Affordable luxury is what you get when you choose to stay at Bloc Hotel.

Dissatisfied with the hotel landscape, where the options were either a bog-standard chain or a pricey 5-star, with little in between, the founders of Bloc decided to offer something different.

A hotel that didn’t mean compromising on price or experience.

The Jewellery Quarter is home to Bloc’s first hotel and so we decided to check it out.

 

Bloc Hotel

There’s a freshness about Bloc. For a start, their approach to construction meant it only took 25 weeks to build, rather than the typical 15 months. Rooms were made off-site and then put together in Lego style. Taking inspiration from Japanese space-saving design, the hotel is fuss-free, exuding stylish simplicity.

Having partnered with Scandinavian Sleep Institute, the temperature and humidity of each room is optimised to ensure you get a quality night’s sleep.

And their approach to safety and security is no less forward-thinking. Contactless smart room control and the use of virus-inhibiting HeiQ Viroblock to sanitise surfaces give visitors peace of mind.

 

Location

Bloc hotel is pretty much at the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. You’re surrounded by cafes, bars and restaurants. You’re about a 20 minute walk from Birmingham’s Bull Ring, a 10 minute walk from 2 train stations and a 5 minute walk from a tram stop. Couldn’t ask for much more.

 

Rooms

Bloc has 5 styles of rooms to choose from: 

 

Sleep

Bloc’s Sleep room is 10 sq. metres in size, within which is a kingsize bed, a TV and a wetroom. With no windows and only the bare necessities, Sleep is presented as a ‘no nonsense’ room.

 

Vista

If you like the sound of the Sleep room, but couldn’t be without natural light, Vista gives you a window. Plus, the window’s sound-proof so no need to worry about being disrupted by Birmingham’s buzz.

 

Vista Plus

So this is Vista, but with an additional 2 sq. metres. Coming in at 12 sq. metres, you get that extra bit of space, preferable for those who aren’t keen on small spaces.

 

Apartment

If you’re planning a longer stay in Birmingham, the Apartment room is a more fitting choice. In addition to bed, bathroom and TV, you also get a sofa, desk, wardrobe and kitchenette with a kettle, microwave and fridge. With these extra comforts, you get more of a home away from home feel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accessible Sleep

Being DDA compliant, this room offers convenience and accessibility, ensuring you have the most comfortable stay.

 

 

Facilities

In addition to the facilities mentioned above that come with each room, Bloc also provides free superfast Wi-Fi and discounted NCP parking.

Rather than having an iron in each room, Bloc has a 24 hour ironing room. So, if the potential of morning queues stress you out (like us), we recommend ironing the night before.

We’d also like to give a special shoutout to the incredible shower gel that reminded us of Dior Fahrenheit.

 

Food and drink

One thing to note is that there’s no restaurant or bar in Bloc. What they do offer is a continental breakfast bag that can be purchased at Reception.

However, the lack of a restaurant or bar is not much missed since Bloc is situated right in the middle of the Jewellery Quarter, so there’s endless coffee shops, restaurants and bars right on your doorstep.

And even better, Bloc has teamed up with some of Birmingham’s food and drink hotspots to secure discounts exclusive to Bloc guests. So, rather than staying in, you get to explore what Birmingham has to offer and make the most of your visit.

So, if what you’re looking for is a stripped-back, cool inner city stay that won’t break the bank, we highly recommend Bloc.