Hilton Birmingham Metropole {GBR}
May 1, 2023, 9:48 am
£10 per overnight guest
£20 per non-guest
Signage in reception desks and informed at the pool also. Safe to say, I didn't pay it. Manager refused to budge despite admitting they hadn't pre-informed guests. Quite a few unhappy guests around with the same issue.
It’s not just the fee ….. I like to go for a swim and sauna when I choose and not when they say I can .
Restrictive and annoying….it’s a shame as it’s a great pool .
May 9, 2023, 10:45 am
I’m also hearing afternoon tea in the lounge has stopped too and reports of them selling lounge access cheap when hotel is quiet making it into a zoo .
Such a shame.
Jun 11, 2023, 2:26 pm
Jun 19, 2023, 12:59 pm
I used to use this hotel a lot (pre covid). Travel patterns have changed a bit since then so I don't come to Birmingham very often, but I came back a couple of months ago and really liked it (especially the new lounge), elevated it back to the top of my list.
But I came today, excitedly bearing my swimming shorts, to find:
-as said in earlier messages, pool is now 90 minute slots, pre booking only, and paid. Don't have energy to battle the booking system and I don't think it's fair to pay extra having already paid £130 to sleep here, so cross that one off.
-lady at reception proactively told me I had 40 minutes till the lounge stopped serving, I thought great, at least I can have some food
-go down to the lounge, key doesn't work. No staff around so back to reception and wait in the queue. Guy does my key again, I walk back, doesn't work again. Back a second time and get a totally fresh key which lets me in
-But, at 7.37pm, not really any food left, just scraps and the vegetarian option. Not even the cheese and biscuits that I remember so well from last time and would have happily settled for
I spoke to a staff member and he said well it closes in 20 minutes so it's understandable that there is no food. Even told me they had refilled the food 7 times. I speak to the manager and she said it's the chefs decision when to stop serving, nothing they can do (even if as I said to her they advertise opening until 8 and actually we still have 20 minutes out of the 120 minutes still to go). Offered to go and check and approx 15 minutes later they bring one plate of lemon sole goujons. At least 30 people in the lounge still.
And, just occurred to me that the reception staff didn't ask if I had a car or for the registration, so I guess I'll need to queue up again to add the parking so I don't get stuck in the morning.
Rubbish experience and I definitely won't be going back unless I really have to. It's a shame to see some properties get things so right yet others like this one get them so wrong. You would like to feel that someone cares at the property if you get hold of them but sadly I suspect they won't.
Sep 26, 2023, 11:45 am
The room I was allocated on the app/given digital key for already had someone in it... mildly annoying after wandering for 5/10 minutes trying to find the room in the first place as I found the signage hopeless from reception. Second room fine and without an existing occupant
Room nice, view vaguely looking out to the water. Bathroom feels distinctly unclean though.
Exec Lounge offerings I'd say are pretty poor. During the day soft drinks and not as much as a biscuit.
Evening service of frozen spring rolls, samosas with cheese with some cut veg. No sauces with the spring rolls/samosas unless you wanted ketchup? Rubbish crackers, no chutney with pretty mediocre cheese.
All very cheap and minimal effort. Pretty pathetic when this place is charging £200+ for a cheap room tonight, never mind the executive rooms.
Hopefully breakfast is a bit better.
Off to Nando's for some actual food..!
Sep 27, 2023, 6:49 am
The room I was allocated on the app/given digital key for already had someone in it... mildly annoying after wandering for 5/10 minutes trying to find the room in the first place as I found the signage hopeless from reception. Second room fine and without an existing occupant
Room nice, view vaguely looking out to the water. Bathroom feels distinctly unclean though.
Exec Lounge offerings I'd say are pretty poor. During the day soft drinks and not as much as a biscuit.
Evening service of frozen spring rolls, samosas with cheese with some cut veg. No sauces with the spring rolls/samosas unless you wanted ketchup? Rubbish crackers, no chutney with pretty mediocre cheese.
All very cheap and minimal effort. Pretty pathetic when this place is charging £200+ for a cheap room tonight, never mind the executive rooms.
Hopefully breakfast is a bit better.
Off to Nando's for some actual food..!
That night we planned to go to Nando’s too but simply couldn’t be arsed so we had a few more beers and some tapas in the main bar….cost a fortune!
Fast forward to my last stay the lounge door was propped open , no staff member and it was rammed, I’m pretty sure some of those folk was gate crashing.
Funny sorta place yet I strangely like it.
Oct 3, 2023, 9:17 am
Hilton Birmingham Metropole
Hilton Birmingham Metropole
National Exhibition Centre Pendigo Way Birmingham, GB B40 1PP
A decent stay. Very good Diamond upgrade. (6 Photos)
Hilton Birmingham Metropole
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 refurb
- They 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 room
- The 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.
Nov 18, 2023, 1:52 am
Twin deluxe room - nothing else available.
But last minute booking, so beggars can't be choosers.
What is the best way to pay for parking? I am assuming that there isn't any discount for Diamonds?
Nov 18, 2023, 3:23 pm
Twin deluxe room - nothing else available.
But last minute booking, so beggars can't be choosers.
What is the best way to pay for parking? I am assuming that there isn't any discount for Diamonds?
Check in manually and get them to add parking to your room, no discounts for diamonds unfortunately, think it’s about £12.