A while back I stayed at the fabulous Malmaison in Birmingham's Mailbox as a treat for my birthday. A so called "boutique" hotel (whatever that means), it is one of the few places I have stayed at that thoroughly deserved it's 5* rating. And so, on with the review….

Well, the Mailbox isn't actually a giant postbox, rather a trendy development of fancy shops and bars situated on the canal. It's a very unique building, the only way I can describe it is as a covered street. You have many famous names here, including Harvey Nichols, Armani, Boss and even Aga, should you decide you want a cooker. Past the shops and overlooking the canal are a variety of bars and restaurants, including Bar Estillo, Zizzi, Santa Fe as well as many, many others, It's possible to spend an entire evening just here, but Broad St (Birminghams main clubbing area) is all of 2 minutes away, as is the trendy Brindly Place development, complete with even fancier restaurants. The Mailbox is also host to a number of designer apartments, should you like it so mch you choose to live there, and a couple of art galleries/stores. It's around a 6 minute walk from New Street station, and maybe 10-15 minutes from Moor Street station and Snow Hill station.

Malmaison's website is easily laid out, however the room descriptions were a little lacking. Then again, this seems to be the same on pretty mch any and every hotel website I've visited, so I tend to look at TripAdvisor before booking since they tend to have more detailed descriptions. Once you've selected your room and dates, paid using your credit or debit card and made a cup of tea, an email lands in your mailbox (ha! Pun intended) with all the details on.

Getting to the Malmaison was reasonably easy, but actually finding the entrance to the hotel itself was a bit harder. It's actually not in the main part of the mailbox, rather a little to the right you'll spot (eventually) a small doorway. Check-in was smooth and hassle free, again with the mandatory swipe of the credit card, and again with no offer of help with my bags. Is this purely a UK thing? Since overseas hotels can't wait to grab your bags for you. The Check-in area was quite sumptuous, with leather couches and fancy lighting. Note this was not in the traditional, classic hotel style, rather more modern and chic. I loved it. The restaurant is just off this area, and I'll come back to that a bit later.

For me, this is THE most important part of any hotel op, so I will spend quite a bit of time on it. Feeling flush, I had booked an Open-Plan Suite, which set me back close to £250. Per night. Ouch! Now, the one thing that struck me about the room was the fact that it was pure decadence. Fruit and wine laid out, floor to ceiling windows on two sides, and fantastic décor were only the start. The suite was somewhat divided into 3, with a living area, sleeping area and bathroom. The living area comprised of a couch (and several chairs, all leather, of course), widescreen TV, Hifi (which was playing soothing music when we entered) and comes complete with extortionate minibar and a variety of magazines to read. This included titles like GQ and Vogue, giving you an idea of who this room was aimed at. The bedroom featured another TV, and a rather brilliant iPod dock with speakers. That's quite unique. Now, what made this room was, quite simply, the bed.

Yes, the bed. Bigger than king size I'm sure, it had one of THE most comfortable mattress I have ever had the pleasure of resting my buttocks on. I have never had an orgasmic experience from an inanimate object before… but this came close. It was soft, but provided support. Fresh, clean bed linen completed the look, along with around 8(!) pillows.

The bathroom carried on the decadent theme, with a huuuuge shower (easily big enough for 2, or 3 ;)) and separate bath. The floor is heated and the toiletries you are provided with are superb. Rather than small sizes, they are full size bottles (Malmaison branded, but of a very high quality. Almost like Lush or Bodyshop stuff, if your interested.) and you are encouraged to take them home.

Service with a smile
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To sum up
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