Okay hotel, Awful area

My partner and I stayed here as part of a package trip to the Cheltenham Festival.

We found the room small but comfortable. However it was cold with a cracked window looking out on to an industrial estate.

Overall the hotel was in an out of the way place, in the middle of an industrial area and council housing estate. There was no opportunity to see any nightlife in Birmingham unless you were prepared to hire a taxi.

The staff were friendly but breakfast time was chaotic with not enough seating capacity for all the guests.

I wouldn't stay here as a private guest and if I booked my holiday with the same company again I would want to make sure I wasn't staying here.

Cheap, but not really good value for money

We booked this hotel because it was one of the cheaper ones available. We also booked it before we discovered Tripadvisor. Just before we went, I had a quick look on Tripadvisor to see what we had booked and, given the mostly terrible reviews, expected the worst.

Sometimes I think people are a little harsh on Tripadvisor and clearly have unrealistic expectations for what they're paying. Therefore, I tried to keep an open mind. However, I have to say that most of what is said in the previous reviews is fair.

The hotel is situated in a bleak landscape, surrounded by commercial areas and a council estate. But then this is Birmingham, not Stratford on Avon! It wasn't that bad and it was only a short walk away from the town centre, if you knew where you were going. We also didn't get ripped off for a taxi like another reviewer, paying £4.50 to a reputable black cab from the town centre to the hotel.

The main failing of the hotel was the bed. Yes, the room was small, the shower rubbish (very low pressure, mould on the tiles as reported by another reviewer and a really manky shower curtain) but these faults could have been forgiven had the bed not been totally unsuitable. The mattress was saggy, lumpy and one of the springs was so bad it almost poked out the top of the mattress. Let's face it, the main thing you want at a hotel is a good night's sleep and this bed didn't give us much of a chance!

The windows of the room were also very draughty and we were fortunate to be round the side of the hotel as I could hear the road even from there. Breakfast was adequate, but disorganised and there wasn't really room for everyone. The staff were friendly enough.

Basically, this hotel needs updating in a major way. You can tell that the facilities haven't been refreshed in decades. It simply cannot compete with good value modern budget hotels, like the Ibis and Travel Inn we passed in the city centre where, incidentally, we shall be staying next time.

It's Chavtastic!

It's a bit like that hotel in The Shining except the staff aren't quite so friendly. Very, very noisy especially on a Saturday night. If you plan on getting any sleep, I'd avoid going back to the hotel and stay out all night instead - it'd be quieter in a rave night club. Breakfast was dreadful and presided over by staff that have obviously been trained at the Gestapo school of charm. It's cheap but not cheerful and the surrounding area is bleak and depressing. You'll like this place if you have no class and no taste - it's chavtastic!

Not great, not even good!

I totally agree with everything said in the previous two reviews and would like to add: -

I had booked a superior double only to be given a tiny box room on my arrival. After checking with reception they admitted it was the wrong room and sent me off to one of the corner turret rooms which at least had more space but still had the icy cold hospital style shower room.

The bed however was from a bargain basement and offered no support what so ever and certainly prevented a good nights sleep.

The fire alarms went off at least 4 times during my 3 night stay and probably more as we didn't spend much time in the hotel as there was not a lot on offer to keep us there. (see the reviews below)

Breakfast was best avoided as it was a very cheap and limited buffet in a very crowded dining room.

Staff were unhelpful and miserable and phone charges extortionate especially for internet access. The hotel on the surface seemed clean but in fact was not that clean it just always had a lingering smell of cheap cleaning fluids.

Overall the room was not cheap but the facilities and service were and would suggest looking elswhere for accommodation in Birmingham!

Give it a miss!

I arrived with colleagues who wanted to make a change in their booking. Staff were unhelpful and quite rude! They wished to charge for a room that was being cancelled 24 hours in advance? They then allowed the cancellation over 12 hours later with no apology. The rooms were very small, the showers/toilets were in need of refurbishment and the windows were extremely draughty and cold despite the presence of an electric heater.

