Plough & Harrow Hotel

I’ve driven past this hotel/​conference centre on countless occassions. Back in the day, when I was a freelancer staying over in the city 2 – 3 nights a week, I almost booked it many a time but always chose somewhere cheaper. I have friend tho’ who always books here (on expenses!) and he loves it.
So, this review is really just about the reception and bar area where I’ve been a few times. The service at lunch is pleasant but feels a little rushed. The menu is typical mid-​range pub style grub, but a little more upmarket perhaps. Prices are OK. Don’t expect anything extra-​special food wise, but expect everything to be just fine. No complaints.
Each time I’ve been in I’ve had boring scampi, chips, peas and orange juice. It’s presented well enough and quality is fine. It’s probably the cheapest main meal available, but I can’t quite remember.
Seating is comfy and quite varied, so you can find somewhere to suit easily enough. Lunchtimes has some passing trade, some residents and some meeting type people. Last time I was sat next table to a guy interviewing people, so that was … interesting! It hasn’t been busy when I’ve been there.
The whole area is clean, pleasant, well cared for. I’d recommend as a good place to meet up, but there are better food options within 5 minutes walk.

Not having much call to check out Hotels in Birmingham, I hadn’t really had an excuse to visit the Plough and Harrow before this weekend just gone. I’m pretty familiar with how it looks from the outside (being on Hagley Road, a main thoroughfare in and out of Birmingham Central), but wondered if the interior matched the grand aesthetic of the exterior.
On Saturday night myself and Dan G. got our finest gladrags on and hoofed it down to the Plough and Harrow for the wedding of two of our lovely Birmingham Unilocalers (Gem R. and Renfield C.). We jumped in a cab and after a very short journey, pulled up to the venue within about 5 minutes. The Plough and Harrow is a twenty minute walk from the Jewellery Quarter or around 25 minutes from the centre of town (making it an ideal venue for weddings or events).
The blue plaque outside the venue exclaims that JRR Tolkien once stayed there, however, I’m pretty sure there are quite a few places in Birmingham that also share that boast. The interior of the venue boasts a timeless elegance, with dark wood and brass fittings oozing gentle sophistication.
Before we headed into the actual function room (it’s probably a dining hall on normal days), we rocked up to the bar to grab ourselves a drink. As you can imagine with this being a hotel, drinks weren’t cheap; however they weren’t too bad. A pint of strongbow was £4 and most pints ranged from £4 — £5 (even for something a little more exotic). They had a fine range of single malt’s on sale for around £4.50+ a dram, so around what you might pay at a fancy wine or cocktail bar in the City.
The function room was fairly large, bright and airy (with double doors leading to a small patio area for smokers and sunny days). There is also a largish garden area, although this is mainly just grassed and could have done with a few embellishments. The venue is well looked after and maintains an air of «crisp efficiency» and neatness throughout. The toilets were very well looked after and were spotless throughout our visit.
This was the perfect choice for Gem and Renfield’s wedding and I could see why they selected it. The food on the buffet was good, the staff were friendly and the venue was accomodating and just the right size. If I was around this area again, I wouldn’t hesitate to pop in a grab a pint.

We had one of our work’s team away days here so this review is more aimed towards the conference facilities than the pub and hotel side of the business.
Arrival in the carpark and a quick stroll up to the conference room we had booked and we were off to a flying start, fresh tea and coffee, freshly baked pastries and to top it off bacon filled croissants — great start! Throughout the morning we had regular fresh tea and coffee provided to the room and a platter of biscuits provided to help through elevenses ;)
Lunch was a bit of a let down to be honest, we were given the option of a beef stew, vegetarian tomato pasta dish or white sauce chicken (maybe white wine?) I opted for the stew, nothing wrong with it but nothing special as the earlier experiences had instilled.
Then back to the meeting room and things picked up again, more rounds of fresh tea and coffee and the coup de grâce came with the afternoon tea, freshly baked mini scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam — just wow!
Upon leaving a token was provided for the carpark — no charges for conference use. The building and facilities available were all great and I honestly won’t complain if we have our next away day booked here!

Based on the Hagley Road this is a rather pretty looking hotel that has been recently refurbished. Set in very pretty gardens and with a decent bar this is a popular choice for weddings (I’ve been to two here) but also offers things like Murder Mystery Weekends. It also does a well priced and HUGE afternoon tea. Up until fairly recently it always seemed a bit quiet but since being taken over by the Classic Lodges chain seems to be making a bit of a resurgance.

I like how this hotel is situated in a busy urban area when the building is developed to look like one that you would imagine to be somewhere by the countrysides with its big bushes and trees and victorian like architecture.

A relatively inexpensive hotel near Birmingham City Centre. The public areas are smart and clean, but the bedrooms are a little tired. Clean, but in need of a bit of updating and redecoration. The bedrooms are in new blocks (look vaguely 1970s from the outside) behind the main building, so it’s quite a trek to the rooms from reception. Even the ground floor rooms require you to go up a floor, take a long walk, and then go back down, and I didn’t see any lifts in the place.
The hotel is just off the Five Ways roundabout, so handy for both the City Centre and Edgbaston. Free parking.