Holiday Inn Express BIRMINGHAM NEC

Staff very helpful and polite, good free shuttle to NEC which is also walking distance. I was allowed to lwave my car with no extra charge.

I stayed at the hotel on 9 November 2010, I booked the hotel because of its proximity to the LG Arena. On arrival the staff were very helpful. I had arrived later than expected and the staff arranged a taxi for me to get to the LG Arena. Check out for the hotel is at 12 which is brilliant after/ahead of a long drive. The downsides for me: The towels provided were frayed and looked tatty- not what I expected for the price I paid. The bathroom was very cramped. You can't open the door to the bathroom 90 degrees as one of the features of the door is that it also closes in front of the toilet which is to the right behind the door- though this is difficult to describe! It appears an unnecessary feature. There was a hair dryer fixed to the wall in the room. When I picked the hair dryer up, the plastic housing which held the wires, fell to the floor, leaving the wiring exposed. This had obviously been reported previously as it looked as though someone had attempted to glue the housing back on, rather than putting a screw where there was a clear screw hole. The room was a double which had been divided into a twin, which is fine, but the way the beds had been positioned the bedside lamp was right above your head when you were lying down, which isn't ideal. Breakfast should be served until 0930. By 0910, there was very little food left. This was perhaps a bit late to be going to breakfast, however I would expect a hotel to cater enough food for its guests, and people were still arriving after me. There were no mugs for coffee or glasses for juice. There were dirty dishes lying in the servery area in front of the remaining food. All tongs had been removed from the cabinets and were lying in a pile to side. It wasn't clear which had been used for the hot food and which had been used for the cold food. One further point is that if you are planning to walk to hotel from the Arena, it isn't far, but there are no footpaths, you are walking on a grass verge at the side of a road. Overall, I was disappointed with my experience at this hotel. I recently stayed at another hotel chain which was a third of the price and it provided a better service; whilst another similarly priced hotel offered me a fairly luxurious room. However, if it is just a place to sleep for a gig or conference, maybe you won't be as fussy!

Great staff and location.

Best bit was the old pub next door with great food and service. Hotel nice and new and comfortable.

Everyone was very friendly. The breakfast room was officially closed but the staff made an exception for us and brought us lots of different options to eat from so we wouldn't starve. So thoughtful! The wireless internet was fast and free. The front desk let me print off documents that I needed as well without a problem. I will stay there again in the future.

Stayed here 1 night whilst attending an NEC exhibition. Hotel is a few minutes, by courtesy mini-bus from the NEC railway station. Hotel serves a good breakfast but no other meals. Excellant pub meals are available in the adjacent premises. Reception has brochures for "take away" meals that may be delivered to the hotel dining room. I will use this hotel for my next NEC attendance.

we had a lovely stay and the people on reception were very good and very helpful.

Provison of free shuttle service to NEC was very useful. But cost of parking at the hotel should be stated on the information about the hotel. It was £7 for our two night stay. Still much cheaper than the NEC at £8 a day.

Express by Holiday Inn always includes a breakfast in the room price, but this breakfast barely qualifies. Grapefruit segments poured from the gallon can isn't fruit, by my definition. Coffee has to be the worst on the planet. I was at the NEC for the International Rotary Convention so the proximity to the NEC and train station couldn't have been better, for the cost, compared to hotels at the NEC proper which are out of sight. Courtesy van to the NEC/Train station in the morning is very convenient and needed. Small rooms and a hard bed. VERY friendly and helpful staff, though. Full service bar in the lobby with satellite flat screen TV was an unexpected plus. Very expensive for the room you get, by American standards. The picture on Orbitz is outdated. No more fountain and pond, have been paved over for a parking lot.