Sorry I haven't been around to write, but still log in every now and then to read.
Sorry I haven't been around to write, but still log in every now and then to read.
Member since:01.02.2001
Reviews:236
Members who trust:117
Before you shout at me, there are reasons why I came to Birmingham this weekend, and can't make it to the Ciao get together. It was my hubbies Birthday and it was my last saturday for finishing at 2pm. From now on I have to work 9-5 on a Saturday and it would have been big rush to get to Birmingham if I finished at 5pm.
It was a last minute decision to go here. On Friday night I had applied for a free cottage from work, but somebody beat me to it, so I decided to go on the internet and search for a bargain hotel. We have already stayed in two hotels in Brummie, and wanted somewhere different. I came across The Copthorne by accident, I just typed in Hotels in Birmingham in the search engine google, and eventually it led me to their website. The first thing that hit me was the price, it was £49 for a Double room with a Queen bed. After months ago of searching hotels all over the country, I was beginning to think of the UK as a big rip off. Now £49 isn't dirt cheap, but it was the best I could find without the hotel looking shabby. Then I started looking at the cost for breakfast, and it came up with £13.95 each, I decided to forget that.
I booked the room online and it came back with a reference number for me to print out. But later that night, I came across another site Millennium
Hotels and they were offering the rooms with breakfast for £59 for the both of us. I rang the hotel and cancelled the original booking, and booked the better deal, it was in conjunction with teletext.
The receptionist was very obliging , she even told me that lastminute.com was a good site for a bargain. I checked that out, but still thought Millennium hotels were the best.
Booking online with Millennium Hotels was quick, but it only gave me a reference number, and nothing came back via email, so I rang the hotel and within minutes, they had my reservation up on their pc.
Saturday came and we found the hotel eventually after getting lost, we always get lost when we go to Birmingham. On pulling up outside the glass fronted building, we noticed the blacked out windows edged in red. Maybe this is where famous people stay eh? The Concierge quickly greeted us, he seemed to spring up out of nowhere,wow this was quick service. He told us to check in and then he would show us to the car park, which was situated across the road. There were only a few spaces to park outside the hotel and these were already full. The car park cost £5.00 0vernight, and £3.00 for 8 hours. I think they have a cheek charging when you are staying there.
Checking in was easy, we didn't wait long. Behind the counter was Simon and Zoe (trainee). We gave our name, and they looked at each other, and said "are you the people with two rooms"?. Apparently the receptionist the night before hadn't cancelled our original reservation, so we had two rooms booked. There wasn't a problem, they quickly released one of the rooms. We were given an electronic card for the key, and the details of the leisure club and times.
The reception area was lovely and inviting, there were leather settess scattered about, marble floors. The Cricketers bar was the first place you came to from the reception, it served beers, wines, cocktails and coffees, also you could get a quick snack, i.e, burger, sandwiches. There was a non smoking area, with leather settees, chairs and tables, it was very nice. We got a Pina Colada and a beer, it came to £6.00.
Just off the bar, to the left was the a' la carte restaurant Goldsmiths, it in a lovely room with glass doors, we only peeped in as the prices were a bit steep for us, saying that I'm not keen on fancy food, give me egg and chips anyday.
Through the Cricketers bar, was another place to eat called Goldies Brasserie, it had unusal dishes on the menu and was cheaper than the a' la carte, but still didn't appeal to us. We ended up finding a Pizza Hut, a few streets away. We did have our breakfast in there the day after, and that was nice. Wasn't worth paying the £13.95, if we were to pay the full cost. You could have any fruit juice, cereals, pastries, fruit segments, fresh salmon, british breakfst, coffee etc. We never go mad, we just had a British Breakfast and toast.
The Brasserie, isn't massive, but still had enough tables not to feel too cramped. There was a lovely spot, where a table and chairs were set up on a rised platform overlooking the swimming pool. Above had stained glass windows, it was quite eyecatching.
