita Flatbread with Pesto: A crispy flatbread with pesto sauce base, mozzarella cheese & Roma tomatoes
- Chicken Quesadilla: A classic quesadilla filled with cheese, tender chicken, crispy bacon & black beans
Other Features
The hotel also has some other great features. It has a fitness room.
There is a laundry room for guests on the third floor.
They have a business center in the lobby with a couple of computers and a printer. When we went there to use it, they were out of paper. We asked the front desk and they immediately replaced the paper, which was great. And the printing was very quick.
And I really like the artwork on the first floor.
Conclusion
My family highly recommends staying at SpringHill Suites by Marriott Columbia Downtown/The Vista if you are visiting Columbia, South Carolina. Especially if you want to walk to anywhere in the Downtown area or to the University of South Carolina.
It is conveniently located and near lots of restaurants. But at the same time, it is reasonably priced with no parking fees. And it has a lot of wonderful features, like an indoor pool and free continental breakfast.
And you can save even more on their reasonable rates by clicking here.
