Royal Square Hotel - NEC & Birmingham Airport

I was visiting the NEC. The location was a little further away than some others, but I chose this hotel for the very reasonable price and the available parking (for a small extra charge) and it was still close enough for me to be able to walk to the NEC (about 40-45mins). There is also a direct bus route. The staff were very efficient, professional & friendly. My room was clean and comfortable. I expected that as I had booked a single room it would be upstairs, but it was actually on the ground floor, which was a bonus. It was a decent size, for a single room too. It's a small, budget hotel so I was not expecting a load of extras. The hotel - and my room - had everything I needed for a couple of nights' stay and I would be happy to stay there again.

Please note - these are all minor niggles and did not detract from my stay. I would certainly use this hotel again, but these are my 'negative' comments. There was a tall wall not far from my window, so the natural light was limited (not much the hotel can do about the placement of an external wall though!) The TV was in an odd place - high on the wall to the right of the bed, it would have been more logical to have placed it on the wall at the foot of the bed. It looked like it had either been there previously, or was in the process of being moved there, as there was an aerial connection at that location. I used my tablet anyway, to watched TV, so that I could place it wherever was convenient, whether sitting or laying on the bed. The kettle lead was not long enough to reach the socket whilst sitting on the dressing table/desk (I stood it on the floor to boil it). The lead was very short & I don't know how it would be possible to enable a safe connection to the wall socket - an extension lead would be a hazard...? There was no bedside lamp/lighting (again, I am not sure how one could be facilitated in the room, perhaps only by hard-wiring one and fitting it to the wall above the bed?) So, if I didn't want the overhead lighting on, I just switched the small light over the sink in the bathroom on, and left the bathroom door ajar. That worked perfectly well as I could see to move around the room without the bright lighting. I will reiterate that these were very minor inconveniences; I don't see how the owners could resolve these issues within the constraints of the room facilities (e.g. socket placements) and it would not deter me form staying again.

Comfortable bed

Noisy

We did not stay in the end as we were notified on the day there was no parking available.

Insufficient parking. We were aware beforehand a space was not guaranteed but we were not notified of the lack of space until just before arrival.

The staff were warm, friendly and helpful. The room was clean. It's a convenient location - I was attending an event at the NEC followed by an event at Coventry Building Society Arena the next day and it's ideally situated between the 2 (approx 10 mins to NEC, 20 mins to CBS). Parking is cheap - it was cheaper for me to park at the hotel for 2 days and Uber to/from the NEC than it was to park at the NEC. It's in a nice location - I was concerned being close to the airport that it'd be noisy and not feel safe to walk locally, but it was good. The bed was surprisingly comfy (albeit very much a single).

Rooms are tiny. Pillows could do with an upgrade. Shower/toilet closet was also small, but the shower itself was good. Personally would prefer my basin to be in the 'shower room' than the bedroom. You can hear noise from the corridors - the metal keys / fobs make a racket on the door handles and the door to the stairway was opposite my room, so sometimes that banged.

Not much to like.

Rooms in desperate need of refurbishment and updating. Damaged desk, carpet and a tv almost as old as me. Staff not great. No staff onsite at one point. Restaurant looks closed.

We got what we needed for one night.Toilet were extremely clean and the staff very kind and polite.

It's an old structure and because of that room are small.Wifi is slow.