Hilton Birmingham Metropole {GBR}
Aug 27, 2013, 2:35 am
#137
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: HH Diamond
Posts: 695
Scones: Yes. And one cake of some sorts. And that appears to be the offering. In addition to that you appear to get families that take advantage of the advertised £50 upgrade fee to Exec level (they loudly discussed this fact), and fill their pushcars with drinks from the fridge before departing from the lounge.
I appear to get more and more maintenance issues in the rooms as well - this time it was deemed acceptable for me to occupy a room where 2 of the spot lights were hanging freely from the ceiling, and of course, again, no water in the room or a bathrobe. Alarm clock's time was out by 35mins. And staff can easily be found to be, well, let's say questioning management, as reported by wizla.
I appear to get more and more maintenance issues in the rooms as well - this time it was deemed acceptable for me to occupy a room where 2 of the spot lights were hanging freely from the ceiling, and of course, again, no water in the room or a bathrobe. Alarm clock's time was out by 35mins. And staff can easily be found to be, well, let's say questioning management, as reported by wizla.
Aug 27, 2013, 9:04 am
#138
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
Scones: Yes. And one cake of some sorts. And that appears to be the offering. In addition to that you appear to get families that take advantage of the advertised £50 upgrade fee to Exec level (they loudly discussed this fact), and fill their pushcars with drinks from the fridge before departing from the lounge.
I appear to get more and more maintenance issues in the rooms as well - this time it was deemed acceptable for me to occupy a room where 2 of the spot lights were hanging freely from the ceiling, and of course, again, no water in the room or a bathrobe. Alarm clock's time was out by 35mins. And staff can easily be found to be, well, let's say questioning management, as reported by wizla.
I appear to get more and more maintenance issues in the rooms as well - this time it was deemed acceptable for me to occupy a room where 2 of the spot lights were hanging freely from the ceiling, and of course, again, no water in the room or a bathrobe. Alarm clock's time was out by 35mins. And staff can easily be found to be, well, let's say questioning management, as reported by wizla.
Went for a sauna ( great swim/sauna facilties), had a walk around the lake and then went to the lounge for canapes and wine.......whilst the offerings were very good (chicken kebabs, sweet potato nuggets, and a good cheeseboard) again this was marred by children in the lounge missbehaving......admittedly not as bad as the afternoon but still annoying...... whats most annoying is kids are not allowed in the lounge during the acohol service ( this is stipulated on the door!), however the staff simply didnt care and turned a blind eye......i got chatting to an employee later and she told me she disliked her job and Hilton were not nice employers to work for and they have a huge staff turnover because of this......trust me it showed!!!.
I used to love this hotel and the lounge used to be awesome when "kay" and her team ran things......she has walked out after they cut her hours and its now not worth the upgrade fee.
Last edited by wizla; Aug 27, 2013 at 9:44 am
Aug 28, 2013, 2:16 am
#141
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
Aug 28, 2013, 12:38 pm
#142
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: UK
Programs: HHonors Lifetime Diamond, Priority Club Plat, Accor Gold, Flying Blue, Exec Club.
Posts: 963
Guys, I object to the term "child pestilence".
Not all children- or accompanying adults are the same, and my children certainly behave very well when in executive lounges, including the Birmingham Metropole. They are involved in my conversations, they stay at the table to eat and drink, they are polite to other guests, we normally take a laptop to use so the computers are not tied up.
I have seen adults behaving inappropriately in lounges, and have also met some very nice people in lounges, I have seen the cramming of drinks by some which I certainly do not agree with, and I would also go as far as to say I have seen some children in lounges who behave better than some adults.
Not all children- or accompanying adults are the same, and my children certainly behave very well when in executive lounges, including the Birmingham Metropole. They are involved in my conversations, they stay at the table to eat and drink, they are polite to other guests, we normally take a laptop to use so the computers are not tied up.
I have seen adults behaving inappropriately in lounges, and have also met some very nice people in lounges, I have seen the cramming of drinks by some which I certainly do not agree with, and I would also go as far as to say I have seen some children in lounges who behave better than some adults.
Aug 28, 2013, 11:52 pm
#144
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Notts UK
Programs: HH Diamond BA Blue
Posts: 185
[I used to love this hotel and the lounge used to be awesome when "kay" and her team ran things......she has walked out after they cut her hours and its now not worth the upgrade fee.[/QUOTE]
I use this hotel a lot and was sorry to hear Kay was leaving as . She said to my wife and I that the standards were dropping and they were upsetting their most loyal guests with the amount of cost cutting.
Lets hope things change before its too late. This hotel has a very high turn over of staff which I guess says something in the way its run
[/QUOTE]I use this hotel a lot and was sorry to hear Kay was leaving as . She said to my wife and I that the standards were dropping and they were upsetting their most loyal guests with the amount of cost cutting.
