Good Night Saved the Day
by TripAdvisor Member crewebluenose
We booked the New Years Eve one night package for £290 for a double room. Disappointed that the hotel, once behind the initial facade, was tatty and in bad need of renovation. The trek to the room was tortuous and use of the lift irrelevant as you still needed to walk up a flight of stairs.
On the back of a disastrous stay at the Brittania on Birmingham's New St a couple of weeks previous the alarm bells were starting to sound.
Things weren't helped by a lack of hot water in the room meaning we had to forego showers before attending the evening dinner. I complained at reception about the hot water problem and was told very pleasantly that "yes it does do that - the boiler we have is not up to the job..." I asked for the duty manager who was not available and decided to save it up till the next morning rather than spoil the night.
I stay in a lot of hotels of varying quality and most of the time can take or leave them - staying in a hotel unless it is something special is not a treat for me. I'm not picky - if the tele or trouser press didn't work then I wouldn't even mention it but hot water - that's surely a pre requisite if you are running a hotel isn't it?
As it turned out we had a very enjoyable night as all the guests were intent on enjoying thermselves, the band and disco were good and the food was OK under the mass catering circumstances. The young lad serving at our table managed to shove a plate in my wife's face leaving a pronounced lump but hey accidents happen!
The next morning the water was just about warm enough on full heat to take a shower and I felt it would be churlish to complain as overall the experience ended up being quite pleasant. Don't expect too much from the rooms and make sure you get one that is serviced by the hot water system and you shouldn't be too disappointed.
for the price this is the worst hotel i';ve stayed in for a long time
by TripAdvisor Member NHamptonTraveller
arrived at hotel, and it looks impressive enough from outside and even the public areas are large clean and tidy. Then you get directed to your rooms. We stayed in two twin rooms over two nights (fri and sat). The first impression was how dated everything looked - furniture, beds, bathroom, curtains. The bathroom in both rooms were filthy. I could run my finger through the grease and limescale on the tiles over the bath. The hotel appears to basically profit from its ability to hold large functions and pays not attention to the actual state of the rooms out of sight of the main communal areas. Not a very pleasant experience I am afraid. Full breakfast was also v.pricey considering the price of the rest of the hotel at 15gbp. The one plus side was the staff. The receptionist and the restarant staff were all friendly and helpful
Needs Investment
by TripAdvisor Member CloudCottage
Much further from Birmingham than the name suggests and hardly a resort - more of a sprawling collection of buildings. The staff really tried and were it not for them the stay would have been one of the worst I have experienced in the Birmingham area where I am a frequent visitor. Come on Jarvis / Ramada give the management a chance - spend some money on what must once have been an extremely fine hotel.
Excellent Ramada Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Blapser
After reading some of the reviews about this hotel I was a little bit worried about going but after staying there I am wondering where the bad reviews came from!? I stayed Saturday 5th May (bank holiday weekend) I was delighted from start to finish with my stay.
The service was very good and the staff were helpful and very polite and booked a taxi for us into the town centre with no complications. Our room was of a very high standard and was clean throughout. Bed very comfortable and bathroom a good size with shower very refreshing. We were lucky enough to get a view over the delightful lake that surrounds the hotel which is enclosed with beautiful gardens. Swimming pool and facilties again very clean and was a joy to use.
Overall I was very happy with the hotel and would not need to think twice about staying there again!!
Never again
by TripAdvisor Member travelbug27
My husband and i vivited this hotel for our wedding anniversary. The room we were given was in the annex (lots of walking outside in the rain to get anywhere else in the hotel), it was more like a budget hotel room. My husband went to reception to complain, explaining he had booked through the hotel website and the room we were given was not like the rooms described on the site. The receptionist said we would have to wait two hours until more rooms were released... so we did. The rooms we were offered was a trek through lots of corridors and using 2 lifts, when we got there it smelt of toilets, so we decided not to change rooms, explaining why to the receptionist (who couldn't really have cared less).
The breakfast we had (even though we were in the dining room 10 minutes after it opened) looked dry and unappetising.
The waitresses and bar staff were wonderful and very friendly.
We went to use the swimming pool and it wasn't until we had changed that we realised they hadn't given us any towels. when i went back to the spa reception I was told we had to use the towels from our room (Another trek in the rain) the hairdresser on site found us some... but the receptionist asked if we needed two...was i supposed to use the men's changing room so we could share a towel?!
The who gotel looked tired and dingy..the standard of cleanliness was poor. The public toilets and our bathroom were dirty.
Never again!
Steady but not spectacular
by TripAdvisor Member Danny82
I stayed here with my partner for a weekend leisure break, and although we had a good time I came away expecting a bit more from my stay.
The Hotel complex looks the part from the website and exterior but due to the age and layout of the hotel it is not ideal, there is no a/c, once you get through the main reception the appearance is shabby and untidy and to get to your room it is a maze of corridors and stairs.
The rooms are good but lack that bit of luxury you would expect with this hotel chain, the rooms were fairly basic and the bed was uncomfortable, trying to get through to room service was very difficult as I had to wait for 3-4 minutes at a time.
The breakfast were satisfactory but not as good as I would of expected, the leisure facilities poolside were very good and a good way to relax.
Staff in general were competent without ever exceeding a higher level of service.
Personally I would not stay at this hotel again, this is the first time I have stayed at a Ramada Jarvis, in future I will stick to The Hilton or Marriot hotels as the general customer experience with the service and facilities is a lot higher for around the same price.
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