Crowne Plaza NEC Hotel Birmingham

I'm going to split this review into two parts; hotel, and conference facilities. Because they're slightly different reviews.

Hotel.

The rooms in Crowne Plaza were lovely - really big, for a UK hotel, nice bath, spotlessly clean. There were plenty of towels and nice toiletries, and complimentary water and a very small chocolate. The staff were friendly and helpful and there's a free shuttle from the station. The bar, on the other hand, takes full advantage of the fact that you're a twenty pound cab from the city centre - 6 pounds for a glass of wine, and almost a fiver for a pint of beer. And my employers won't pay expenses for anything other than dinner, which is fair enough, and a girl gets thirsty! Even if they'd pay for lemonade... But that said, it was really nice.

Conference facilities

The buffet was nice at lunchtime, but really weird at night - burgers, rice and samosas is an interesting combo when you're desperate for nutrition. The breakfast buffet? Mango should not be crunchy; sausages should not be cool. But the staff were nice. The sound system kept picking up interference from the NEC down the road; disembodied voices floating across the ether and interupting the lecture on logistics. Funny, but not helpful! The slides were blurry and the back of the room is a long way from the front. But that might have been the organisers rather than the venue. The sweets were nice.