England Birmingham Crowne Plaza

[ShibuyaJon]

We had a very good stay here. The hotel has a good location, although not as central as the Copethorne. There is a very large Hyatt right nearby. The hotel is on Holliday street which runs parallel to Board street, a main clubbing street. This Crowne Plaza used to be a Holiday Inn and from the outside looks rather uninspiring with an East German flare. The hotel is an easy walk from clubs on broad street, the Bull Ring, and even the jewerly quarter (which is a bit further but very walkable).

We received a king executive suite on the 9th floor with a city view. This, however,may not be the typical priceline room. The room had a minibar, trousers press, iron, hair dryer, tea and coffee set, and all amenities you'd expect in a 4 star hotel. The room was large for Europe. While the room furnishings were not new, they were not too worn either.

The bathroom was average size and contained the only real problem we experienced. The tub was slow draining. But that is not a huge problem.

The hotel has a 15 meter pool and a nice fitness facility. I did not look into internet access or business services. The small lobby is nicely appointed. The staff was very helpful, especially the concierge.

This hotel stay gave me hope that the disappointments I experienced in London (Hotel Rusell is a dump, worse bed I've ever slept on, worse that a motel 6; and the LHR HI ARiel, overrated in my view) were not the standard of what a 4* hotel is in England.