Introduction Thought I'd add a quick review as I hadn't been since the refurb. I stayed in late September 2023. Location For reference, the Birmingham Metropole is out by the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), adjoinign arena, resorts world shopping complex and Birmingham International Airport (BHX). It is not central to Birmingham although direct trains do go into the city centre from Birmingham International. The hotel has a large car park and charges £14/night for parking. Check In Turned up at about 5 and joined the Honors gold/diamond queue which moved a lot faster than the (very long) main queue. There were a lot of people who were arriving from an NEC event (something like the emergency services expo) so the foyer was busy but I was seen in about 5 minutes. All the desks were staffed and they were getting through the main queue fairly quickly too but always gave priority to anyone in the Honors queue. I had booked a Standard King and received a very nice upgrade to a King Suite which was a nice treat. Room Rather than describe it in full, I have attached some pictures of the room. It all seemed very new with no wear and tear except oddly the living room desk which looked like it was a holdover from pre-refurb! The renovations have been done to a smart design. The bathroom was not part of the recent renovation but was in good condition and done to a reasonably high spec.A few notes on my room:The windows open so you can actually step out onto the mini balconies, unlike the London Metropole for example where they have screwed the windows closed in their most recent refurbThey have the new Crabtree big bottles in the bathroom - including by the bath. This may seem a silly point but the previous night I had a suite at the Hilton Liverpool with a nice freestanding bath but I had to unclip one of the big bottles of shower gel from the shower as there was no wash anywhere near the bath. This is an example of little things that generally seemed quite well thought out in the suite design.There were outlets in the floor by the sofa in the living room so you could easily work from anywhere in the roomThe desk in the bedroom was very shallow, despite there being plenty of space. The desk in the living room was even smaller. Of course it's a moot point when you have a huge dining table to work at but it was the only odd thing about the whole design.The sofa turned into a double bed and even with this out you would have had plenty of space for a family. Executive Lounge I agree with the many recent posts about the executive lounge. It's been done up very nicely but is way too small for the size of the hotel and, I would guess, for the number of executive rooms/suites. The drinks selection was decent during happy hour, although they ran out of chilled white wine quickly. I was drinking beer/soft drinks but a few people complained that they filled the fridges up with white wine straight from a box, presumably from the store cupboard rather than an overflow fridge. The canapes were insufficient in number for the happy hour and were refilled too slowly. The cheese and biscuits were fine for me.... Or would have been if there were ever any biscuits left. Outside of happy hour, the lounge was fine for hot/soft drinks etc and a nice space to work or relax in. Dining I ate breakfast in the main restaurant which was very busy but well staffed and there was never a big queue for anything and they didn't seem to have run out of anything either. I would say the food selection was decent and quality was above average. Overall Beyond the room, the gym was decent but I didn't have the kit or time to try the pool (which may have a charge accoriding to reviews above). Despite how crowded the lobby was (and how busy breakfast was), the gym was not crowded in the evening. Water and towels provided.Overall it was a pleasant stay this time round and I want to stay again (because I'm odd) without sucha good upgrade to try one of the newly refurbished Standard King rooms and compare. I must say that the overall experience, decor, service etc was so much better than my last stay which was pre-Covid.