ibis Styles Birmingham Centre

The check-in itself was fine, and the desk clerk was pleasant and chatty while explaining that parking cost £15. He said it was the cheapest nearby and told me what he’d paid in the city centre earlier that week. But the trip to our room via the elevator was bizarre. There was no warning or sign in the lift or on the landing, and our corridor looked like a construction wasteland. The entire hallway had no ceiling or carpet. Tools, sharp metal and plaster debris were everywhere, with live power cables hanging from the exposed space above. Every room door was wide open, the rooms were gutted, and around 30 dirty old mattresses were piled up in plain view. At the far end of the long, hazardous hallway there was a small barrier, still without any advice on it, though it was the route to our assigned room. Inside, there was what looked like a poo stain in front of the bathroom door. The sofa bed was in terrible condition, collapsed around halfway down, and its 'mattress' felt like wavy steel train tracks. Our room was above what I assume was the staff kitchen and dumpsters. Before dawn, deliveries were brought in loudly and the storage container by the dumpster kept slamming. We were there for a concert and didn’t have many options at the time, but I left furious and asked for an explanation and compensation. Both were denied, and I’ll take this up at a higher level. The lack of care and the danger we were put in were unacceptable. A hotel’s most basic job is to provide a bed for the night, and they failed. I understand refurbishment was underway, but we had no advance warning. If they couldn’t accommodate guests, they shouldn’t have taken bookings. Nearly £150 for one night of squalor, discomfort and personal danger is unacceptable.

We’ve stayed in a lot of hotels, and this is the best one so far. It’s a clean, tidy, modern budget hotel with secure off-street parking that’s free for disabled visitors. The staff were kind and friendly, and there’s even a free coffee machine in the lobby. Now we know where we should’ve been booking all along. We’ll definitely be back.

I prefer this Styles hotel to the usual Ibis in town. The rooms are roomy and modern, and the shared areas downstairs are nice as well. The bedroom was generally clean, but cleanliness was a problem in the bathroom: there were hairs there and a stain on the bath towel. That’s why I’ve taken off a star.

The bed was absolutely DIVINE, so comfortable I didn’t want to get up. Breakfast was really nice too, with a Full English, pastries and continental choices, and everything else was good. I’d stay again, but only if they sort out the shower. I’m in Birmingham for work regularly, and that’s the one thing keeping this from being my new favourite hotel. I was pleasantly surprised overall by this work stay. Parking in the basement was convenient and very reasonably priced, and the lift went straight to reception. My room was clean and a good size, but the lighting wasn’t great for getting ready. There was nowhere in the shower to put a sponge, shampoo or conditioner. I had to leave everything by the sink outside the shower and keep the door open to reach it, which was a pain and left water all over the floor. Still, it was great value and a definite thumbs up 👍🏼