This hotel seems to attract a lot of short stays from what I could see and here, if you know what I mean!

I checked out a day early and I will never return again!

Cheap and not very cheerful

This hotel is not value for money no matter how cheap it is. Situated next to a council estate I hated the opportunist attitude of charging for secured parking.

The bar area was more like a working mans club, with children running wild everywhere and the drinks were over priced.

I had an ajoining door to my room which the people next door kept trying to open (as a young couple I think this was poor judgement to put us in this type of room).

The breakfast was disgusting and caused my boyfriend to be very ill.

There are no restaurants near by, no nightlife and looked more like the ghetto part of Birmingham.

Fine, good value hotel

For the price paid I'd consider it to be very good. It is an old hotel with quite a bit of character, and the staff were friendly. No problems with cleanliness, but we had no toilet paper. A quick call and they popped up in 5 minutes with a roll.

The area of the hotel doesn't seem particularly safe, and I think it would be pretty inconvenient without a car. They have secure covered parking area that cost £5 a night, I think (with in/out privileges). There is also street parking. It appears that some new appartments are being built in this area, but at the moment it is mostly commericial/warehouse type buildings, with a couple pubs. By car you are 5 or 10 minutes from the center or Birmingham. There may be a bus, I'm not sure.

I don't know what the taxi system is, but a cabbie outside offered to take us to the centre for the amount on the meter--which was £17!! We decided to drive and park. I would suspect the normal fare is £5-10.

We even had a fire alarm go off, disrupting a Christmas party. The staff was efficient in getting the guests and party goers evacuated.

Breakfast was fine, rooms are not certainly not large but comfort level is good, not noisy, bar was adequate, you've got tea in the room, etc. If I were paying £100 a night, I'd be unhappy, but for under £50, it is about what I'd expect.

More like a hostel!!

If you are looking for cheap and cheerful then this is your place, however if you like at least some creature comforts then i wouldn't bother. The hotel is more like a hostel, very tiny rooms and bathroooms which looked more like a hospital bed then a hotel room.

Breakfast was terrible, no service and no room for the amount of guest's it has.

The bull ring being 10 minutes walk was the only good thing, however you are not near the nightlife. You would need to get taxi at night as it didn't seem safe to walk.

A pleasant surprise

Having read a not very complimentary review of this hotel, I was a slightly concerned, but need not have worried. The staff were both cheerful and helpful. The building and interior were impressive and had quite a history, having been built in 1903 by Lord Rowton to house up to 400 homeless people. This did explain the rather small, but nevertheless, comfortable bedrooms. The buffet breakfast was plentiful and the dining/seating areas very pleasant. If I had one criticism it would be that the showers needed some new grout/silicon - there was a bit of mould in ours. However, overall I would have no hesitation in returning to this pleasant, well located hotel.

Never Again!!

On arrival the hotel looked lovely externally and internally. Staff at the reception desk were very helpful on check in, trying to sort out our booking to include adjoining rooms for our daughter. Although they said they would charge for an extra room even the reservation was made and fully paid for in advance requesting adjoining rooms.

However, things went considerably downhill from there. Our card covers for our room keys said we were only booked in for one night and we were booked for two. When my husband queried this with reception they were adamant we were only booked in for one night and when my husband insisted they checked their records and realised he was correct. No more was said on the matter, no apology etc.

When we went to get into bed that night we found part of an empty condom wrapper on our bed and there were hairs on the shower walls when I got in for the first time.

The rooms were extremely small as were the bathrooms. Breakfast was fairly good, full english buffet although toast was very soggy as it had been lying for some time.

Restaurant food was okay, we had buffet roast and there was plenty of food. It was okay, nothing special.

About 10/15 minute walk to the Bullring so quite near centre but not right in the middle of the hustle and bustle so very quiet.

Unfortunately after ur experience I would definitely never stay there again at any price!!