Lida stayed at The Hilton Garden Inn, Birmingham City Centre recently and this is her blog.
To be honest, I had not visited Birmingham for a quite a while so it was great to see all the changes in the City Centre.
I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham (formerly the Mint Birmingham) which is really centrally located (Brindley Place), just minutes from the International Convention Centre. It is a 4-star hotel within close proximity to the National Sea Life Centre and National Indoor Arena and the Bullring Shopping Centre and University of Birmingham are also close by.
It is only a 15 minute walk from New Street station and Snowhill train station. If you are driving, they have their own onsite chargeable car park (you are able to drive to the hotel avoiding the road closure of Broad Street). If by chance you are travelling from the M5, consider using M5 J4 and follow the Bristol Road into Birmingham city centre.
The 238 air-conditioned rooms have refrigerators and flat-screen televisions, complimentary wireless internet and digital programming. Bathrooms have designer toiletries. I had a lovely double-aspect corner room and really appreciated the daylight – skies were so very grey!
The hotel has a fitness centre. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and limited hours of room service. A computer station is available and express check-in and check-out.
I must say that the staff were extremely friendly and helpful both late at night when I arrived and in the morning too.
In terms of meeting space, the largest functions space can cater for a reception for up to 120 people. There are 6 conference rooms in total, all of which feature sound-proofed walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, complimentary WiFi and the latest A/V technology.
There are many changes going on in Birmingham at present. The phase one of the Birmingham Westside Metro extension to the Library tram stop is now open! The Birmingham Westside Metro extension to Centenary Square was the next phase of works following the West Midlands Metro extension from St Chads to Grand Central, and opened for passengers ahead of schedule in December 2019.
The 840 metre route is the first in the UK to operate on battery power throughout. In my humble opinion, I think Birmingham will soon be a car-free zone!!
The Moxy Birmingham NEC has recently opened. The Moxy brand is a new lifestyle brand and have started popping up in cities around the UK . This boutique-hotel concept for the next-Gen traveller combines stylish design at an affordable price.
In the Summer the Grand Hotel Birmingham will open its doors once again to guests. Having been fully restored the hotel will retain some of its original Art Deco and Victorian luxury, reimagined with 21st-century interior design, fixtures and furnishings. There will be 185 bedrooms and 10 meeting rooms alongside the Grosvenor Ballroom – we can’t wait for this Hotel to open!
eastside rooms – due to open Autumn 2020
The Birmingham Eastside district is currently undergoing a regeneration which includes a creative district. The eastside rooms is a unique environment which combines the innovation of the future with Birmingham’s iconic industrial heritage.
In total there will be 23 meeting rooms with the largest being the Affinity Suite (880m2) making it Birmingham’s largest pillar-free ballroom. There are also 14 brand new meeting rooms that can cater for executive boardroom meetings of 10 up to larger meeting and seminars of 50.
Next door to Eastside Rooms is the Aloft Hotel which will have 195 rooms and is due to open in June 2020
