Novotel Birmingham Centre — Hotel in Birmingham

I choose the Novotel Birmingham City Centre in Broad St as I wanted something a bit nicer as my family had to travel over Christmas rather than stay with my Dad who'd had a stroke. Also, from the write ups, it seemed the most child friendly as I've got 5 year old twins. First off, the good bit - your staff are generally lovely. They were clearly understaffed, but that may well have been Christmas. Secondly, the hotel has everything you basically need, good hot water, it's clean, good TV, safe etc. But that's it really. There's nothing warn or welcoming. I wish we had stayed at the premier Inn to be honest, at least you can get a free cup of tea in reception. Here's the bits that are pretty poor... The kids area is actually rubbish. Everything is broken. There's train track (great) but no trains. I appreciate kids will pinch them, but some second hand ones on vinted topped up regularly will cost very little. The space invader game is great... But also doesn't work. Everything was just unloved, uncared for and a bit grim. Despite being billing as family friendly, you couldn't even get Cbbc or Cbeebies - or even BBC 1 or 2 - on the TV, a nightmare when you're a parent. So, show the kids some love or stop saying you're family friendly, it's misleading. There's big signs all over reception saying have a drink on us (nice Xmas touch, I thought), but actually it's only if you're a silver club member. There's coffee machines but with a big unwelcoming sign saying conference delegates only. But if you go into the bar to try and order one, there's nobody to be seen to help. The bar is lovely and the decorations are nice, but the foyer is clearly designed to be as uncomfortable as possible so people don't hang around. I do use hotels reasonably often and it feels so old fashioned and a bit exploitative that you don't just let guest have a free basic coffee. In the room, we were four, but there were only towels for two. Plus two tea bags and two tiny milk containers. I'm not demanding biscuits and hot chocolate (though other hotels do these nice touches) but more than one tea bag each would've been nice! There was another sign about not taking the toiletries or being charged, but I only discovered the shampoo was empty anyway when I was already soaking in the tub. And no conditioner! You're a 4-star... It's just silly things like the fact that the toilet paper was wafer thin and everything was so functional that let's the hotel down. It just doesn't feel very special or welcoming, so why on earth bother posting more? It's more what I would expect from the Travel Lodge over the road. But it should. It's a 4-star...it just doesn't feel like it. If you want people to come back, you need to make them feel special, and nothing about the hotel did...

Avoid this hotel if you want somewhere to park during your stay. We stayed for two nights to go and see Crufts. We specially selected Novotel because it had parking and good reviews and we were able to reserve parking. We finished the first night of crufts and got back at around 9pm, the car park was full… we had to go into reception to query it and their advice was ‘it’s a first come first serve basis and we’ll refund you’. We chose this hotel for the reason it had a car park which we could pre-book and pay for. However the reception told us that the car park is busier than usual because the public can use it and therefore they’d refund us. What’s the point in pre-booking a car park and reserving it, if it doesn’t actually reserve it and we have to spend more time trying to find elsewhere to park, at night in city centre Birmingham. Nothing against the individuals working that night, I explained it’s not good enough but unfortunately no real resolution or compensation was offered. In the end we were forced to park in a restricted area of the car park and then go down two hours later (around 11pm) to try and see if a space freed up. It’s a real shame as it really made the evening quite stressful, and we could have just not bothered staying in a hotel and driving all the way home. As a resolution to the hotel, I would suggest not misleading people into thinking they have reserved parking and remove the pre payment option. I’m not a fan of false advertising or being misleading, it’s entirely unfair for people. I did make a formal complaint but received an automated response 2 hours later basically just saying ‘sorry for the inconvenience’…

In regards to the rest of our stay:

Breakfast: Breakfast was lovely, couldn’t fault it, was plenty available.

Room: We paid for a double room and got twin beds, I double checked our booking and we definitely paid for double, so we got put in the wrong room. I didn’t complain as we just dealt with this (wish I did now after the car parking incident).

Our room had the toilet in a separate room which was weird and not my fav setup but not a big deal.

We only had one towel between two of us as well. So just bare that in mind.

Overall not worth the money we paid which is consistent with the reviews, we thought people were exaggerating but it’s true, you can get cheaper and better in Birmingham...

During our recent trip to Birmingham for a family wedding, we had the pleasure of staying at the Novotel Hotel. Choosing a hotel with two young children under 5 can be a challenge, but this hotel turned out to be an excellent choice.

Right from the start, the staff at Novotel were incredibly helpful and kind. We were particularly impressed by a gentleman in the dining area whom we had the pleasure of meeting during breakfast. He was friendly, attentive, and went out of his way to make our dining experience enjoyable.

The rooms at the hotel were spacious, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the sofa could be transformed into a comfortable sofa bed, which was perfect for the kids. They had a great night's sleep, and we appreciated the extra space it provided.

One of the highlights for our children was the hotel's dedicated children's area, complete with books, toys, and a games machine. It quickly became a hit with our boys, keeping them entertained and happy during our stay.

While the hotel offered its own parking facilities, it's worth noting that there was an additional charge of £18 per day. However, the convenience of having onsite parking outweighed the extra cost for us.

Breakfast at Novotel was a pleasant experience. While it offered a fairly standard breakfast spread, the highlight for our 5-year-old was the cool pancake machine. Watching the pancakes being made was a delight for him, and he thoroughly enjoyed his stack. The hotel also had two machines offering a variety of hot drinks, and the selection of croissants was lovely. The hot buffet breakfast provided the usual English breakfast options.

In terms of location, the hotel was situated in a central area, making it easy for us to take scenic walks towards the city center. It was a nice way to explore the surroundings and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of Birmingham.

Overall, our stay at Novotel Hotel in Birmingham was a positive experience. From the helpful staff to the spacious rooms and child-friendly amenities, we found it to be a great choice for our family. If you're looking for a comfortable and conveniently located hotel in Birmingham, we recommend...