Manor Hotel Solihull, BW Signature Collection

I sleep well here. The bed is comfortable and the room stays quiet. The rooms are okay, if a bit dated, and at least there aren’t odd things like bright smoke alarm LEDs right above the bed. I use the hotel for work. There’s a large car park at the back, and the receptionists have always been friendly and attentive. The Marco Pierre White restaurant is a fancy place that colleagues of mine rave about. With the dinner, bed and breakfast package, though, the menu is very limited. The food was fine, and I felt comfortable eating there on my own.

The bed was comfortable and the room clean, but I wouldn’t stay again. The rooms are extremely tired and dated, with no USB port or plug near the bed, so I had to bring an extension cable. The common areas look lovely, then you get upstairs and it’s very different. The receptionist was nice and moved me when the first room had no WiFi. The replacement had windows that slammed, so I was moved again. That room was fine, but the water pressure was poor. There’s only a bar and restaurant in the hotel. I used the gym at the other hotel, but it was smelly, dirty and untidy, and I didn’t go back.

The room was a good size, clean and tidy, and it was nice to find my partner’s flowers in a vase and prosecco waiting there as arranged. Even the hospitality tray was tucked away in a cupboard. We had a superior room upgrade on the ground floor in a quiet spot. We checked in before lunch, paid then, and discounts made the bill a lot lower than the listed price. After exchanging gifts, we took a short walk along Meriden main road. We saw wildlife by the village pond and in the trees, and a mix of houses, including lovely timber-framed ones and Regency-style buildings. We walked as far as the Bull, an inn built in the 1600s, then saw more modern Regency styles and blocks of flats. Reception gave us plenty more milk when we’d nearly used all the little sachets and pots. We’d stopped over after Valentine’s Day lunch at Marco Pierre White, which is part of the same complex. Lauren greeted us and took our orders, and Holly joined her later to help serve lunch. They told us a singer would be on later in the bar area, so we went down to listen for a while. I’ve included some pictures from in and around the hotel. I hope this gives you a feel for the place and, especially, for the friendly, smiling staff we met.

The breakfast was good, and the rooms were clean and spacious. A lovely stay at the manor hotel, within easy walking distance of other pubs and about 10 minutes from the NEC.