A few months ago my friend told me she was going to Birmingham on her Hen night and asked if I would like to go along. As it sounded like ages in the future, I said fine, I would love to go and promptly forgot about it. So, last weekend when I got an e-mail reminding me that we were leaving at 10am on Saturday morning to maximise drinking time my first thoughts were urghh... Birmingham why? And, I wonder where we are staying? Well, she knew better than I did as she had been to Birmingham a few months before and stayed at the Days Inn and thought it would make a great base for our Hen celebrations and she was right.
Location
This Hotel is in The Mailbox complex, right in the centre of Birmingham. This is where the Birmingham branch of Harvey Nichols is situated and a whole host of other trendy shops not to mention the wine and cafe bars and right alongside possibly the cleanest, safest, most secure feeling multi story car park I have ever used ( £10 for the night). The Hotel is 5 minutes
drive from the motor way network a 15-minute walk from Digbeth Coach Station, 10 minutes from New Street Railway Station and about 10 miles from Birmingham Airport. It is also about a 10 minutes walk from the National Indoor Area and from Broad Street, where the majority of the nightlife is situated (from what I remember of it).
First Impressions
Ok, so there are 10 of us all together and 9 of us hadn’t visited this part of Birmingham before as soon as we all emerged from the car park through The Mailbox building I think we all said Wow at about the same time. The Hotel and the whole of the far side of The Mailbox looks out over a canal and it looks absolutely beautiful, very continental and worthy of any European city I have ever been to. There are myriad pavement style cafes and bars and it was such a lovely weekend it looked fantastic in the sunshine.
We checked into the hotel with no fuss whatsoever. The receptionist was helpful and we all had our room preferences met, all twins some smoking, some non-smoking. We were too early to check in but the receptionist offered to store our bags and gave us each a tag to they were easily retrievable. The reception area was quite small and plain but bright and clean with tasteful decor and a new pristine feel to it. There were plenty of complimentary newspapers around and lots of tourist and visitor information available. We went off to start our Hen celebrations and to have some lunch in one of the neighbouring bars and returned to put our bags in our rooms a couple of hours later.
The Rooms
The Hotel offers two types of room; ours were the standard type, twin beds with crisp white linen, en-suite with power shower. The shower was actually a walk in almost mini room with a wall instead of a curtain and looked very smart and clean and spacious to boot. The Lux soap dispenser is located on the wall so no dropping your bar on the floor and no nasty soap dish with congealed bits of soap in. Other facilities in the room were a TV with in room movie option, direct dialtelephone and computer point. Tea and coffee making facilities (but no biccies!) and a hairdryer. There was also a desk with some nice Days Inn stationary. The 'Work Day' room is the other type of room they offer and is aimed at the business traveller. They get a bigger desk, an extra lamp and a mini bar with complimentary snacks and an iron and ironing board.
The decor of the rooms was rather plain but pleasant, pastel colours for the walls and beech wood furniture, very much in line with many other Hotel Chain rooms in my experience, very much, what I expected.
The Bar
When we returned to the hotel after our evening out the residents bar was still open and we had a nightcap before turning in. Very pleasant.
Meals
The Hotel offered a supper menu between 6.30 & 9.30 and I had a cursory glance but we ate out so I did not actually try anything. It was a snack type menu with omelettes and sandwiches, jacket potatoes and looked of reasonable cost with most things under a fiver.
The breakfast is the one area this Hotel falls short. Not in the cost or the quality, that was fine, very good even, but in the organisation of the dining room. It was a buffet style breakfast, something for everyone, full English, continental fruit, yoghurt, you name it they had it. But this was a Sunday morning and everyone had been out on the beer and wanted Full English and they just could not cope with the demand. The que's were long and often they were running out of something just as they replaced something else.
The Cost
We paid £75 per room including breakfast which I though all things considered, quality of service, facilities, location, was excellent value for money. The Work Day room rate I assume is higher but have not been able to find in any of the information I picked up so I assume it is on application.
The Hotel has 90 rooms in total and 3 conference rooms with all the usual business facilities should you want to book a conference or meeting room there. They can also supply meals and refreshments to order.
The Verdict
I would recommend this as an Ideal place for a girls (or boys) weekend as the nightlife on offer locally is superb. Similarly, as the NIA/NEC are nearby it would make a great base for concerts It's even suitable for a romantic getaway as the canal setting is really pretty and the pavement style restaurants and bars nearby are tasteful and laid back. I had no idea Birmingham was such a cool place. Sorry to all you Brumies out there but I had thought it was a bit tired and industrial looking, if that was ever the case it certainly is not now. It gets a big thumbs up from me.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Just 2 miles from the city centre and 6 miles from the NEC and Birmingham Airport, the ... more
hotel is ideal for business or pleasure, with superb rooms at good value-for-money rates.Offering a warm and welcoming atmosphere, the hotel exudes a friendly and ho...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
The Days Hotel Birmingham, UK, is conveniently located near the National Exhibition ... more
Centre, one of the biggest exhibition centers in Europe. The Birmingham International Airport is only six miles and the Bullring Shopping Center is one mile. The Days H...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
The Days Hotel Birmingham, UK, is conveniently located near the National Exhibition ... more
Centre, one of the biggest exhibition centers in Europe. The Birmingham International Airport is only six miles and the Bullring Shopping Center is one mile. The Days H...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
The Birmingham Hotel offers you a warm and welcoming atmosphere that emphasizes friendly ... more
and hospitable serviceThe hotel features a variety of facilities and service that are sure to meet the needs of business and leisure travellers with its own resta...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
excl. Breakfast - HRS Rating: 4,88/10 - The Birmingham hotel has spacious bedrooms with ... more
power shower, telephone, internet access, tea/coffee making facilities, resturant, bar and car parking. The hotel is ideally located o the A45 opposite Small Heath ...
May 17th, 2004
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