Holiday Inn Express Birmingham Star City

Hotel was very nice, and would definitely return if visiting Birmingham again.

Liked: Staff were lovely; very clean and room was lovely.
Disliked: Breakfast was chaotic and ran out of things and had to wait a while to be refilled. We had a disabled room but my sister was still not able to get in the shower as she was not able to lift leg to get in bath and the bath was very slippery and needed a non slip mat.

Convenient for the football ground.

Liked: It wasn’t too far from Villa Park, where we were going to a concert. This was the purpose of our trip to Birmingham.
Disliked: Although convenient for our concert, the area itself is very run down and didn’t altogether feel safe. In hindsight it would have been better to stay in the city and to travel to the concert by taxi. The room had not been cleaned properly on arrival. We noticed a vape had been left in plane sight on the floor, either from a previous guest or hotel staff. And whilst the hotel employees were friendly and clearly trying their best, they were vastly understaffed. The hotel was full of concert goers for a major international band, which had been announced many months prior, therefore the Holiday Inn could have forward planned for the volume of guests much better. The dining area was small compared to the size of the hotel so there were long queues waiting for available tables at breakfast time. There was only one person clearing tables and replacing mugs and cutlery. They did not seem able to keep up with food replenishment as the hot buffet was constantly empty as was the cutlery station. The receptionist was trying to help the sole waitress however this led to long wait times at reception for guests checking out. As breakfast is included for all guests, and since it was no surprise that the hotel would be full, this inadequate level of service was not justifiable. I’ve stayed in many Holiday Inn Expresses before in various cities, but this was by far the worst experience I’ve had.

Good

Liked: Good location for what we needed. Large room
Disliked: Staff struggled at breakfast time but were polite despite everyone coming down at the end of service

Overpriced and poorly run.

Liked: As expected for this sort of chain, the room was perfectly adequate and comfortable, albeit very overpriced.
Disliked: Breakfast was utter chaos.Despite the area not being particularly large, the staff couldn't cope.The food choices were cold as soon as they were brought from the kitchen, and you could never get a full selection as only one item was ever stocked at a time.And you had to be lucky to be there when a plate or cutlery was available, they were a rarer sight than the food.Even getting a coffee was only made possible if you brought the mug from your room.On the other hand, they didn't seem to be checking who was there, so if you're in the area one morning just walk in and help yourself to whatever may happen to be there.Good luck.

Very good

Good

Exceptional

Exceptional

Great staff a little disappointed...

Liked: Close enough to the city centre great breakfast
Disliked: Looked like sick left on basin extractor fan not working, shower light not working phone charging socket pushed in

Superb