Friendly Staff but Poor Stay - issues with room, shuttle, and access to hotel
I really wanted to give a stellar review to this property. I'm a pretty big fan of the Homewood Suites brand - I really like the setup of the rooms, which are uniformly well-equipped and very attractive no matter which Homewood Suites you go to. Unfortunately, a combination of the extremely challenging location, issues with my room, and the shuttle really made this stay one that I will not be at all interested in repeating.
Though as well-equipped as any of the Homewood properties that I've been to, my room's air conditioner was extraordinarily loud - when it was on (and it wasn't on too often), it thundered so loudly I couldn't make a call. More problematic: it didn't work well. I had the temperature set at 64 and I still had to open the windows to get to sleep. I returned after work each day to a room broiling in the mid-70s. Second challenge - the antiquated refrigerator's compressor gave a rattle, rattle, rattle, KA-THUNK!!!! approximately every 45 minutes. The first two times this happened, I thought someone had broken into the room. I gave up by my third day and simply unplugged the fridge.
The shuttle sometimes works, sometimes doesn't work. Despite having an "appointment" for a shuttle to a property 3/10 mile away from the hotel every morning, I had to wait for a shuttle driver to get ready three times out of five. When trying to get a ride back in the afternoon, I waited more than an hour twice (and I would have waited longer - after an hour, I gave up and called a cab). The front desk told me that the issue was traffic. I compared notes with a colleague who had also waited, and she had been told the driver was in an accident. 
The hotel's location is not ideal. It is directly on a one-way, quite busy five lane road. I think it was a highway based on the speed of the cars going by. There is NO sidewalk in either direction, and no crosswalk to cross the street. The only safe way to enter and leave the property is by vehicle, and it can be challenging to do even that safely. 
The Memphis - Poplar Homewood Suites has free shuttle service from the airport until 11:00 p.m.
The one saving grace of the property is its people. It has several really great employees who saved the trip from being utterly wretched. There is also free parking in the lot and decent breakfasts and dinners (aka Manager's Receptions) weekdays. Still, it definitely will make me think twice about booking at a Homewood Suites property, and there is no way I'd ever make a repeat booking at this property.