Overview

The Hotel Ibis Styles is a well-placed hotel for some of the more glamorous parts of the city. Taking a left at the top of the road and walking past University College, you'll find Victoria Square, Birmingham Art Gallery and Museum and various places to eat. Albert Schloss, the large beer hall in the same area, is largely accessible and has great food. There is also a bar on the same street as the hotel, The Shakespeare, which serves amazing pies, but the toilets are far from accessible. If you choose to eat here, make sure to get a seat in the dining area as the seating at the bar area gets very crowded.

Transport & Parking

There are several on-street parking spaces immediately outside the hotel. Most are standard parking spaces, but there are two accessible spaces on Lionel Street. There are bus stops on nearby Fleet Street, Summer Row and Great Charles Street, with no shortage of services. Birmingham New Street railway station is half a mile away, though there are a few uphill sections. Victoria Square/Town Hall and Centenary are the nearest tram stops, both less than half a mile away, though the route from Victoria Square is more uphill.

Access

There is ramp access to the left of the stairs at the entrance, which lead up to a set of automatic doors. Once inside, the reception desk is directly ahead. I didn’t spot a lowered section at the desk. The lifts are immediately on your left as you enter. Two of them serve the guest floors and the third goes to the car park. All lift buttons have braille markings. To access my room, I turned right from the lift and faced a heavy manual door, which was a bit tricky to navigate alone. This door opens into a corridor leading to the rooms. I stayed in room 403. The door to the room opens inwards and is another heavy manual fire door. Inside, there's good space on the right-hand side of the bed for a left-side transfer. There's limited space on the left side of the bed, so a right-side transfer might be difficult. Bedside tables are on both sides. There’s a tea and coffee station that is mostly accessible, though it’s a little high. USB and three-prong plug sockets are available on both sides of the bed. There’s also a writing desk with plug sockets and USB ports, as well as an iron, ironing board and hairdryer. An emergency red cord is located on the left-hand side of the bed (as you lie down), but the bedside table blocks it. It really needs repositioning to be usable in an emergency. The room itself was well presented, which earns it an extra point.

Toilets

Accessible Toilet in Room 403: The en-suite has a walk-in shower with a wall-mounted seat. However, the shower curtain hangs into the transfer space and can't be moved out of the way easily. Tucking the curtain up risks pulling the red emergency cord accidentally, which is a concern. The toilet is fairly low and positioned next to a slightly sloped area where the floor dips into the shower, making right-side transfers especially challenging. Grabrails are installed on either side of the toilet and the sink. The sink has knee clearance for wheelchair users and a lever-style tap. There’s also a shaving socket. The red cord could have been better placed, given the layout. The door to the toilet opens outwards. Accessible Toilet in the Restaurant: The accessible toilet is just past the bar, opposite the dining area. There are two doors to get through. The outer door opens inwards and the toilet door opens outwards. Inside, there is space for a left-side transfer, although a nappy bin blocks the way and makes it difficult to use properly. Grabrails are installed on either side of the toilet. The red emergency cord was tied up when I visited, which is disappointing. The sink has a lever-style tap, which is easy enough to use, but has only one grabrail on the left side. There is just enough room for a manual or power chair and one support person, but it is a bit of a squeeze. The room also has a baby changing table and a hand dryer on the wall. The mirror is mounted a little too high, so while I could just about see into it from a seated position, it was not ideal.

Staff

The staff were helpful, and the restaurant team offered to bring breakfast to my table, rather than have me struggle at the buffet.

Photos