Cheap hotels in Birmingham city centre

Hotel review : Britannia Birmingham

Dec30
2011 Written by admin

People seemed to like my last hotel review so I might as well follow it up with another (if I’m on a roll). I’m going to stick with the same theme and review another city centre hotel which as I’ve explained before I believe provides the best overall value for money. The hotel this time is the Britannia Hotel Birmingham which is a 3 star hotel located right in the centre (union passage).


Britannia is actually a chain hotel although the brand isn’t as well known as say the Hilton or Holiday Inn, but I’ve always been a fan of chain hotels as mentioned in my last post. I suppose the first thing I should mention is the price and its a very cheap £29 per night for a double room in January. Admittedly this is because of a special offer they are running at the moment, but even if their “normal” prices are 25% more that’s still a great room rate. That’s another thing I love about big chains, they can afford to do these special offers whereas smaller places can’t. Plus if you sign up for the chains main newsletter you can get updated any time they are running a special offer (I know Premier Inn do this quite a lot).

The hotel itself is a traditional 19th century building which has been restored to a high standard while an effort has been made to keep much of the original detail. One of the best things about this hotel is the location as you’re within walking distance of lots of great shops like the Bullring which should cut down on travel costs. The Britannia is also quite big with over 200 rooms which should mean availability can be assured. You also have the usual facilities like free WIFI internet throughout and a 24 hour reception which is handy if you’re out enjoying the nightlife! They also have 10 conference areas which makes this an ideal business hotel. I forgot to ask about car parking but like most hotels in Birmingham they will probably have a deal for off-site parking (will cost though).


I suppose what will grab most people’s attention on this review is the price (£29 for a double room).  Even though this is obviously a promotion its worth realising that there are lots of deals like this cropping up all the time in Birmingham, it’s just a question of hunting them out. Like I mention at the start one of the best ways to get these deals first is to sign up to the big chain newsletters, special offers always get published there first. So I hope people enjoy this review as much as the last, let me know if you find any similar offers and ill do a review.

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Cheap & free things to do in Birmingham

Dec28
2011 Written by admin

So whist this blog has so far focused mainly on hotels I also want to list a few of my favourite things to do in Birmingham too, after all you need a reason to come here in the first place! Hopefully there will be something in this list for everyone as I know we all have different tastes also everything here is suitable for travellers on budget too. Plus if you’ve booked a city centre hotel you will have cheap and easy access to all of these activities.

The bullring shopping centre
This shopping centre is mostly famous because of its amazing structure but the best bit is its actually full of not just great shops but also amazing places to eat. Also no trip to Birmingham would be complete without a photo of you outside this weird/amazing structure. More…

Thinktank Planetarium
This exhibit is perfect if you need to keep some kids entertained for an hour or two and it’s cheap too. It’s not just stars though as they have lots of other shows and activities available to keep people interested. Who knows this could be one of those times when you learn something without realising it :) More…

Balti Triangle
Birmingham is famous for its Indian food and believe it or not there is an entire section of the city dedicated to curries. If you’re looking for some more detail on the many different restaurants check out the official site. Just remember not to overdo it! More…

Birmingham Hippodrome
Situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese section of the city the Hippodrome is home to the Birmingham royal ballet. If you’re looking for a little culture then this could be the perfect option as there are so many different shows available. It’s not as cheap as some of the options here with tickets around £30 on average but even so for me its great value for money. More…

National Motorcycle Museum
I’ve always been a big bike fan so this museum is an absolute must for me as it brings together a wide range of bikes from different decades and puts them under one roof. Price wise it’s quite reasonable at £9 for an adult or you can get a family ticket for £24.95 which I think makes for a great day out. More…

So I think that should just about do it for the list. As you can see there’s quite a few cheap things to do (for me anything under £10 is cheap), plus for a true budget activity there’s always window shopping in Birmingham’s famous Bullring. I hope to be back soon with another hotel review, until then.

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Hotel review : Holiday Inn Birmingham

Dec26
2011 Written by admin

So it’s now time for my first ever hotel review here on CheaperBirmingham. It’s never easy picking a hotel to review but hopefully I’ve got one here that should suit all tastes and budgets.

I think I mentioned the Holiday Inn Birmingham in my last post as one that had some great cheap deals over the Christmas period. So I decided I might as well review this hotel since it caught my attention. The hotel is 3 star AA attested and it’s about as close to the city centre as you can get on Smallbrook street.

Holiday Inn is one of the biggest hotels in Birmingham as it stands tall at 11 stories and has room for around 550 people at a time. They are also quite well known for their arcade complex which servers a variety cuisine from around the world, Mexican, Greek and African it’s all there. Many business travellers also choose this place to stay as they have 11 conference rooms with projectors etc and also there’s free WiFi throughout the hotel.

As far as rates go this hotel seems to be one of the best priced in the whole of Birmingham, rooms go from £59 per night for a standard and up to £99 for a deluxe which I think is great value. To put this into context most other hotels in the centre are charging up to £110 for just a standard room. Also I do have to mention again that the location is one of the key features of this hotel as you have great access to the Hippodrome and also the famous Bullring. Just think of the savings you’re going to make on Taxis and busses etc.

Another great thing about this places is the number of rooms they have (close to 300) so availability can usually be assured. I should also point out that when you book with a chain hotel you can usually be guaranteed a certain level of service, after all they do have a reputation to uphold (to some extent) and bad reviews on tripadvisor never look good do they?

So that’s my first review here on the blog, I hope it’s helpful if your coming to Birmingham soon and maybe it gives you an idea of the type of accommodation that’s on offer here, whether your on a budget or not. So I hope to be back soon with another hotel review or maybe I’ll come back with some general travel advice, I’ve yet to decide!

 

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Welcome to CheapBirmingham

Dec26
2011 Written by admin

Hello there and welcome to my new blog CheaperBirmingham.co.uk. This blog is all about accommodation deals and more specifically it’s about how to find cheap hotels in Birmingham city centre. I hope that by focusing on this one area that I’ll be able to deliver some great advice for anyone who is trying to find a hotel on a budget.

One problem I do face though is working out exactly what type of hotel people are looking to book. We all know that what one person considers cheap may be really over-priced for someone else, it all comes down to choice I think. I suppose the main thing from my point of view is to provide in-depth but to the point reviews which allow people to make their own mind up.

I will as mentioned be trying to focus on hotels that are located in and around the city centre. I have many reasons for this but the main one is that I feel you actually save more money by staying in the city centre as you don’t have to travel so much. Indeed people often forget to include travel costs when budgeting for a trip away and taxis can get pretty expensive if you’re using them every day.

Another reason I love staying right in the centre of Birmingham is that you really get a feel for what the city’s all about when you’re in the middle of things, after all isn’t that the whole point of visiting Birmingham? Some travellers do like to stay outside the city but for me the idea of constant trips back and forth seems like a real pain.

Cost also has to be a consideration when you’re planning on staying close to the city and it’s true that hotels in the centre can be quite expensive. However there are some great deals around too if your prepared to look. For example just this Christmas I was looking at some late deals at the Holiday Inn for around £60 per night for a double which is a great bargain if you’re looking for a cheap holiday break.

So I think that will do it for this first post here on CheapBirmingham, I hope to have some more updates soon and I think my next post will be a hotel review. I’m not sure which hotel I’m going to go for yet but I can promise some great deals no matter what, see you then!

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