The Mailbox

Mailbox Birmingham might not have the fame or crowds of the Bullring, but still, it is a pretty nice and cool addition to the Birmingham skyline, which opened at the end of 2000. The big red building which lights up at night is also pretty cool as it is also home to BBC Birmingham.

Many of the retailers here include designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Harvey Nichols so the shopping here has a selection of high-end brands, with the Harvey Nichols store being a new concept store which is probably my favourite branch in their network of stores.

The Worcester and Birmingham Canal passes along the back with a number of restaurants overlooking - this means many of the hotels have fantastic views of the canal, including outside restaurants including the likes of Caffe Rouge providing great views of the city in a nice relaxing environment, making it a great place to sit with a drink or some food. It is actually quite nice to wander off Holiday Street across the bridge to get into the mall, taking in the view of the canal where you can then turn right for The Cube or left for the Mailbox, as they are meters apart and do interlink. (The Cube does have better views of the city as a whole though with a 25th floor Marco Pierre White restauraunt!)

They also have a big screen here with seats, which they were using to broadcast tennis and I presume they use it for other big sporting events... if Birmingham ever had a football team who have the capability to play in a major game in the future that is.

The layout from the main mall into the outside part could be improved, it involves a series of steps or a curved ramp which is actually so close together, I wouldn't feel safe using either in the dark as it looks like an accident waiting to happen.

Also home to an independent cinema, this is a pretty cool place - not without its flaws including the lift situation where the Royal Mail lifts are all through a huge heavy door, not making them accessible to disabled people to the point where you come out of the lift, expecting to be going through a service entrance - the fact they still label restaurants which have been closed, some for a considerable length of time on their maps also adds confusion, frustration and disappointment which includes Gourmet Burger Kitchen which closed towards the end of 2018.

3*

The stretch maybe uncalled for but we can never get enough c-span. Do yourself some justice and stretch your imagination.

So I'm here all the time. It's so much nicer now the renovations are nearly complete, and everything is looking clean, bright, and shiny. The Urban Room area is now better utilised with the introduction of the Bardolino coffee and prosecco bar. I would like wifi then I'd be able to sit for a while with a drink and do some light work without the noise of a coffee shop around me. Though I imagine that the introduction of wifi would lead to this area being crowded by people from the nearby offices in The Cube using it as a free meeting space. So maybe not.
The bars and restaurants at the back of The Mailbox are always busy, but the shops much less so. Aside from Harvey Nichols being a bit of a regular haunt, the other stores don't really capture my attention. I pop by from time to time but the brands here don't draw me in. It would be lovely to see more of the retail units utilised, and it would be great to have some more boutique brands in here as well.
Security do sometimes come along and do something. Usually it means they don't want you to take photos. Despite the social media from The Mailbox saying that they would love to see our photos!