IET: Birmingham: Austin Court

Attended a conference here July 2025. Staff very friendly, all very clean and efficient etc. BUT sorely disappointed with the accessibility, lifts very small and therefore not really an option to wait for with tight turnarounds. Only five chairs provided during lunch/coffee breaks which when suffering from a long term health condition which causes fatigue is really disappointing. I was left feeling so unwell on day 1 I ended up having to leave early and go back to my hotel to sleep so I would be able to attend any of day 2, this would have been helped by being able to have somewhere to sit down while eating, or a quiet space to escape to. Simple things like having arms on chairs would also help this - even having some chairs available with arms so you aren’t having to hold yourself up the whole time whilst sitting in lecture halls. Lots of split venues up and down stairs so constant climbing up and down stairs (or waiting for the lifts). Food was “alright” - it had been massively oversold, we were told the conference had returned to this venue based on overwhelming positive feedback two years previously, however the food was just basic, the venue used last year was much better in this regard and in terms of accessibility. All in all it was an “ok” venue but I wouldn’t rave over it.