Hotel du Vin Birmingham

Situated in the heart of Birmingham’s booming financial district, the hotel is 100 yards from St Philip’s Cathedral and Colmore Row. This is an ideal spot for conference delegates and concert-goers with the International Convention Centre/Symphony Hall a 10-minute walk away. Shopping destinations, including the Bullring and Grand Central, are a similar distance. The immediate area is home to a growing number of trendy, independent coffee shops, lively bars and restaurants such as Michelin-starred Purnell’s.

Despite being part of a group, the hotel is refreshingly free of corporate trappings and provides a boutique bolt-hole from the Brummie bustle. The décor contrasts faded French chic with Italianate flourishes, while bold columns and stonework pervades the main public areas.

Friendly, attentive staff, in particular the bistro team, ensure a welcoming atmosphere. We were shown to the wrong bedroom on check-in but the mistake was well-recovered.

The spa has a six treatment rooms and a Jessica pedicure room. There is also a well-equipped gym with steam room and sauna. The basement is home to Pub du Vin, a city slickers’ pub serving real ales, sandwiches, pies and snacks.

The 66 bedrooms, studios and suites, individually sized due to the building’s original use, are named after premiere wines and wine houses. Standard doubles have comfortable king-sized beds with Egyptian linens, Nespresso machines, monsoon showers over baths, bespoke wardrobes and minibars. Some of the rooms have French windows overlooking the courtyard. Penfolds, one of three deluxe suites, is a vast space with a super king-sized bed, walk-in shower and separate roll-top bath. Penfolds Grange, the top suite, is perfect for pop stars and TV moguls.

The bistro provides a modern British take on French home-style cooking in an informal, candlelit setting with stripped floors, undressed tables and shelves adorned with wine bottles. A prix-fixe menu provides good value (two courses for £16.95; three courses £19.95); the à la carte mixes classic dishes with decent steaks; and seafood platters showcase Salcombe crab and grilled/poached lobster. As the hotel name suggests, there is a strong wine list with house wine from £21.50 a bottle and more than 30 champagnes. The full cooked breakfast (dishes include brioche French toast with smoked bacon and maple syrup and eggs Benedict) is good and well-priced for hotel dining at £16.95.

Double rooms are from £99 in low season; and from £130 in peak periods, breakfast excluded. Free Wi-Fi. Prices reflect the location and the size/comfort of the rooms. It is worth looking out for deals, however, particularly over bank holidays and Sundays.

Disabled access is available through Pub du Vin and the hotel has a lift. However, bedrooms are not fully accessible for disabled guests.

There are interconnecting bedrooms and cots are available for free. Extra beds are charged at £20. The bistro has a children's menu.