First Impressions of a Hotel (Hotels in Birmingham in general)

Member Name: velo

Product:	Hotels in Birmingham in general
Date:	10/12/01 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: near to everything, basic but clean rooms

Disadvantages: reception and carpet a bit shabby

As my wife Binnie was fastly approaching the BIG 40, I wanted to do something special for her.
Normally we don't go to shows or the theatre, but what else can one do when it's a cold day in December.
I did a quick search on the internet and found the shows she might like to see.
Grease was the only one around her Birthday (Dec 8th) which I thought might be suitable for her tastes.

The show was in Birmingham , shame really because I would have liked something in London.
I then did another search to find a hotel nearby to the show. The show was held at The Alexander Theatre.
I eventually found The Comfort Inn on Station Street right across from the railway station.
I then rang the hotel to book, I prefer this method, I like to speak to humans.

The cost of the room was for a double with breakfast for two nights, £60 a night.
Normally it would have been £75 a night, but I got a discount upon phoning them.
The confirmation came through almost immediately, it was something like the day after.

Well the day eventually came, I printed a map off route finder and we set off.
We had to be there for 7pm or else they could sell on our room.
We arrived there at 7.15 after getting lost in the city centre.
Be warned this hotel isn't that easy to find.
I must admit we were looking for the normal type Comfort Inns which were set at the side of the motorway.
We decided to phone the hotel to ask for directions and believe it or not, we had passed it several times.
It was in an area which was a bit shabby to say the least.
There was a strip club and table top dancing just a few yards away.
Now Binnie does like dancing on the tables but with all her clothes on.

There wasn't a car park, so we pulled onto double yellow lines and I went into the reception to ask where there was a car park.
On entering I noticed how small and dull the reception area was.
I was a bit wor
ried if the hotel was going to be a dump.
The receptionist told me of a car park just round the corner.
Still it was a bit of a nuisance when you have to lug around your cases from an underground car park to your hotel room.

The check in was quick, we were given a key to a room on the third floor.
There was a lift but it looked like something out of the ark.
You had to open a door, then behind it you had to pull shut a concertina door before the lift would move. It was very cramped, it wouldn't hold more than two people in it with all their luggage.
There were stairs but Belinda had a sore toe and couldn't walk very far.

At the third floor, we got out and noticed a water machine, this I haven't seen before in other hotels.
Walking along the corridor, we noticed how grubby and dirty the carpets were. They were a pinky colour which I thought was the wrong colour for a landing and stairs carpet.
We got to our room which was more or less opposite the lift.
Then with baited breath we unlocked the door to room 302.
Well what a surprise, we had a long corridor to go down, the door even had a full length mirror attatched to it.
There was a small window along the corridor, this you couldn't see anything out of it, but at least the curtains were ok.
The bathroom was the first room we came to.
This was pleasant enough, it had a tiled floor, a bath with shower over it. A sink and a loo which might have been new as it still had a sticker attatched to the lid.
There were three soap dispensers, one high up next to the shower, one next to the bath, and one next to the sink.
These were just the standard Comfort/Quality hotel range, but still very useful, saved on packing our own in future.
Overall it was very clean. The bath was white with a lovely silver motif in the bottom of the bath. There were just enough towels along with just enough loo paper.

The bedroom was round the corne
r, it had a double bed, so they say, compared to our king sized bed it felt like a queen size.
We had bedside cabinets with a lamp each attatched to the wall at either end.
There was a dressing table loaded with a kettle and coffee making facelities and biscuits.
There was a trouser press, a TV with some Sky channels, and a nice wardrobe.
There wasn't loads of space for your clothes, but mostly people stay in these sort of hotels for one or two nights, so we didn't find it a problem.
The carpet was a grey/beige colour which was very clean, maybe this was new also.
I felt as though the rooms had just be renovated, they weren't posh but were clean and tidy.
There were another two windows but no views.
We had two radiators which could be temperature controlled, whenever you felt too cold or too hot.
The bed was comfy, but Belinda found it to be a bit too hard, (the bed I mean).

I think there were about 40 rooms and the levels only went up to 5.
Everyday we saw the maids, even on a Sunday. They always made your bed, cleaned the rooms etc. The only thing lacking was they didn't take away my empty plastic cups which we had got from the water machine. Also they didn't top up the water machine when it had run out.

Breakfast was between 8-10am, but this was on a Saturday and a Sunday, it was earlier during the week allowing businessmen to get up early.
The choice was very good. You could have fruit, yoghurts, croissants and pastries, cereal.
Then there was three choices of juice, grapefruit, apple and orange, also coffee and tea.
The waitresses on entry would show you to your table which was very nicely decorated.
Then they came for your order if you were having a cooked breakfast.
You just served yourself for the cold stuff.
The choice was great, you could have eggs
any way, bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms, beans, fried toms, sauteed potatoes, Belinda had a ba
con sandwich the second day, I always had the full breakfast. You could also have toast, there were a few choices of jams on offer.
The waitresses were very quick, sometimes bringing you your cooked breakfast before you had finished the first lot.
The room was very nice, just a nice size, with Xmas decorations up and all. It was very clean with good food.
They are planning to open a restaurant soon where they probably will be serving dinner.
There was plenty of choice for eateries though, even right next door was a chinese restaurant.

Downstairs just offf the reception was a bar/lounge, we walked through this on the first night, but I'm sure everybody in there, and it was busy, smoked.
It stunk, I couldn't have stayed in there for even five minutes, so I can't tell you about the service or drinks.

I would go there again, if we were to visit Birmingham, it was in a location near to everything, shops, restaurants, train stations etc.
The staff were friendly enough, one thing that worried me a little, was everytime you wanted to get in the hotel, you had to buzz for assistance.
I thought maybe it was beacause it was in a roughish area.
Saying that, our rooms must have been safe, they wouldn't let anybody in who they didn't like the look of, says the receptionist.

The first impressions weren't so good, we almost walked back out and went home, but after going up to the rooms we were pleasantly surprised.
I'm not sure, if the price is too expensive compared to other Birmingham hotels, but I have got better and cheaper.

Summary: