Birmingham Hilton reviews

I was passing through Birmingham recently and took the opportunity to stay at a couple of Hilton hotels, to earn 2k avios each as part of the Hilton promotion.

First up, the Hilton Garden Inn Brindley Place. I paid £44 for a standard room. Before arrival, I ha d asked the hotel to upgrade me, and was informed I'd been switched from a Queen to a King room.

The hotel is not in the city centre. It's further west, off Broad Street, about a mile from Grand Central station, and a 10-15 minute walk. There are plenty of hotels on Broad Street, including a Novotel and Hampton Inn. There's also a Travelodge, but I dispute its official name, 'Birmingham Central'!

Brindley Place is a canalside development with some restaurants and familiar shops. The Garden Inn is amongst them so you won't have far to go if you want a bite to eat.



I received a friendly greeting on check-in and was given Room 403. Everything looked fine but I was slightly disappointed to find that the bed was two singles pushed together, so I was slightly conscious of the mattress edges at night. Further inspection of the room revealed no mini fridge or bottled water so it was obviously a standard room. I didn't require either fridge or water, though, so I didn't bother to complain.

I've pushed down the sheets a bit to show it's two beds and not one:



The wifi was great, so no issue there. Bathroom was fine with the usual toiletries. Shower only, no bath. The TV was bigger than the Hilton ones I'm used to. My room was over the front of the hotel so overlooked Brindley Place. Here's the view.



And the bathroom:



There's an (expensive) Hilton restaurant downstairs but why eat in with all those eateries nearby? As it turned out I didn't fancy a hot meal, and just went to Subway around the corner, bought a foot-long Sub and ate it in my room.

Breakfast was lovely. Lots of choice. I always stuff myself with Hilton breakfasts because they're free for Diamond. When I arrived I was offered the choice of a cooked to order breakfast, or 750 Hilton MyWay points. i opted for the cooked breakfast at the time, but the following morning I didn't fancy it and just had the normal self-serve cooked breakfast instead. Someone must have noticed because without asking I got the 750 points after all! For the record, the cooked to order breakfast menu was

Fresh Eggs
poached, boiled, fried or scarmbled

Omelette
choose from ham, cheese, mushroom, peppers and tomato

Hot Smoked Salmon
toasted brioche with scrambled egg

Grilled Kippers
parsley butter and lemon

I asked for extended check-out because my journey home wasn't until 2pm, so I got an extra couple of hours.

Overall a good stay, bar the slight disappointment of the bed. I didn't complain because of the cheap price, and the points I received - 2500 Honors points and 2500 avios (with some extra because I booked the stay through the Avios E-Store). You have to say that's a fantastic deal!

Next up - the Hampton Inn Birmingham City North.

 

ahah, I was on the same mission in late June. I have been staying at Hampton Inn Birmingham Broad Street and Hampton Inn Birmingham City North.
I also think both were excellent for the price paid and point/avios which have come along.

 

They're very handy. I still have two more nights to book before the deadline so need to book a couple more. Maybe different hotels though.

 

OK, next up, Hampton Inn Birmingham City North. I booked a standard room for £45.This hotel is up past Birmingham Snow Hill railway station and about the same distance from Grand Central as the Garden Inn (a mile).

The hotel is not much to look at. Here's a stock photo which makes it look nicer outside than it actually is:



I checked in at the front desk and was given room 125 on the first floor. Unfortunately no room upgrade as Hamptons don't tend to offer anything more than standard rooms (the ones I've stayed at anyway). Here's my room:



It was OK and just what I'd expect from a Hampton. The view is the absolute worst I've ever had, though!



I did get a good night's sleep which is always the minimum that I look for in a hotel stay. It was quiet and everything in the room worked perfectly. Bathroom was once again shower only but I wasn't fussed. One thing I appreciate in these Hilton hotels is that you need to swipe your keycard in the lift to get it to move - so no strangers wandering about upstairs.

Breakfast was busy at 8:30am but as usual there was plenty of choice, and you can grab stuff for later, too. No cooked to order breakfasts, of course, but there's plenty of self service goodies to enjoy, and the staff ensured that nothing ran out.

There's not much to visit in the immediately vicinity - you have to go further into the city for stuff to do. There's a Tesco Express about 100 metres away if you want a snack and to earn some clubcard points!

One advantage this hotel has is that you can travel there directly by tram. These leave Grand Central every five minutes and stop at St Pauls station which is right outside the hotel. Journey time is 7 or 8 minutes and a single ticket costs £1. This was particularly handy when I wanted to get into the city centre and it was pouring down!

Overall a good stay. No upgrade rooms available and a rubbish view but again, 2500 avios and 2500 Honors points - you can't complain can you?

 

Great deals! Really good to hear about the train station there too as I've discounted that hotel previously due to location, but 7-8 mins and a quid is obviously fine!

 

Indeed. The rooms on that side of the hotel look right down at the platform.

 

Arguably more convenient then than some 'city centre' hotels.