Compact fashionable hotel (Nite Nite Hotel Birmingham)

Member Name: ld75454

Product:	Nite Nite Hotel Birmingham
Date:	24/12/08 (333 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Affordable

Disadvantages: Small room

After a discussion with my boyfriend we decided to combine coming away for the weekend for our 'anniversary' and Christmas shopping. We finally decided on a location: Birmingham. We chose this after various recommendations that the shopping at the Bullring was excellent. So, my job was to now search the internet for somewhere central yet affordable. Impossible, you might think! But it wasn't and I booked the Nitenite hotel in Birmingham for the 21st November, via the internet.

Nitenite Birmingham has 104 rooms and their idea is creating an affordable room with style and innovation. And they succeed at this. The perfect place if all you want is a place to sleep.


Check In

This was the easiest check-in that I have ever encountered. After booking the room on the internet, I was a little worried that things wouldn't go smoothly when we arrived but I could not have been more room. The female on reception was very friendly and extremely helpful. I handed over my confirmation that I had received via email and I was given my key card and room number and off we went.


Hotel Facilities

The reception at the hotel is 24 hours which I think is a massive plus. They are always there and happy to assist you with any queries you have, or in our case for directions. I think the check in and check out times are very reasonable. You are able to check in from 3pm and this suited us fine as we didn't arrive until about 4. The following day, or the day of your departure, you have to be out of the room by 12. Again, this was great as I was ready to hit the shops at 9!

You could tell by the people going in and out of the hotel that a lot were businessmen, so the fact that you can access to free WiFi throughout the hotel is a big plus. There are also computers in the lobby as you walk to your rooms.

There is a restaurant that serves food all days of the week until 10pm, other than Sunday when serving finishes at 12 in the afternoon. There is also a bar open until 11pm Monday - Saturday.

The facilities they have available include ironing rooms (on every floor), vending machines (for when you get peckish and don't want to go to the shop), an ATM cash machine (to get some more money out to spend on shopping) and fax and photocopy resource. At an additional cost you can use the laundry and dry cleaning service and the public telephone.


Room

If there is anything to moan about with the hotel, it's going to be the room. It is 6.8 square metres so admittedly it is small. But I personally quite liked it. You open the door and there is the double bed to your left and the en suite bathroom to your right. It is very clean, compact and tidy.

The bed takes up the majority of your room, with a small dressing table and mirror next to it. The bed is surrounded by padding on the wall which makes the room feel really cosy. And the bed is so comfortable. Usually when I go away, I don't sleep very well but this bed was magic. I slept like a log.

I love the 42 inch plasma tv screen. You can watch all freeview channels on this (with the exception of channel 5) and there are also views of outside the hotel window available. Very useful in the morning when deciding whether or not to put that extra layer on when you see the weather. You also have the option of pay per view movies, although we didn't use this facility.

My thoughts on the en suite are nothing but positive. It is in fact more of a wet room as you walk in and in the room is the toilet and shower. This is particularly good for me as I tend to get water everywhere and spend forever tidying up. I was surprised at how powerful the shower was, as usually when you stay in a hotel they are weak, but this was fantastic. Better than my one at home even.

I am forever cold, so I thought the adjustable climate control was a brilliant idea. Along with that was a panel controlling the lighting. You also have a kettle in the room, and several sachets of coffee and sugar and teabags, so you can make yourself a drink before bed.

Lastly, you only have to give the reception a call if you need additional towels, pillows or a hairdryer and they are brought up within minutes of your phone call.



Parking

The nearest car park is the Britannia car park which is literally just across the road and along from the hotel. At £14 for 24 hours, I don't think that's at all bad, in fact quite reasonable. I expected a lot more than that. There is alternative parking at the Mailbox underground parking facility, however this is significantly further than the Britannia which is at your fingertips. On road parking is also available outside the hotel, and you pay this on the meter. My advice is to use the Britannia car park. Easy, next to the hotel and good value.



Location

The location of the hotel is fantastic and I can honestly say I don't think I could have hoped for somewhere better. They are right in the centre of the city. Wherever it was that we wanted to go was within walking distance.

The Mailbox is only 5 minutes away, so in the evening, this is the perfect place for going for a bite to eat if you don't fancy eating in the hotel restaurant. There are a huge range of restaurants from Chinese or pizza to a good Steak House or a more casual Nandos.

Also, if you want to venture a little further a field and go for a walk, it isn't far to the Bullring Shopping Centre. We did this and stayed in the Britannia car park and walked back afterwards. This saved us a couple of pounds on car parking costs at the Bullring.


Price

You cannot fault the hotel on the price front. In comparison to other hotels in the area, nitenite is definitely the best by a country mile. There are two options when purchasing online. You can pay£47.95 however this is non refundable or non transferable or you can pay £57.95, an additional £10 for the peace of mind that you could change the date should you need to. I selected the first price as every penny counts in the current economic climate.


Contact

You can contact the hotel in the following ways:

Telephone: 08458 90 90 99

Fax: 0121 634 3236

Email: book@nitenite.com

Letter: niteniteTM Birmingham, 18 Holliday Street, Birmingham, B1 1TB



Opinion

Overall, I can honestly say that I was very happy with the service of the receptionist, room and general service the hotel provided. It isn't to everyone's taste and if you want some room to get ready in the morning, this is definitely not for you. But if you want value for money and a central location, look no further than nitenite Birmingham. I just hope they don't put their prices up so I can stay there again! I wouldn't suggest this to be somewhere you stay for a number of nights as the lack of a window would start to drive you crazy.

Summary: A great place to rest your head