Lets hope things change before its too late. This hotel has a very high turn over of staff which I guess says something in the way its run
Aug 29, 2013, 12:59 am
#145
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
Guys, I object to the term "child pestilence".
Not all children- or accompanying adults are the same, and my children certainly behave very well when in executive lounges, including the Birmingham Metropole. They are involved in my conversations, they stay at the table to eat and drink, they are polite to other guests, we normally take a laptop to use so the computers are not tied up.
I have seen adults behaving inappropriately in lounges, and have also met some very nice people in lounges, I have seen the cramming of drinks by some which I certainly do not agree with, and I would also go as far as to say I have seen some children in lounges who behave better than some adults.
Not all children- or accompanying adults are the same, and my children certainly behave very well when in executive lounges, including the Birmingham Metropole. They are involved in my conversations, they stay at the table to eat and drink, they are polite to other guests, we normally take a laptop to use so the computers are not tied up.
I have seen adults behaving inappropriately in lounges, and have also met some very nice people in lounges, I have seen the cramming of drinks by some which I certainly do not agree with, and I would also go as far as to say I have seen some children in lounges who behave better than some adults.
Aug 29, 2013, 5:08 am
#148
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
Aug 31, 2013, 4:40 am
#149
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold, Priority Club Plat
Posts: 53
From reading this thread, I guess I knew what we were in for when I booked, but just to confirm the experiences of others:
No water or bath robes in an exec room.
Very clear sign stating that children were not allowed in the Lounge after 6, but was completely ignored. A couple were very well behaved so no problem, but a few screaming babies and young kids running around so felt a bit like feeding time at the Zoo and didn't stay long (food and drinks selection was ok though).
Asked about late checkout (as HH Gold) but was told it would be chargeable due to high capacity the following night (but still capacity if I was willing to pay).
Wifi coverage was very patchy in the room.
Pool etc fine and breakfast was pretty good - succeeded in not overcooking soft boiled eggs, which many hotels fail at!!
No upgrade despite Suites being available a checkin, but guess they might have been assigned to diamonds so didn't say anything.
Finally in what I thought was a nice touch I got a text from the Guest Relations Manager prior to arrival, offering assistance if required. Unfortunately my reply was completely ignored!!
No water or bath robes in an exec room.
Very clear sign stating that children were not allowed in the Lounge after 6, but was completely ignored. A couple were very well behaved so no problem, but a few screaming babies and young kids running around so felt a bit like feeding time at the Zoo and didn't stay long (food and drinks selection was ok though).
Asked about late checkout (as HH Gold) but was told it would be chargeable due to high capacity the following night (but still capacity if I was willing to pay).
Wifi coverage was very patchy in the room.
Pool etc fine and breakfast was pretty good - succeeded in not overcooking soft boiled eggs, which many hotels fail at!!
No upgrade despite Suites being available a checkin, but guess they might have been assigned to diamonds so didn't say anything.
Finally in what I thought was a nice touch I got a text from the Guest Relations Manager prior to arrival, offering assistance if required. Unfortunately my reply was completely ignored!!
Sep 1, 2013, 2:49 am
#150
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: norwich, uk
Programs: hhonors diamond
Posts: 5,397
From reading this thread, I guess I knew what we were in for when I booked, but just to confirm the experiences of others:
No water or bath robes in an exec room.
Very clear sign stating that children were not allowed in the Lounge after 6, but was completely ignored. A couple were very well behaved so no problem, but a few screaming babies and young kids running around so felt a bit like feeding time at the Zoo and didn't stay long (food and drinks selection was ok though).
Asked about late checkout (as HH Gold) but was told it would be chargeable due to high capacity the following night (but still capacity if I was willing to pay).
Wifi coverage was very patchy in the room.
Pool etc fine and breakfast was pretty good - succeeded in not overcooking soft boiled eggs, which many hotels fail at!!
No upgrade despite Suites being available a checkin, but guess they might have been assigned to diamonds so didn't say anything.
Finally in what I thought was a nice touch I got a text from the Guest Relations Manager prior to arrival, offering assistance if required. Unfortunately my reply was completely ignored!!
No water or bath robes in an exec room.
Very clear sign stating that children were not allowed in the Lounge after 6, but was completely ignored. A couple were very well behaved so no problem, but a few screaming babies and young kids running around so felt a bit like feeding time at the Zoo and didn't stay long (food and drinks selection was ok though).
Asked about late checkout (as HH Gold) but was told it would be chargeable due to high capacity the following night (but still capacity if I was willing to pay).
Wifi coverage was very patchy in the room.
Pool etc fine and breakfast was pretty good - succeeded in not overcooking soft boiled eggs, which many hotels fail at!!
No upgrade despite Suites being available a checkin, but guess they might have been assigned to diamonds so didn't say anything.
Finally in what I thought was a nice touch I got a text from the Guest Relations Manager prior to arrival, offering assistance if required. Unfortunately my reply was completely ignored!!