The concrete clad and steel joist structure was originally an office building known as the Chamberlain Tower. Construction commenced in 1974 and was completed the following year, to a design by Ian Fraser of John Roberts & Partners.[2] It is one of the tallest buildings on Broad Street and forms a prominent part of the city skyline when viewed from the south. It is an example of Brutalist architecture in Birmingham; other examples being Birmingham Central Library and New Street Station Signal Box.[3]
The building was converted to a hotel in 1998, at a cost of £12.5m, and opened as the Chamberlain Tower Hotel on 1 February 1999.[4][5][6][7] The hotel has 445 rooms, making it one of the largest hotels in Birmingham.[8] On the ground floor is a pub and a restaurant. It was bought by the Jurys Inns hotel chain in 2001 for £42 million and renamed Jurys Inn Birmingham.[9] In April 2022, the Fattal Hotel Group announced that all Jurys Inn Hotels would be rebranded as Leonardo Hotels,[10] and after renovation and refurbishment the hotel was renamed Leonardo Royal Hotel Birmingham on 19 December 2022.[11][12]
↑Checking in for tower power; Lisa Piddington looks at plans for Birmingham's newest hotel, which is promising to be a tower of strength to the business community, Birmingham Post, December 2, 1998
↑Birmingham's largest hotel, The Birmingham Post, February 2, 1999
↑New life for old offices, Birmingham Evening Mail, November 18, 1998
