The Dilemma
Two budget-to-mid-range Birmingham hotels. One is a genuinely striking 18th-century gothic building stranded on one of Birmingham's loudest arterial roads, within walking distance of Broad Street and the ICC. The other is a Travelodge buried inside a leisure complex off a dual carriageway, with 1,300 parking spaces, a bowling alley, and a halal steakhouse underneath your room.
The Best Western Plough & Harrow trades on its location and historic character. The Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza trades on practicality, parking, and keeping you just outside Birmingham's Clean Air Zone. One is better for walking into Birmingham. The other is better for driving into the Midlands. Which one you need depends entirely on why you are in Birmingham at all.
The Arrival Reality
Best Western Plough & Harrow: The Tricky TurnThe building is impossible to miss once you know what you are looking for. An 18th-century gothic structure on Hagley Road earns a double-take from passing drivers. The problem is that by the time you have spotted it, you may have already missed the entrance. The turning sits directly after a busy junction on a three-lane section of Hagley Road, with no generous lead time on the signage. Miss it, and you are committing to a lengthy loop through surrounding roads before you can try again. This is not a scare story, it is a well-documented pattern among first-time arrivals.
By taxi, the situation resolves itself cleanly. The hotel has its own turning and drop-off directly outside reception, allowing taxis to pull in off the road without stopping in live traffic. It is the one arrival mode that genuinely works without stress. From Birmingham New Street, expect around 20 minutes and roughly £10 to £15 depending on traffic.
By train, Five Ways station is 15 minutes on foot, manageable in good weather with light luggage. New Street is 35 minutes on foot, which is only realistic if you are travelling very light. The tram from New Street is the smoothest train-based option, around 20 minutes in total.
The verdict: Arrive by taxi or tram. If you are driving, load the hotel into your sat nav before you leave and identify the entrance in advance. Do not wing it.
Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza: The Dual Carriageway CommitmentBroadway Plaza announces itself clearly once you are inside it. The Travelodge occupies the first floor, is the only business up there, and is visible from every direction the moment you come up from the car park. The problem, as with the Plough & Harrow, is arriving in the first place.
The car park entrance is off Ladywood Middleway, a busy dual carriageway. Miss the entrance, and you face a series of very busy roundabouts to loop back. Sat nav is not optional here, it is the difference between arriving calmly and spending 15 frustrated minutes re-approaching the same junction. Once inside the car park, the experience improves significantly. Clear signage, 1,300 spaces, and the hotel is immediately obvious on the first floor.
There is a further quirk nobody puts in the booking confirmation: the hotel is on the first floor, accessible via stairs or a small dedicated lift. With light bags, it is fine. With three suitcases on a rainy evening, it requires patience. The lift is exclusively for hotel use, which helps, but it is small.
By taxi, ask to be dropped on Francis Road rather than Ladywood Middleway. Francis Road is quiet and puts you a short, manageable walk from the plaza entrance. Five Ways station is 12 minutes on foot, slightly easier than the Plough & Harrow equivalent.
The verdict: Both hotels have a genuinely tricky approach. The Travelodge is fractionally better by foot from Five Ways; the Plough & Harrow is fractionally better by taxi with its clean drop-off. By car, both require full sat nav attention. It is a draw, with the Travelodge edging it for drivers thanks to the sheer volume of parking available once you are inside.
The Location Trade-Off
Best Western Plough & Harrow- Broad Street under 10 minutes on foot, the ICC and Arena Birmingham within easy walking distance
- West Midlands Metro tram stop minutes away, direct, traffic-free connection into Birmingham city centre
- Five Ways station 15 minutes on foot, one stop to New Street
- Edgbaston private medical corridor and Queen Elizabeth Hospital accessible without a lengthy journey
- University of Birmingham reachable without a taxi
- Chamberlain Gardens two minutes away for dog walking or a brief escape
- No neighbourhood character, Hagley Road is a commercial arterial road, not a destination
- Not safe for late-night walks back from Broad Street, taxi required after dark
- Cinema, bowling, climbing, and crazy golf literally in the same complex, no travel needed with kids
- Broad Street five minutes from Five Ways, access to Birmingham's nightlife strip
- Sits just outside Birmingham's Clean Air Zone, saves the £8 daily CAZ charge for drivers
- ICC and Utilita Arena approximately 20 minutes on foot
- Edgbaston Village tram stop eight minutes away, connects into the city centre
- Five Ways station 12 minutes on foot
- No real neighbourhood, a purpose-built leisure complex on a dual carriageway
- 30 minutes from New Street on foot, not walkable with luggage
Location winner: Best Western Plough & Harrow. It is closer to Broad Street, the ICC, and the tram, and better connected overall for anyone wanting to move around Birmingham on foot or by public transport.
The Parking Reality
This is where the Travelodge makes its clearest case. Broadway Plaza has over 1,300 spaces in its on-site car park, accessed off Ladywood Middleway. You will almost always find a space. The hotel sits just outside Birmingham's Clean Air Zone, which saves drivers the £8 daily CAZ charge, and because the CAZ runs midnight to midnight, an overnight stay inside the zone would incur two days of charges. The Travelodge avoids this entirely.
The Best Western Plough & Harrow has approximately 40 on-site spaces, and parking is paid. For a hotel with 40 spaces on a busy Hagley Road site, availability can be tight. The entrance is the other issue, a tricky turn off a three-lane road that rewards only careful, prepared drivers.
Parking winner: Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza. It is not even close. Over 1,300 spaces versus approximately 40, no CAZ exposure, and a car park you can navigate once you are safely inside the complex. Drivers should book the Travelodge.
