Best with parking
Genting Hotel
Solihull and the NEC
7.9 miles from the city centre
Best for: early flights (1.3 miles from the terminal) and NEC exhibitions (0.23 miles from the halls)
8.7/104,025 reviewsUpper mid-range
Birmingham area
Hotels in Solihull and around the NEC
The Solihull and NEC corridor compared: built for cars and air travel, on the rail line into Birmingham, and the overflow when the centre fills.
This corridor works differently from the rest of the selection. It runs from Marston Green and the airport, through the NEC and Resorts World complex, out to Solihull town centre, and it exists to serve exhibitions, flights and business travel rather than city breaks.
Everything here assumes a car or a plane. Hotels have car parks, the road network is the primary access, and the walkable amenity around most properties is limited. What you get in return is proximity to the NEC and the airport, and rates that are frequently lower than the centre on nights when no show is on.
Who this area suits
Best for
- NEC exhibitions and conferences, especially multi-day ones
- early flights from Birmingham Airport
- arriving by car, since parking is standard rather than scarce
- Resorts World events on the same complex
Less suitable if
- a Birmingham city break, which this corridor does not serve well
- travellers without a car outside the immediate airport and station area
- anyone who wants to walk to dinner from the hotel
The trade-off
Access to the NEC and the airport is excellent and parking is a given. In exchange you are eight miles from the city centre, and the evening options near most of these hotels are limited.
Where they are
The hotels on a map
Solihull and around the NECHotels on this pageRailway stations
Roads, canals, parks and stations are drawn from OpenStreetMap. Hotels are plotted from their own coordinates.
Editorial picks
Where to stay in this area
Each pick names the situation it suits. A hotel that is right for one trip is usually wrong for another.
Best value here
ibis Birmingham Airport - NEC
Solihull and the NEC
7.3 miles from the city centre
Best for: early flights (0.73 miles from the terminal) and NEC exhibitions (0.54 miles from the halls)
8.1/107,880 reviewsLower mid-range
Novotel Birmingham Airport
Solihull and the NEC
7.3 miles from the city centre
Best for: early flights (0.70 miles from the terminal) and NEC exhibitions (0.58 miles from the halls)
8.3/104,326 reviewsMid-range
Compare
Every property here in our selection
Scroll the table sideways on a small screen. Tap a column heading to sort.
| Hotel | Stay type | Walk to New StreetStraight-line distance between coordinates, converted to an indicative walking time with an allowance for street routing. It is for comparing these hotels against each other, not a measured route. | ParkingWhat we could establish about parking. A blank means we did not establish it, not that there is none. | Price bandThe band this property normally sits in according to listing data. Not a live rate and not a quote for your dates. | Review scoreReview score with the number of reviews it is based on, because a high score from a handful of reviews is a weaker signal. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Novotel Birmingham Airport | hotel | 7.3 milestoo far to walk | Not established | Mid-range | |
 Crowne Plaza Birmingham Nec by IHG | hotel | 8.0 milestoo far to walk | Own car park, charged | Mid-range | |
 Genting Hotel | hotel | 7.9 milestoo far to walk | Own car park, charged | Upper mid-range | |
 ibis Birmingham Airport - NEC | hotel | 7.3 milestoo far to walk | Not established | Lower mid-range | |
| Premier Inn Birmingham NEC Airport hotel | hotel | 7.5 milestoo far to walk | Own car park, reported at £15 per 24 hoursReported £15 | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| Hilton Birmingham Metropole | hotel | 8.0 milestoo far to walk | Own car park, charged | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| voco St. John's Solihull by IHGSolihull town centre | hotel | 6.5 milestoo far to walk | Own car park | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| Moxy Birmingham NEC and Airport | hotel | 7.8 milestoo far to walk | Nearby parking, not the hotel's own | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| The White LionHampton in Arden, Solihull | guest house | 9.1 milestoo far to walk | Own car park | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| The Tri-Star Hotel | hotel | 6.8 milestoo far to walk | Own car park, reported free | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| Leaded Light Guest HouseHampton in Arden, Solihull | guest house | 5.2 milestoo far to walk | Own car park, reported free | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
| Gayton B&BMarston Green, Solihull | guest house | 9.1 milestoo far to walk | Not established | No price band listed | No Booking review score |
Distances are straight-line, calculated from each property's own coordinates. Walking times are derived from those distances with an allowance for street routing, so treat them as indicative for comparing hotels against each other rather than as measured route times.
Thumbnails show the nearest landmark or the area each property sits in, never the property itself. We hold no licensed photograph of these hotels and we do not generate one.
A dash means we could not establish that detail, not that the answer is no. We leave it open rather than guess.
Practical details checked: September 2026
Getting in and out
Birmingham International station is the hinge. It connects to the airport terminal by the free Air-Rail Link people mover, to the NEC halls by a covered walkway, and to Birmingham New Street by frequent trains. A hotel within reach of that station is effectively within reach of all three.
Solihull town centre has its own station on the Chiltern line and a different character: a proper town centre with shops and restaurants, about fifteen minutes' drive from the NEC.
If this area does not work
When the NEC corridor fills for a large exhibition, the city centre is the overflow rather than the other way round, and the train makes it workable. In the opposite direction, Sutton Coldfield offers a quieter alternative with a similar car-first character.
Common questions
Is Solihull a good base for visiting Birmingham?
Only if you are here for the NEC, the airport or Solihull itself. For a Birmingham city break it adds a commute to every day with no compensating advantage.
How far is the NEC from Birmingham city centre?
About eight miles east. The train from New Street to Birmingham International is the practical link, and the halls are a covered walk from that station.
Are NEC hotels cheaper than the city centre?
Often, on nights with no exhibition on. During a large show the pattern reverses sharply and the centre becomes the cheaper option.
Can I stay in Solihull and get to the airport easily?
From the eastern part of the corridor, yes. Properties near Birmingham International are a people mover ride from the terminal. From Solihull town centre it is a short drive or a taxi.
Does this area work without a car?
Around Birmingham International station and the airport, yes. Elsewhere in the corridor it is difficult, and several properties have very little within walking distance.
