Having booked the Leicester Venue at the Empire Hall we were looking forward to our evening. We…read morewere emailed constantly about pre-booking drinks prior to the evening along with the fun casino money to avoid queues and to offer savings on drinks. We took advantage of this but warn future guests not to Unless you want to lose out. we were charged for the cloakroom upon arrival too - having been at Athena the week prior we didn't expect to have to pay £3 each for this on top of our £90+ tickets. We paid extra for VIP tickets which didn't give us anything other being closer to the entertainment and the drinks table service. Not worth the extra 20 quid cost each at all The drinks were served in plastic tumblers with no ice and the mixers were large cheap plastic bottled versions. The best bit though was that they COST US £1.85 MORE BY PRE- ORDERING THEM !!!!! so by pre ordering our drinks we were overcharged by £18.75 ! We were only able to use 25% of the casino money as there was one black jack table so couldn't get close until near the end so had to give the unused money back the food was very good. the music was too loud initially with the tables vibrating and the entertainment was ok. We emailed after the event to ask for a refund on the drinks and casino money and was told that they don't do refunds - they also said that had we drank something else other than spirits like bottled ale we wouldn't have overpaid as they were more expensive than the vouchers - by 5p. The fact spirits and mixers were so much cheaper (because they were using cheap mixers) we would have been happy if it was proper tonic in proper glasses with ice - would have paid double for that! We were also told we were given too much fun money to enjoy so should be happy with that (This would have been ok if we could have used it but didnt have time to) The venue was lovely but the company skimped on the drinks and entertainment and was clearly more interested in wringing the extra out of guests while offering a drinks service best suited to a school disco (obvs without the alcohol). I think their customer services leave much to be desired and so I urge those of you looking for a professional Christmas Party next year - book at Athena ! But if you do decide to book here -DONT PREORDER YOUR DRINKS ! I have emailed again but I am now being ignored - clearly this company is comfortable treating its customers poorly and basically I would have been fine if I drank Brown Ale - otherwise sucks to be me ! I was so looking forward to this event and was sorely disappointed in how amateurish it was compared to Athena - which I thought would be the poorer of the two but how wrong I was. Athena wins hands down ! Quality, comfort, entertainment, venue, drinks and great customer services

The Regency Banqueting Suite is a brand new venue, it's modern features make it an amazing space…read morefor a Christmas Party, it's one of central Birmingham's largest dedicated dining and events venues, catering for between 300 and 1000 guests.

Dream Cakes are a lovely little independent business that makes everything themselves, from the…read morecakes to the icing, the staff are highly talented and creative. They make amazing little characters and people look-a-likes out of icing to suit every occasion. The shop is full of photographs of previous creations, revealing exactly how the store owners can capture people's imaginations. I've been in there to get a cake made from my Grandad's 90th Birthday, and they developed an amazing little figure of my Grandad doing his gardening. Additionally, you can choose exactly what type of cake you want, so you don't have to stick to the typical sponge. I bought fruitcake for my Grandad, which was then decorated accordingly. By the time it's decorated, you really feel bad eating this piece of artwork, but obviously, the freshness and flavour tastes as good as it looks. By far the greatest cake makers in Birmingham, Dream Cakes are well worth a visit, especially if you want to make someone's birthday that little bit more special.

This place is absolutely wonderful! The cake tasted as amazing as it looked!! Definitely recommend!…read moreX

We booked Mahirs for my wedding. They couldn't have been more helpful right from the start. They…read moregave us excellent advice, they were very easy to work with, and we felt confident that Harvir and the team were going to provide us with a good service. On the day, everything ran smoothly, the food was excellent and the whole team were very professional. My friends and family still talk about how great the food was to this day! I would definitely recommend Mahirs

I am definitely a fan of Mahirs. We booked them for the catering at our wedding after a tasting…read moresession. The food was all freshly prepared at the venue and the waiter staff were well mannered and helpful. The only reason I did not go the full five stars is because I there were some guests that had to wait for starters and some only received a part of what was on the menu. This may have had more to do with the emergence of unexpected guests but I can only hope that Steve and the crew think about this possibility going forward. Would recommend them without a second thought.

Now.....who doesn't like sweets??? I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't completely fall…read morein love with this place. Based on the traditional sweet shops of the past Mr Chill's has every sweet that you can imagine! The shelves here are literally packed full of traditional sweets in large jars that literally go from floor to ceiling. The hardest part of a visit here is deciding what to have....after much deliberation I went for a quarter of sherbet strawberries. Such a classic! The shop itself is located on the edge of the Arcadian and is very easy to find but a word of warning, it does seem to have limited opening hours. Be sure to have a check if its going to be open before you head down to have your sweet craving satisfied!

I love a good old-fashioned sweet shop. Mr Chill's is an authentic 1930s sweet shop that is part of…read morethe historic National Trust Birmingham Back to Back houses. Stepping inside is like stepping back in time. The dark wood counter is laden with all sorts of tooth-rotting fun, like gobstoppers, licorice whips and sherbet fountains. The shelves behind heave under the weight of giant jars of boiled sweets. Some old-style sweet shops tend to feel rather fake and forced, but the historical setting of Mr Chill's and the authentic interior make it all seem real. It must be said that the sweet prices are far from old fashioned, with a 100g setting you back about £1.20. Best get saving that pocket money!

Crowd Control Solutions are one of the UK's leading suppliers of barriers and ropes- ideal for…read morecrowd control at events, parties, festivals and nightclubs