Holiday Inn Express Birmingham Airport NEC

We got there at 2am and left at 8am, but parking still cost £12.50. They called it half price, which made the room, though reasonably priced on its own, no longer feel like a good deal. I’ll read the small print next time. I’d assumed parking would be free for hotel guests after paying to stay.

The cooked breakfast was good, and they had vegetarian sausages. I ate well both mornings, and the evening meal and drinks were good too. Staff were friendly and helpful, and when I forgot some toiletries, reception gave me a complementary one. The hotel is a half-hour walk from NEC. I couldn’t control the air conditioning in my room, and it affected my sleep both nights.

We came with our dog for two nights while attending the NEC Crufts exhibition, only 10 minutes away, so the location was excellent. Would I stay again? Only as a last resort after this experience. The room was functional and clean for a 3 star hotel, but tired. The Dove bodywash seemed watered down, some table lights didn’t work, and the air con kept resetting to a cooler temperature until we switched it off before we froze. The mattress was very firm, fine for me but not my other half. Our Yorkshire terrier slept soundly. The TV worked, and the blackout curtains did their job. Breakfast was basic, with eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, cereal and fruit. The small containers kept running out, so guests had to ask for refills. We’d asked and emailed about takeaway breakfast for Saturday, since we’d leave for Crufts around 6.30am and miss the breakfast we’d paid for. In theory it was no problem, but staff didn’t know how to arrange it that morning, so the manager had to sort it out. The evening menu was limited. Saturday was fine, and the fish and chips we all ended up choosing on the second night were delicious. But when we arrived at 6.30pm, we were told food would only be prepared at 7pm and ready around 7.30pm. They had no chicken or pizza dishes, and with what seemed like little staff, about 60% of the menu was unavailable. The young staff were helpful, but there needed to be someone on hand to give directions, answer guest questions and make sure people were having a good stay. This is a basic 3 star hotel without airs or graces, but I felt they were taking advantage of our limited options because of how close it is to NEC, and charging 4/5 star prices. Two rooms for two nights came to over £1000 including breakfast. Parking was £60, reduced to £30, and the dog cost £30 a night. At that price, even a complimentary dog bag with a training pad, small sachet of food, treats and a toy would have been a nice idea.

For the price, the stay was okay, and the location worked well for our NEC event. The room was spacious and very clean. We had some food and drinks in the evening. The food was average, as expected, and the drinks were nice but pricey, like everywhere now. The bed felt too hard for me and wasn’t very comfortable. The blower only gave cold air even with the heat turned all the way up.