dabee69

Oh, man that's dangerous! Imagine one takes a weekend breakaway and in fact spends all the time either in the bar with the privilege card or sleeping exhausted. No nice city of Birmingham, no family enjoyment, no Shakespeare, no castle, no Cadbury, no nothing...

Alinlondon

I would think the lounge is new - and much over due - I normally get a bottle of wine and sweets/fruit and most stays - a new (ish) room in the new wing on the left side of the building.

yep

I just returned from a biz trip to Birmingham (UK). This was the worst Hilton (chain) stay I have ever encountered!

They mixed up my reservation, which was my fault too, because I haven't looked proper at my email confirmation. I booked through the HHonors reservation hotline, the call center agent booked one day before my arrival at a non-refundable rate. So my room and my money was gone... My fault (up to 75% )

When I arrived a convention was ongoing or coming, so the hotel was full. I paid a walk-in rate for a single room without breakfast (GBP 80). The room was tiny, I mean really tiny. A 3' by 6.5' (1mx1,90m) bed, a bath with approx 40 sqft (4 m2). Nothing else was available. The decor was outdated, the hotel in an urgent need of a renovation. I made photos of electrical wiring hanging on floors and an ugly bath tub... The room had no air condition and the day was humid and warm (85F).

When I complained about the room I was told that noting else was available... ok. When I complained that my reservation for the day before included Breakfast Buffet, which I didn't used, they said: thats gone... Finally I was allowed to use the Exec Lounge for a very limited breakfast.

GM wasnt available... I will write a letter and send some photos to HH.
Has anyone had a nice stay at Birmingham? Because my business will get me back to this location, and I could see a Crowne Plaza in the distance...

yep

dabee69

I stayed there recently and I was given a reasonably good room. Staff wasn't helpful at all, received none of the diamond perks and no access to the lounge was given to me.

BAGoldBoy

If I were you I would stay at the Hyatt in Birmingham city if that's convenient for work. It's a much better hotel and not stuck in the middle of nowhere either. Rooms start at about £89

Stephan Whelan

Hi folks,

Normally stay at the Hilton Birmingham N.E.C. Metropole in the UK a couple of times a year (normally for shows at the exhibition centre). Normally the Gold benefits I get are quite good (room upgrades, bottles of wine, privilege card for free drinks at the bar, free breakfast, small gifts, etc...) however at my latest stay it was pretty terrible.

No upgrade, had to make a fuss about getting any wine in the room, the privilege card has been disbanded, had to make a fuss about getting free breakfast as well.

Not impressed. Anybody know if this is a one off or something that has recently changed at the property?

V1P3R

not sure but stayed at end of august and they were renovating and the place looked like a bomb site
complained because i felt it was unsafe environment for children and prior notice would have been nice (would have been prepared)
received no reply to comments so e-mailed them and got a response
something like it was essential work, staff did regular spot checks, there were no potential safety issues , if there had been then they would have been addressed straight away.... we hope you will stay with us again.

i don't think so!

did not receive upgrade but i had booked a DBB rate anyway so free breakfast was not an issue. no extra perks for being a gold member were mentioned

elbidercni

The hotel is very convenient to the airport -- at least in the summer months you could actually take a long walk to get to the terminal if you want, but otherwise you need the hotel shuttle or a taxi (despite the fact that you can see the airport, there's no very easy way to get there). I've never done the walk, but I've been told you could actually walk there if you wanted to.

If you really want somewhere to stay before you fly out I'd try the Novotel (which is actually connected to the terminal).

However, I found the Hilton accommodations disappointing. The rooms could really use remodeling!



Instead, I've chosen to stay at the Marriott in city center Birmingham when I'm in town.

msmorley

Indeed - it takes about 15 minutes, I guess, depending on the amount of baggage. Only about 50% of the walk is undercover, though, so not to be attempted in inclement weather. From Airport to Hotel, take the Air-Rail Link from upstairs in Terminal 1 to the railway station and then walk though to the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from where the signs to "Hotel" will eventually guide you to the Hilton.

Disappointing understates it a little: I ended up here during the fog chaos before Christmas in a single room. Any port in a storm, I suppose, but the single room 402 (401 is the same size) was unbelievably small - can't imagine having the cheek to charge £140 for it Fortunately, after the heating packed up and the engineer found an exposed live wire on one of the sockets in the room I was upgraded to a room that they'd clearly been unable to find when I checked in...

m.

Blue Roman

It's not just at this Hilton, I stayed at the Metropole in London last week and found the same as a diamond. I was allocated a room which could have doubled up as a broom cupboard and denied access to the lounge. Breakfast voucher was given, but my company pays for that anyway! Afraid the shows over for us at Hilton in terms of loyalty!

hsmall

I wondered if anyone had any experiences of this property? Ihave tired to search but there isn't much (if I got that wrong the mods will castigate me ) I'm staying there with spouse over the next bank holiday weekend (Why? Cheap.). I wondered if theyw ere good at giving diamond upgardes ad i so whether the rooms were of a decent size.

thanks for any thoughts.

Grog

I searched as well and didn't find much, so I'll side with you on that. I, too, wouldn't mind stumbling on recent info--for a possible stay in June. (Not cheap though, which might cause us to book elsewhere)

You want to go where?

As the hotel is walking distance to the NEC, I would presume that pricing is in direct correlation to events happening there. Other than that, I can't add much. I have seen the property, but haven't been inside.

BAGoldBoy

I've had mixed experiences at this property. Sometimes you get a large room, service is good but other times, particularly when busy, you get a cramped room and the staff don't care because they are rushed off their feet.

Not somewhere I would go again unless I needed to be near the NEC or airport as I'd rather stay in the centre of Birmingham

Canarsie

How dare you not use the Search function? What is wrong with you? Do you not know that there are rules in the Hilton forum? You are now required to undergo a seven-week lecture on...

...ah, forget it. Of course you will not be castigated by the Hilton forum moderators. The thread you launched was simply merged with this master original thread. In fact, here is another thread that may be of interest to you:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...s-reviews.html

The secret to finding information in the Hilton forum is not necessarily by using the Search feature, but rather by accessing this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...n-hhonors.html

I hope you get the information for which you are seeking as soon as possible, hsmall.

Regards,

Canarsie
Co-Moderator, Hilton forum