The Price Reality
The Travelodge sits firmly in the budget (£) bracket. The Best Western Plough & Harrow is a step above at mid-range (££). In raw nightly rate terms, the Travelodge will almost always be cheaper.
But the real cost calculation is more nuanced. The Plough & Harrow's closer proximity to Broad Street and the ICC may save on taxis over a two-night stay, the Travelodge's 20-minute walk to those venues makes taxis more likely, and those fares add up. Conversely, the Travelodge's CAZ advantage and the volume of free-to-enter plaza entertainment can offset its lower room rates further if you are on a family trip.
Price winner: Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza, lower nightly rate, CAZ saving for drivers, and on-site entertainment that reduces the need to spend elsewhere.
The Use-Case Verdicts
For Families with ChildrenWinner: Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza
This is not a close call. An Odeon Luxe, Hollywood Bowl, Rock Up climbing, and Mr. Mulligans crazy golf are all within the same complex. The plaza deals, adults paying children's prices at the Odeon, family-of-four climbing packages, free kids' meals on Thursdays at Rock Up, make it genuinely budget-friendly for a full day of entertainment. The Plough & Harrow simply cannot compete with this proposition for families.
For a Night Out on Broad StreetWinner: Best Western Plough & Harrow
The Plough & Harrow is under 10 minutes on foot from Broad Street. The Travelodge requires a five-minute walk to Five Ways and then the street begins, fine in the evening, but meaningfully further at 2am after a big night. For a Broad Street-focused stay, proximity wins and the Plough & Harrow has it.
For Business Travel at the ICC or Utilita ArenaWinner: Best Western Plough & Harrow
The ICC and Utilita Arena are under 10 minutes on foot from the Plough & Harrow via Broad Street. From the Travelodge, it is a 20-minute walk. For a multi-day conference or event, that daily difference in travel time and taxi cost adds up. The Plough & Harrow is the business address for the ICC corridor.
For Drivers Attending Events or Exploring the Wider RegionWinner: Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza
Over 1,300 parking spaces, ring-road access in every direction, and a location just outside the Clean Air Zone. For a driver using Birmingham as a regional base, this is the smarter choice by some distance. The Plough & Harrow's 40-space car park and tricky entrance are a genuine deterrent for anyone arriving by car.
For a Romantic WeekendWinner: Neither
A three-lane arterial road with traffic noise until midnight is not romantic. A bowling alley and fast food outlets underneath your room are not romantic either. Both hotels will disappoint couples looking for a city-break atmosphere. Look at hotels in Brindleyplace or closer to the Colmore Business District instead.
For Dog OwnersWinner: Draw
Both hotels have Chamberlain Gardens within reasonable reach, two minutes from the Plough & Harrow, eight minutes from the Travelodge. The Plough & Harrow is closer, but both routes cross only one minor road before reaching green walking space. Edgbaston Reservoir is a 20-minute walk from the Plough & Harrow for a longer run. Confirm the pet policy directly with the Travelodge before booking.
For University of Birmingham GraduationWinner: Best Western Plough & Harrow
The Plough & Harrow is the more practical choice for graduation visitors, better connected to the University of Birmingham, closer to Birmingham's central venues, and a more characterful setting for a special occasion. Neither hotel is a luxury graduation destination, but the Plough & Harrow is the more appropriate base for the occasion.
For Budget Travellers Without a CarWinner: Best Western Plough & Harrow
Without a car, the Travelodge's strongest advantage, its parking, disappears. The Plough & Harrow's tram access, closer Broad Street proximity, and better walkability to Birmingham's key venues make it the more sensible choice for anyone arriving by public transport on a tight budget, even at the slightly higher ££ price point.
The Hero Verdict
These two hotels are serving two fundamentally different Birmingham travellers, and the honest advice is to identify which one you are before you book rather than after.
The Best Western Plough & Harrow is a functional base with a striking building, decent public transport links, and genuine walking access to Broad Street and the ICC. Its weaknesses are real, road noise, a tricky entrance, limited parking, and a street environment with no charm whatsoever, but for the right trip, none of those weaknesses are dealbreakers. It earns its place as the better-connected choice for anyone without a car who needs to move around Birmingham.
The Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza is a different proposition entirely. It is not trying to be a city-centre hotel. It is a budget base inside a leisure complex, optimised for families with kids, drivers who need parking without CAZ stress, and budget-conscious travellers who do not mind trading location for value and on-site entertainment. It delivers exactly what it promises, and on its own terms it delivers it well.
Book Best Western Plough & Harrow if:
- You are arriving by train or tram and want walkable access to Broad Street and the ICC
- You are attending a conference or event at the ICC or Utilita Arena over multiple days
- You want to use the West Midlands Metro tram as your primary way of moving around Birmingham
- You are visiting the University of Birmingham or the Edgbaston medical corridor
- You are on a night out on Broad Street and want to walk back rather than rely on a late taxi
- You want a mid-range hotel with more character than a standard budget chain
Book Travelodge Birmingham Central Broadway Plaza if:
- You are driving and need guaranteed, plentiful parking without CAZ charges
- You are on a family trip and want cinema, bowling, and climbing on your doorstep
- You are on the tightest possible budget and want to minimise the nightly room rate
- You are using Birmingham as a regional base and need easy ring-road access in multiple directions
- You are attending an event at the ICC or Utilita Arena and plan to taxi between hotel and venue
- You have no particular reason to be in walking distance of the city centre
The Bottom Line: The Plough & Harrow is the better hotel for anyone without a car. The Travelodge is the better hotel for anyone with one. If you are still undecided, ask yourself one question: am I driving? Your answer tells you which hotel to book.
