Review: Cube Hotel, Birmingham
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This is our review of the Cube Hotel in Birmingham.
Note that, when we reviewed the hotel in April 2022, it was still trading as Hotel Indigo and the review refers to that. The hotel is no longer linked to IHG in any way.
Hotel Indigo is not a brand we’ve given much attention to, although Rob did review the new and very impressive Hotel Indigo Bath last year.
Fundamentally, Hotel Indigo is a mid-market boutique chain. There are few brand standards – instead, each hotel is inspired by the local area. It has a lot in common with Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, and in many British cities a new Hotel Indigo will arguably be the best hotel in town.
The Hotel Indigo Birmingham website is here.
EDIT: Since the rebranding to Cube Hotel, we recommend booking via this page of Hotels.com so you can earn Hotels.com Rewards for your stay. The hotel itself is no longer part of any loyalty scheme.
Where is Hotel Indigo Birmingham?
If you have got used to a new Hotel Indigo taking root in a converted historic building, you’re in for a surprise in Birmingham.
Hotel Indigo is on the top floors of the ‘Cube’ development in Birmingham (photo above), a mixed use building and part of the Mailbox development.
It is just under a half mile walk from New Street station, albeit under an elevated dual carriageway.
Inside Hotel Indigo Birmingham
Hotel Indigo Birmingham is not the hotel you think it is – at least not from looking at it outside. Whilst the building is big, the hotel takes up just two floors.
There is a small lobby with a couple of check in desks and a handful of armchairs, but fundamentally it is just a corridor to the lifts:
It was weirdly dark, which made the hotel look like it wasn’t fully open.
Check in was quick and easy and my status benefits were acknowledged with an upgrade (there are only three room types so don’t get too excited!)
There are two lifts that take you up to the guest rooms on floors 23 and 24, but they are quite slow.
Rooms at Hotel Indigo Birmingham
I was given a corner room, which was very pleasant and clearly – given how high I was – had great views. The door was around a corner from the room itself:
It was very spacious, with a big king bed as the centrepiece:
Let’s talk about the bed for a minute. It was certainly big, but the mattress was, frankly, odd. It had completely lost its shape and was very saggy. It’s not clear if this was a one-off in my room or if all of the hotel beds are in need of replacing. The hotel opened in 2011 so these may be the original beds.
There are bedside tables on both sides of the bed, and both come with two plug sockets AND two USB sockets:
The Zebra-stripe armchairs are perhaps a step too far but on the whole the room is nicely designed, with a bright carpet balanced out by the navy wall and walnut furniture:
There is a decent desk where I spent the afternoon working, plus the TV and Nespresso coffee machine:
A kettle and mini bar were inside the wardrobe:
The bathroom feels a little more basic than the rest of the room, with some very simple tiling:
The shower features dual shower heads:
Toiletries are ‘heaven’ by Deborah Mitchell, in large pump bottles.
Hotel Indigo Birmingham restaurant
The hotel restaurant, on the top floor, is a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse. This is the only facility in the hotel and it’s also where breakfast is served, although unfortunately I had to be at the airport early for the Flybe launch event.
It’s a pretty big restaurant:
The window tables are obviously the most popular. I had the French onion soup to start which was so hot I had to let it cool down for several minutes!
Then the roast lamb:
The food and service were good, and my only issue was the time it took to pay at the end.
Conclusion
To be honest, the Hotel Indigo Birmingham is a little odd. There are virtually no facilities – you have the tiny lobby on the ground floor, two floors of guest rooms and then the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse on top. There is no gym, pool or lobby lounge area and in some ways it feels more like serviced apartments than a hotel.
(EDIT: Reader comments below say that the hotel did have access to an impressive sports complex in the same building, but that it closed during the pandemic.)
That said, if you are in Birmingham for business then it could work well. The rooms are smart, the location is decent and for many people the lack of a pool or large lobby space won’t be a problem.
Prices start at £150 per night in May or 28,000 points. You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.
EDIT: Since the rebranding to Cube Hotel, we recommend booking via this page of Hotels.com so you can earn Hotels.com Rewards for your stay. The hotel itself is no longer part of any loyalty scheme.
IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:
Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.
New to IHG One Rewards? Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.
Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.
Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.
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