Just got back from the Maldives again.....heaven will try to get round to r/r/c
Just got back from the Maldives again.....heaven will try to get round to r/r/c
Member since:21.07.2005
Reviews:214
Members who trust:71
With my partner's best friends birthday looming the day after mine we decided to incorporate it into a few days away. As I had a staff incentive built up in work I decided to use some of it for a night in a hotel in Birmingham and set about the task of looking for somewhere not too far from where they lived.
I set about booking the Corus Hotel now renamed the WestMead Hotel, Birmingham as I could get an Agent's rate if £35 per room including breakfast it was a 20 minute drive from where the party was going to be so we thought it was ideal.
As mentioned the Westmead Hotel is part of the Corus chain of hotels that offer over 40 properties of mid-market style hotels.
~*~The Cost*~*
Generally the price is £35 per person including bed and breakfast, I was fortunate to get a special rate of £35 for the room paid for by my company. You can sign up to special offers on www.corushotels.co.uk and take advantage of themed breaks and last minute offers.
~*~Location~*~ The hotel is located 1.5 miles rom Junction 2 of the M42 and is located on the right hand side
of the road. If you are using satellite navigation it will try to send you up a narrow land called Lea Lane as there are two right turns next to each other you need to take the second or you will get lost like we did. The hotel has a very narrow entrance but contains plenty of car parking spaces.
~*~Check-In~*~
The reception is very small and is manned by one member of staff. When checking-in you will be asked to provide a credit or debit card for any additional items such as room service. You are then asked to complete the registration form with your address, car registration and sign. All bedrooms at this hotel are key entry so you do have the inconvenience of having to carry around a key on a fairly large chunky purple keyring. In total there are 58 rooms in the hotel and we were unfortunate enough to stay in room number 16 located on the ground floor.
~*~The Bedroom~*~
As we entered the bedroom there was an overpowering smell of that found in Care Homes it didn't convince me that we were staying in a particuarly clean and welcoming hotel. To the right as you entered the room is the ensuite bathroom which was decorate plainly in white and a lime oak coloured bath panel and floor. As I looked in the bathroom and behind the plain whiteshower curtain I was disappointed, the tiles were cracked and not particuarly clean and the bath did not look that welcoming. The toilet, well that was a toilet and thankfully was clean. The room contained two smal complimentary toiletries which included shower gel and shampoo. Towels were clean and stored on the heated towel rail but somehow I did not feel like taking a bath or even a shower in this bathroom.
Opposite the bathroom was a small double wardrobe which contained a blanket and some additional toiletries if required.
A double bed was located towards the back of the room which looked nothing like the pictures we had viewed on the website before hand and I was disappointed that I had not remembered my camera to take some pictures. There was a plain white duvet and a fitted sheet to the top of the mattress but no divan trim on the base so this just looked like a half dressed bed. We both sat on the bed and fell towards the middle as there was no support in the mattress. Could this room be any worse I said to myself. The television at the end of the bed was remote controlled and provided the main television channels and had the pay per view facility for movies and of course the usual hotel "entertainment"
Tea and coffee facilities were found on a small table next to the dressing table/desk area in the form of a travel kettle, two mugs and a tin containing coffee, hot chocolate and tea and some biscuits nothing exciting.
We decided to make the best of it and got ready and went off to the party, on the way out we discovered that a wedding was taking place at the hotel so it was filled mainly with the hotel guests, had there not been a wedding then maybe there would not be as many filled rooms.
When we returned to the hotel it was very quiet and the bar was closed so we just returned to our room, where I had the usual alcohol fuelled munchies and was desperate for something to eat, knowing that the services were at least 2.5 miles away we only had one option and that was to order room service and me being me I wanted something that we couldn't have which led to an arguement with my partner as I refused to settle for sandwiches after not having anything to eat for the main part of the afternoon, but the choice was not there to make so I decided to go without and try and get some sleep in the awful bed.
The next morning I awoke at just after nine and just wanted to get out of the hotel it was not somewhere I could see myself hanging out in until check-out. We walked down to the restaurant for breakfast only to discover we had missed it by 5 minutes as breakfast finished serving at 9.30am, even more annoyed now I wanted to go.
We went back to the room and packed our bag and decided to grab something to eat from a Service station.
~*~Check-out~*~ When checking-out the same lady checked us out that had actually checked us in, she didn't ask about our stay she simply advised there were no charges to pay on the account and we handed in the key. Like that we were gone and had made the decision never ever to return again, not even if we were stuck.
~*~Final Opinion~*~ Either I have become rather snobby or this hotel really is not worthy of its 3 star rating, I would have much preferred a travelodge or a holiday inn and think that this will be my first choice against a corus hotel in the future.
There are no facilities for children or even leisure facilities for adults such as a swimming pool, I would class this hotel as somewhere to stay if you will be spending an absolute minimum amount of time at the hotel.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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hotel offers free Wi-Fi and free parking and is convenient for Birmingham city centre.The Westmead Hotel is within easy reach of the NEC, Birmingham International Air...
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and banqueting facilities comprising a total of 58 rooms spread over 2 floors. On site there is 200 complimentary car parking spaces and WI FI in the public areas.
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while in town. All of the hotel's 58 guestrooms are equipped with standard in-room amenities to ensure the maximum comfort for its guests. All of the guestrooms a...
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