England Guide
The West Midlands and the Peak District
Accommodation
1 Copthorne Birmingham Paradise Circus 
0121/200 2727 
www.millenniumhotels.co.uk It may look like a Rubik cube from the outside, but this is a great hotel, partly because its 212 modern bedrooms are spruce, and partly because its location – plumb in the centre beside Centenary Square – can't be bettered. It's expensive during the week, but weekends bring prices down to more affordable levels. Price: ₤91-110
2 
Hyatt Regency Birmingham 2 Bridge St 0121/643 1234 www.hyatt.com The sleek, black skyrise that towers above Centenary Square is a luxury Hyatt hotel. The central location is hard to beat, the city views from the guest rooms on the upper floors are superlative, and the public area has some pleasant Art Deco touches – and may have been feng-shuied. Less positively, the rooms are decorated in uninspiring chain-hotel style and you can't open the windows. Discounts are commonplace at weekends. Price: ₤111-150
3 Malmaison Hotel 1 Wharfside St, The Mailbox 0121/246 5000 www.malmaison-birmingham.com This impeccably stylish, designer hotel offers first-class accommodation of wit and substance – no wonder it's next door to Harvey Nichols. Every convenience and a central location. Price: ₤111-150
4 Radisson SAS 12 Holloway Circus 0121/654 6000 www.birmingham.radissonsas.com Smart contemporary hotel in a tall and glossy skyrise within a few minutes' walk of the centre. The interior is designed in routine modern-minimalist style, but the green amoebas etched onto the acres of glass add an air of distinction as do the floor-to-ceiling windows of many of the bedrooms. Price: ₤91-110
5 Travelodge 230 Broad St 0871/984 6064 www.travelodge.co.uk Central chain hotel; prices are very reasonable and it's within easy walking distance of lots of restaurants, bars and clubs. Price: ₤61-70
6 Back to Backs Houses 52 Inge St 0870/458 4422 www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk The National Trust has refurbished a small block of nineteenth-century back-to-back workers' houses just to the south of the city centre. In part of the complex, it has installed three small "cottages" – really terrace houses – and kitted them out with en-suite facilities. The cottages have a convenient, central location and make for the most distinctive place to stay in town. Each accommodates two guests and can be rented out for two nights or longer; prices vary considerably according to the season. Price: £125