Lodging Review: SpringHill Suites Franklin Cool Springs, Tennessee

As the end of 2021 approached I had several hotel free night certificates to spend. As I was not doing much in the way of traveling, I decided to use some of them on my trip home to the Nashville area for Thanksgiving. While I normally stay in the Bellevue area, which is the southwest part of town, there are currently only two Hilton properties and an independent hotel there. A Fairfield Inn property in Bellevue is due to start construction soon but not soon enough for me to use the two expiring certificates I had.

So I decided to stay near my sister in Franklin, which is directly south of Nashville. There are several properties there in the general area of the Cool Springs Mall and I selected the SpringHill Suites as I knew it would come with free breakfast.

The hotel is situated in a shopping area and parking is free though if the lot closest to the hotel fills up you may be forced to use the overflow lot across a driveway. There is a fair amount of construction in the area and I suspect that once that is completed there will be ample parking without the additional walk.

Ground Floor

The property was a bit larger than I expected. The ground floor is comprised of the front desk/lobby area, the restaurant/bar/breakfast seating area and conference rooms. Upon entering the hotel the front desk is immediately on the left. The room opens up to a lounging area and extends to the back where there’s seating for breakfast as well as the bar & eatery, known as The Library.

Turn right past the end of the bar to reach the area for the breakfast buffet. I didn’t get any photos of the buffet with food as it was far too busy during my stay. There were several hot dishes like eggs, sausages and bacon as well as the standard cereals, breads and pastries. Multiple types of juice were available and the coffee station had a few types as well.

I was quickly helped by a friendly associate and thanked for my Gold status. It’s a bit amazing I still have that – I earned SPG Gold status by spending on the credit card and due to the pandemic it’s been carried over several years now. I was assigned a room on the second floor and directed to the elevators, which were located just beside the bar but separated from it by a panel.

The hotel is in an L-shape with the elevators right in the crook.

I made two quick right turns from the elevator lobby and my room was halfway down that hall. The hotel still had a “new building” smell to it and even though the color scheme was various shades of neutrals I liked it. The doorways were angled slightly in pods of four (two on each side) so I’m assuming the rooms were mirror images of each other.

Guest Room

The room was much the same as the SpringHill Suites in SLC where I stayed a few years ago. The room opened into the living area with a sofa and a desk which acted as a partition from the bed. The bathroom was off to one side.

The sofa was comfortable and I believe (but am not positive) that it is a sleeper. A tray-like coffee table was handy for small items and you didn’t have to worry about them sliding off the table and on to the floor.

Directly across from the front door was the coffee station atop a cabinet with the mini-fridge and the microwave.

The TV, which could be angled toward either the sofa or the bed, was around the corner from the coffee station and I was greeted with a personalized message on the screen. I turned it off for the duration of my stay. Below it were a couple of drawers and a storage area that I used for shoes.

The desk had a set of sliding frosted glass panels to separate it from the bedroom. My one complaint about this is that because it was not a single sheet of glass, it tended to rattle a bit as I walked around the room or if I bumped the desk. There was a desk lamp as well as overhead lighting for the unit and some easily-accessible outlets.

The king-sized bed was quite comfortable and had several outlets on the night stand too.  I liked the different lighting options: a standard downward-facing light, an upward-facing light for indirect lighting and a reading lamp on a moveable arm.

The closet was on the back wall by the window and was surprisingly deep. If you were to stay here for several days there’s plenty of room to stow your suitcase inside and also several small shelves for storage along with a rack to hang clothing.

The bathroom was quite narrow and long and the door was a sliding one – though not a pocket door. While the frosted glass on the door is aesthetically pleasing, it would not be much fun in the middle of the night if there were two people in the room and one has to turn on the bathroom light. Fortunately for me this was a solo stay so I didn’t have a roomie to get ticked.

The shower stall was immediately to the right and the sink and counter space, which was quite generous, stretched along the back wall. Kudos for having a tall sink and then the counter slightly lower and narrow. It made navigating the room easier. I also liked the light embedded in the mirror. Along with the narrow counter it made it easier for me, a very near-sighted person, to get up close to the mirror and still have plenty of light.

The toilet was to the far left upon entering the bathroom.

As usual for lower-end Marriotts, the toiletries were by Paul Mitchell.

Gym

The hotel has a small gym on the lowest level. I mostly used the bike but used a few dumbbells and the machine too.

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There’s also an outdoor pool but I did not get a photo of it. The website states that pool towels are provided, which is a nice touch.

In the end

This property was very nice and I’d be happy to stay here again if only it were more convenient to my parents’ home. If it weren’t for the fact that it was free, the 30-minute drive is just not worth it. But the property itself was great and if I had business in the area (the Nissan HQ is nearby), this would be a solid choice.