If there’s one way I love to spend a weekend, it’s a going on a city break. I enjoy everything about it – the travelling, exploring a different city, seeing the sights, sampling the cuisine, shopping and of course, staying in a hotel.
Phil and I went to Birmingham again recently. We stayed at Hotel La Tour, a modern hotel with 174 stylish bedrooms, restaurant, sophisticated bar, gym and conference and events floor.
Location
The 4-star hotel is perfectly located in Birmingham city centre and just a 3-minute walk from the Bullring Shopping Centre. Birmingham New Street Rail Station, the Hippodrome Theatre and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery are also nearby.
Design
The interior of Hotel La Tour is pretty impressive. In the reception area alone, there’s a table full of flowers, a huge tree adorned with lights, several grand chairs and a winding staircase with black and chrome baubles. It’s sleek and contemporary with plenty to look at.
Room
We stayed in an Executive Room which had bespoke furnishings and lots of modern conveniences. These included a 42” LED flat screen TV with live record, a King size bed with luxury topper, desk area with work lamp, chaise longue and free Wi-Fi.
Additionally, there was a laptop safe, iron and ironing board, tea and coffee making facilities, air conditioning and a touchscreen phone where you could control the lighting, check the weather and more. I’ve never come across a phone like this in a hotel before so this was a fun feature!
The bathroom was equally as stylish as the bedroom with smooth ceramics, shiny chrome details, a dual control monsoon shower and The White Company toiletries. It was spacious too – there was plenty of room for my lotions and potions.
Facilities
As I’ve mentioned, there are many facilities in the hotel. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to visit the gym but we did make the most of the bar and restaurant.
The bar is rather opulent and a perfect destination to catch up with friends, join your partner for pre-dinner cocktails or simply have a nightcap at the end of the evening. You can also enjoy live music with singers and pianists over the weekend but sadly, we didn’t manage to see any!
We dined at the hotel’s Marco Pierre White restaurant, Mr White’s English Chophouse. I shall be reviewing this separately so keep an eye out for the post soon. However, I will tell you that breakfast at the hotel was great; friendly staff, plenty of choice and a variety of hot/cold food.
Service
Generally, the service was great. Everyone made us feel welcome, especially the bar/restaurant staff and even the cleaners.
The reception staff were very good but I felt that they could have been chattier at times. A “good morning”, “hello” or “how are you?” wouldn’t have gone amiss as we were going in and out of the hotel. Not a complaint as such, just an observation!
Overall, Hotel La Tour was an excellent experience. The location, décor, service, room and facilities were fantastic and I would definitely stay there again.
* Please note that Hotel La Tour provided me with a complimentary stay but all opinions are honest and unbiased.
