Oh my life! We drove past this place twice before we realised it wasn't on the 'bulldoze!' list; unwelcoming, run down, FILTHY - and that was from the outside!
When we finally found the "Secure Car park" to the rear (nothing short of being an open space within the Bronx of the Bronx) we parked up to find a flat-roofed, bricked up building with boxed cages surrounding the open windows. The doors were similar to the thick white fire doors that you find at the back of a night club where you would throw out your trash. You wouldn't have even bothered using these doors if it hadn't have been for the "Reception" sign above them.
We were greeted by a lady whom, to be fair, was smiling. Why she was smiling I have no idea. She took our money at reception then showed us to our room.
The second the bedroom door was opened the smell of damp hit you in the face! The room was gloomy and uninviting. My husband took a look in the ensuite which was very, very cold. The owners obviously thought that the lick of paint would hide the large patch of missing plaster above the toilet. I guess they also thought that we wouldn't notice the thick mould growing on the floor and wall next to the shower. The floor was dirty and the shower had foot prints remaining from the previous user.
It was then that I decided to check the bed:
I pulled back the duvet to find pubes in the bed. PUBES! There were also various coloured hairs stuck to the duvet and bed sheet. Going by that, either the previous guests had multi coloured hair or the sheets hadn't been changed in a long time. Absolutely digusting!
We couldn't stay there, not only because it was filthy but the damp smell was so strong that it was making me feel ill.
I took our keys back to reception and told them that we would not be staying there. I told them why and not only did they not argue, they didn't even ask to see the room in an attempt to defend their corner. I was told that they could only give me half of the money back. I was not willing to stay there any longer to bother arguing about it so I accepted half of the money. The lady at reception disappeared to be replaced by another who came to the desk, launched the money across the desk and said "there you go!" and walked off. No apology or anything.
We're not snobs. We do not expect 'bells and whistles'. You may get what you pay for but at the very least I expect our rooms to be clean and comfortable. However, this room was nothing short of pure filth!
This place should be shut down for good!
- Prime Hotel Birmingham
