Rowton Hotel, Birmingham

Official site of Rowton Hotel - www.therowtonhotel.com

Official site of Rowton Hotel - www.therowtonhotel.com

A back bar on the ground floor that was packed on my visit but its not the largest and it has no character what so ever. It feels like an airport waiting room without the space crossed with a social club & presume the occupants were hotel guests. No real ale there was a hefty queue for the bar & so did not stay. The building itself is a fine piece of articheture externally but offers nothing more than that.

A fantastic building and history. This was a Rowton House, built in 1903, over a few malthouses and a hay & straw yard. Rowton Houses were built in London originally, by Lord Rowton, to provide cheap accommodation for men. This one opened in Brum, could house 819 men at 6d a night. It became the Highgate Hotel, but effectively, its purpose remained the same. It became an 'upgraded' hotel in the 90s. It is a massive red brick build, with several storeys, corner turrets and front facing gable. There is nice glazed tiling in the entrance lobby, from where I was directed to the Naylor Bar by a chirpy lady. The bar is quite small, gloomy even, with a TV showing the footy and no music. Modern wood tables and comfy chairs are the mainstay, with one small high table and what look like adult baby highchairs. The walls have no pictures and are in (I think, as it was gloomy) a light grey and darker grey wood panel. The service was functional and a few residents were in. The Bombardier pull had a glass over it, so I ended-up paying £3-90 for a basic bitter shandy. A basic, hotel bar. Not really aimed at me (other than it being in an historic building) or anyone that actually cared about their beer.

Now a Chinese restaurant, now called the Modern China.

Now called the Paragon Hotel, formerly the Chamberlin Hotel, this used to be a doss house for the down and outs.