Review of Hotel du Vin Birmingham, by Angela Moore

The Hotel du Vin mini-chain is deservedly famous for its affordable, luxury hotels across the UK which are quirky, fun and aimed at stylish travellers. The Hotel du Vin Birmingham is a model example. It’s in a handsome Victorian building that used to be an eye hospital. They have kept the Victorian sense of drama – lofty ceilings, stone floors, sweeping staircases – and added the du Vin sense of style.

The hotel  has two bars, a spa, a courtyard with a retractable roof, a bistro and a real buzz. The Bubble Bar serves 50 kinds of champagne to a relaxed, chattering crowd, who then all filter across the lobby for dinner in the bistro (book ahead.) This is a particularly charming series of rooms with a Parisian edge thanks to framed Lautrec prints and lazily revolving ceiling fans. The food is great – bistro classics with a modern twist, reasonably priced. The wine list is excellent, with the option of a ‘wine flight’ – three wines in tasting glasses.

If you’re in a party mood, head downstairs to the Cellar Bar (the Cigar Bar is also down here, in what used to be the mortuary, although maddeningly you have to smoke your stogie outdoors now.) Check out the lobster paintings – the artist used to be a busboy at one of the Hotels du Vin and was ‘discovered’ by the chef, who pointed out his talent to the GM, who commissioned him to paint these fabulously quirky canvasses.

All 55 rooms and 11 suites at the Hotel du Vin Birmingham have huge beds, lush linens and bathrooms with monsoon showers and roll-top tubs. We love the bespoke Arran Aromatics toiletries and the soothing, muted contemporary decor. The luxury rooms (studios and upwards) are much bigger than the standards, though amenities are the same throughout.