IT HAD been a nightmare journey. Two trains were (inexplicably) cancelled. A man munching on a takeaway burger regaled me at length on his bad day. He was followed by a tramp who sat next to me at Milton Keynes and announced: “I stink, I do. I'll admit that.” (He did, too.)

“Those university f******,” he added loudly, pointing at people a few rows away, “they should go back to university and then I'll teach them!” With this pronouncement, he began singing New York, New York.

By Birmingham, I was frayed and in need of more than a little cool (my neighbour had turned to Elvis and started pretending to type on “my invisible computer... can't you see I'm pressing the buttons?”).

So it was lucky I had a room at Staying Cool. The name seemed to work immediately. The Rotunda, once an office block, may be known for the IRA bombs that claimed 21 lives here in 1974, but the 25-storey circular tower dating from the Sixties has just been transformed into hip serviced apartments, with two floors - the 19th and 20th - available for rent by the night.

Staying Cool, Birmingham

Mystery Guest finds a dream apartment in these trendy Brummy pads

BACKGROUND

• Malmaison Birmingham

• Simpsons, Edgbaston, Birmingham

• Nitenite, Holliday Street, Birmingham

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It's quite a place. After a short walk from the station, past fashion shops and a passageway to Selfridges, an automatic door leads to a thin, minimalist hallway with spiky red lights hanging from a high ceiling and a desk, where I was handed my key by a concierge (my only contact with a member of staff).

Beyond a lime-green 19th-floor lobby, my room was indeed “shaped like a Trivial Pursuit-style wedge”, as the website promised. It was also slick in a “contemporary cool with swinging Sixties style” - the product of Urban Splash, the increasingly well-known city centre “reinvigorators”, and the design-conscious Staying Cool team, which has already opened successful Manchester apartments.

There was a neat kitchen, an espresso machine with free coffee, a juicer (free oranges) and a fridge stocked with smoked salmon, fresh fruit and bagels (you can make food requests when booking and pay for these, as I had). There were also orange and pink ice-cream-scoop chairs, angular lights (chosen by the designer Tom Dixon), an Apple computer, an iPod station, free wi-fi,and a smart chaise longue.

Everything seemed functional and well planned, as if I really was in a dream flat. There was plenty of room and a large, comfortable bed behind a partition. But it was the views that were the clincher. I never imagined that Birmingham could appear beautiful until I looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows at a pink evening sky spread out beyond a cityscape of Bullring shops, Selfridges, St Martin's steeple, towers blocks and parks.

I sipped my mint tea (free), read Wallpaper* (free), and thought: why can't all city stays be as cool as this?

Bottom line Mystery Guest paid £129 for a double apartment

Sampling the fare £12 for smoked salmon, bagels and fruit

Best thing Coolness

Worst thing No bathtub

Need to know Staying Cool (0121-643 0815, www.stayingcool.com), 150 New Street, Birmingham B2 4BA

Room 9.5 out of 10

Food 7.5 out of 10

Service 7 out of 10

Value 9 out of 10

Score 8.25

PUT TO THE TEST: 20 Mystery Guest questions for... Staying Cool

1. Do rooms have kettles/coffee makers? And is there fresh milk?

Yes.

2. Is there a hairdryer, and is it fixed to a wall?

Handheld hairdryer.

3. Are coathangers metal, wooden, removable?

Wooden and removable.

4. Complimentary bottle of water?

No.

5. Sheets and blankets or duvets?

Sheets and duvets.

6. What about a 'pillow menu'?

No.

7. Is lighting good enough for reading?

Yes.

8. Is there a shaving/make up mirror? And is it well lit?

No magnified mirrors, but room well-lit.

9. What about the in-room entertainment system?

Sky TV. Screen can be used as a mini-Mac computer.

10. Is there a temperature control panel?

No.

11. Do the windows open?

Yes.

12. Is there good sound-proofing?

Yes.

13. Is there wi-fi internet access?

Free wi-fi.

14. Is there a good place to go jogging nearby?

Not really, but guests can use a nearby gym.

15. What is the vegetarian food selection like?

You can order in any food you like.

16. Is there baby listening/babysitting? And are children welcome at adults’ evening meals?

No.

17. Is there wheelchair access to all areas?

Yes.

18. Do you get a free paper in the morning?

No.

19. Is there a pub round the corner?

Yes, several.

20. Is there free car parking? And is it secure?

Parking available at the Bullring car park for £16 for 24 hours.

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