Ramada Hotel & Resort Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	close to public transport
Disadvantages:	rooms were a bit shabby

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I grew up in and around the area of Sutton Coldfield and had always wanted to stop at this hotel so when I saw a bargain on the internet of £50 for the room I jumped at the chance and promptly booked me and my partner in for a night. We were in the process of buying a house and things were getting pretty stressful so a night away in a hotel making use of spa facilities seemed like bliss!

We arrived at the hotel around 2pm and were greeted by friendly staff in a well lit lobby/reception area who quickly checked us in and informed us of the location of the room so off we headed to the mirrored lift...

When the lift opened on our floor it seemed quite dark even though the lights were on but we put this down to the dark wallpaper and continued our search for the room which due to the corridors being well signposted didn't take too long at all.
Armed with the plastic key fob I eagerly opened the door and stepped into the room but it felt like I had stepped into the 70's - the decor was old and dated, the teak chair and dresser had seen better days and the carpet was threadbare.
The on suite, while spacious, was a strange pink colour from floor to ceiling.
After the initial shock we took in the good things about the room - ample tea and coffee (including different varieties - decaf, halfcaf, earl grey, peppermint etc), decent size wardrobes, trouserpress, comfy bed, tv, little mini shampoos and shower gel, soap etc.
We had thought of complaining but decided against it mainly because it was clean and basic and with all the facilities the hotel offered we wouldn't be in the room much anyway and so went exploring instead!

As I mentioned before, the hotel is extremely well sign posted so finding things like the swimming pool was no problem - it even has a little viewing area in the cafe which prompted us to quickly nip back to the room and grab our swim suits!
10 minutes later we emerged from the changing rooms and was impressed with the size of the spa area - in front was a large swimming with 2 jacuzzis to the left of it. In the middle of the pool was an 'island' covered in plants. To the right of the pool was a steam room and a sauna.
The swimming pool was lovely and warm and there was nowhere in the pool that was above 5ft so even the non-confident swimmers could enjoy a swim knowing if they stopped the floor was not too far below!
After we had enjoyed a swim we headed to one of the jacuzzis located next to the pool. The jacuzzis could quite easily seat 10 people each so if you are at the hotel with a large group of friends you could all sit in and have a good natter!
We soon crossed the front of the pool and headed towards the steam room but unfortunately it was out of order so we went straight to the sauna which again was very spacious but due to the heat you could probably only fit 7 people comfortably.

The spa facilities certainly helped us relax and forget about all our worries so we decided to go for a carefree walk around the grounds and build up an appetite for dinner. Normally there is a huge lake which attracts lots of different birds and is quite a beautiful site but due to the summer heat the lake had been drained so in its place stood a mudpool.
The rest of the grounds are quite breathtaking with the woodland and the peace and quiet especially when you think that just a stone throw away is a main road and a shopping area.

We had decided to eat in the main restaurant but when we arrived we were quite shocked at the prices on the board by the door - £10 for a burger (not that you go to a hotel to eat burgers), £20 for a small steak etc so we went 10 minutes up the road to a local pub and had something to eat there that was more within our budget.

When we arrived back at the hotel we decided to have a few drinks in the bar and was quite suprised at how well the drinks were priced - normally in a hotel the prices are ridiculous but for a pint of lager and a glass of wine we had change from £6.00 which was quite reasonable. The size of the bar is rather suprising it could easily seat 40+ which was just as well as an hour later the bar was full due to a wedding being held in one of the function rooms and the guests having pre-party drinks!
The bar tab system works very well - when you check in you are given a card along with your keyfob - whenever you charge something to your room you hand over the card and give your room number and then sign for your order - this helps stop people charging things to your room without your knowledge!

For the price we paid for the room we were fairly impressed but I think if we had paid the regular rates (£90+) we would have been very disappointed with what we had received for our money.
Would I go again? If I heard they had undergone a re-vamp I would seriously consider going but in its current state I don't think I would - with the rates that they charge for the rooms normally you would think that some of the profit could be put towards a more pleasant stay for the guests but they seem more concerned with making the outside and the main rooms (bar, reception and restaurant) look smart. If they were to do up the sleeping rooms a little bit more I think people would be more inclined to stay again.