The facilities of the leisure club, which was situated on the second floor, were a gymnasium, a sauna, steam room, spa bath and heated pool. These were all free to use as a guest. You were given an access code when you checked in.
Our bedroom was on the third floor, it was room 315. It was easily reached by stairs or the lazy way, a lift. There were a couple of lifts, which were large enough for six people and their luggage, the floors were numbered and any info to say where the leisure club was etc.
Our room was a non smoking Classic Room, with a Queen bed. It had a bathroom with bath/shower, vanity area with loads of smellies. Tv, with pay on demand movies, Sky programmes. A dressing table with four drawers, a hairdryer, wardrobe and coffee table and comfy chair. We could even have had a well stocked mini bar if we wanted, but of course the drinks would be expensive, so we didn't bother. The windows were triple glazed, we could open one window, then the next to air the room, the noise was horrific when we opened them. After closing the windows, there was silence, what a difference it made.
The Copthorne Hotel, was situated on Paradise Circus near to the Convention Centre. It wasn't as ideally situated as the others wee have stayed in, but was still walking distance to the shops, bars. There was a centre just outside the doors, which housed a few bars, whetherspoon, Mcdonalds, a newsagents were also there. They were handy and cheaper than the hotel prices.
It was a pity we had only one night there, as we didn't get to use the gym, pool etc. They had closed at 5pm just as we got there.
The facilites are open 7 days a week and are open Mon-Fri, 7am to 8pm, Sat to Sun 8am to 5pm.
Goldsmiths restaurant is open 12 for lunch and 7pm to 10pm in the evening. Dinner costs between £23.95 and £26.95.
Goldies Brasserie is open for breakfast from 7am to 10.30, closes a at 11am on Sundays. Then reopens at 11am for lunch until 4pm. Dinner is at 4pm to 11pm. As I said, breakfast in here should be £13.95, luch starts at £6.95 up to £12.00, dinner starts at £10 to £14.
Cricketers bar is open from 11am until 11pm.
This hotel is rated by the AA as a four star complex. It has 212 rooms, some of which are non smoking, Classic Rooms and Connoisseur rooms. The Connoisseur rooms are £79 per night and consist of a mini bar with free soft drinks, chocolates, bath robes, free newpaper and late 5pm checkout.
Other services for the hotel are, same day laundry service, shoe shine service, car rental, theatre reservations,doctor available on call, safe deposit box. There is also four suites and a meeting room. This accommodates 200 people, to have a reception you could seat 250 and a banquet for 150.
Overall I found this hotel lovely and clean, the check-in and out was easy, with no wait. We had to fill a short questionnaire about our stay at the end, we could nominate staff for awards. It was spacious, with nice eating areas, with a price for everybody. Would stay again.
Check out www.millenniumhotels.com.
Hotel address is Paradise Circus Birmingham B3 3HJ
Tel 0121 2002727 Fax 0121 2001197
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Searching in vain for a hotel you haven't been to in/ near a major city. Sal x
sylviesinc 26.08.2002 16:54
Sounds better than the Gatwick Hilton which cost us £139 for 1 night including 15 days parking.Good op. sylvie
sue.51 25.08.2002 17:26
I stayed in the Copthorne Aberdeen about 15 years ago, it was a really classy hotel (although not sure whether it is still there now), it sounds nice - will have to keep an eye out. I always find at weekends there are some superb deals to be had at some really upmarket establishments. We stayed in the Jarvis in Sutton Coldfield, very nice with amazing facilities, yet their rooms replicated both higher and lower class places we have stayed in.
Sue
The Copthorne Hotel is adjacent to the International Convention Centre and within one mile ... more
of the city centre. The 212 guestrooms feature modern decor in warm, neutral tones, and come equipped with satellite television, direct dial phones, Internet con...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
The Copthorne Hotel is adjacent to the International Convention Centre and within one mile ... more
of the city centre. The 212 guestrooms feature modern decor in warm, neutral tones, and come equipped with satellite television, direct dial phones, Internet con...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Aug 5th, 2002
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