Monday, March 10, 2008

Accommodation for Visitors in Birmingham

Birmingham might seem an unlikely city for anyone to visit. However, being the home of the International Convention Centre (ICC), the National Indoor Arena (NIA) and a Symphony Hall of international acclaim are just three things that attract visitors to the city. Accordingly Birmingham has plenty of rooms available in a range of accommodation from Five Star Hotels to Guest Houses and rooms in self-catering apartments. Guest Houses and small Bed & Breakfast places can be found in all suburbs of the city, but it's along the Hagley Road (A458) that you'll find the highest concentration of smaller and cheaper hotels. The area around the ICC and NIA, on Broad Street in particular, is where a good selection and range of city centre hotels can be found.

If you want a classy hotel in the very centre of Birmingham then the Burlington Hotel is the one to book into. It is located almost at the junction of New Street and Corporation Street, inside the Burlington Arcade. It is an independent four star hotel that, despite having 112 rooms, has a distinctly boutique hotel feel to it. An Executive suite costs about 260 GBP a night, but you can get a standard double room for 135 GBP. Prices at week-ends are about half of the week-day prices, which reflects the demand made for this hotel by business people.

Connected to the ICC by its own footbridge the Hyatt Hotel on Bridge Street, just off Broad Street, is instantly recognisable by the huge glass tower in which it was built. One night in a double room here on a weekday starts at 120 GBP and rises to 424 GBP for a Deluxe King sized room. There are also the Executive Suites and on the 24th floor, the exclusive 140 square metre Presidential Suite which is for hire by personal application.

The recently opened Radisson SAS Hotel on Holloway Circus is not as central as some other hotels but is ideally located for the Alexander and Hippodrome Theatres. It has 211 rooms with three themes to them; Chic, Fashion and Fresh. Suites are also available for hire here. A typical weekday price for a double room is 135 GBP rising to nearly 300 GBP for a suite. Like the Hyatt, the Presidential Suite is for hire by personal application only.

In Brindley Place, just off Broad Street and across the canal from the ICC and NIA, is Birmingham's Jurys Inn. This has nearly 450 air-conditioned rooms, nearly all of which are standard double rooms, with a typical week-day price being around 130 GBP.

Hotel Duvin, on Church Street which is located for the city's main commerce area around Colmore Row, is another recently opened hotel. This is the largest hotel owned by the du Vin chain and is located in what was once the city's Eye Hospital. It is styled on being a boutique hotel and has 66 rooms and several suites. Prices start at 140 GBP a night rising to 400 GBP for the Principal Suite.

The area around Broad street is where most of the hotels that provide four and three star accommodation are located. Travelodge and Novotel are two of the more familiar hotel names here. Travelodge charges a 66 GBP flat rate per night, discounts are possible if booking in advance. The advertised price for one night in the Novotel is 155 GBP a night, but again by booking in advance this can be reduced by 50%.

At the city end of Broad Street is the Copthorne Hotel. Located on one of the busier inner ring roads at Paradise Circus, the Copthorne is ideally located for all aspects of visiting the city, be it business or pleasure. A double room is in the price range 85 GBP to 115 GBP a night on a week-day, in this four star hotel that is part of the famous national chain. Close to Broad Street is the Mailbox Mall, The mailbox contains many designer shops and some of the best restaurants in the city. Here there are two hotels - the classy and chic boutique hotel Malmaison which has double rooms starting at 140 GBP and suites at 320 GBP a night. A Ramada Hotel is also located inside the Mailbox. A room here for the night is typically 100 GBP.

Moving out of the city centre the price of a room for the night drops considerably. For example the Days Inn Hotel, which is on Hillock Road some 3 km from the city centre, where room prices drop to 50 GBP a night for this three star hotel. If you want to have a large selection of hotels to choose from in one place, head for the Hagley Road to the west of the city centre, which heads out of Birmingham from the end of Broad Street. Along about 2 miles of this one road are more hotels than many smaller cities have in total. The Quality Hotel is part of that national chain of hotels and has 167 rooms. Located at the city end of the Hagley Road a double room costs 80 GBP for one night.

A bit further down the road is the two star Norfolk Hotel; you can get a double room here for 40 GBP a night, including breakfast. Whilst it might not be the most impressive hotel in the city all the 163 rooms have en suite and provide more than adequate accommodation along with a friendly and caring level of service. The Apollo Hotel is also a two star one and similar to the Norfolk. Prices start at 65 GBP a night for a double room, but there are offers and deals that can halve the price.

For anyone needing longer term temporary accommodation in Birmingham renting an apartment might be worth considering. Apartments are available away from the city centre at locations such as the Hagley Road or right inside the city centre at Brindley Place or the Mailbox. Typical apartment prices are, per week, 400 GBP for one bedroom rising to 700 GBP or more for a two bed roomed one.

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Source: http://www.pcwriters.com/Article/Accommodation-for-Visitors-in-Birmingham/100932

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