Macdonald Burlington Hotel

The rooms were cleaned very well, with towels changed and coffee replenished. Reception staff were generous with their help and advice, whether I asked about a nearby Indian restaurant, currency exchange, or whether the tailor on level 0 serves customers beyond Birmingham. They’re happy to share what they know, so ask them. Once, when I couldn’t find the lemon water at reception, the receptionist gave me his own bottle of water. The hotel’s posted photos look accurate, so I don’t think more are needed.

The Christmas decorations and the apple and cinnamon scent made a lovely first impression. Adam checked me in, and he was professional and friendly. My husband and I stayed while visiting the Christmas market. Our room was spacious and the bed comfortable, and we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the morning. At checkout, Ana was great: she kept our luggage and gave us directions to the canals. We’ll be back, thank you.

The building has character, though some rooms and areas look a bit dated. It’s a decent hotel in a very central spot, close to shops and transport.

We contacted both the manager and area manager by email after the stay, explaining our concerns. Two weeks later there was still no reply, which says a lot about how they treat guests. We left feeling that the hotel offered little over a budget stay, and had an injury to show for it. Don’t assume the attractive frontage means good service or safe rooms. I wouldn’t rate it above 2.5 stars. The worst issue was the bathroom towel rail. It was dangerously hot, had no control to turn it down or off, and sat right beside the toilet. The warning sign saying it could get hot understated the danger and didn’t help. My partner burned her skin on it and is still suffering. We’d booked a Standard Double, then accepted an upgrade to a Super Deluxe Double. I hadn’t realised the king bed was just two single mattresses pushed together. There was a deep dip between them, and we both slept very uncomfortably, rolling into the middle. The Nespresso machine came with only four pods. When I asked reception for more, the staff member said they didn’t know where they were kept and offered no further help. We were attending a function and had counted on the hotel’s night menu room service for food when we got back. We couldn’t place an order because the system said ordering was paused, presumably because the staff had gone home. We tried repeatedly for an hour, then went to bed hungry. We’d booked directly specifically to get an extended checkout, but reception said it wasn’t available and gave us the usual checkout time, despite our arrival at about 3 pm. The hotel and staff were otherwise okay, but these problems made what should have been a pleasant, somewhat luxurious visit mediocre at best.