Audit Date: Sunday, 22 February 2026, approx. six weeks before the start of the convention.
Conducted by: SJ Groenewegen, Access Coordinator, with help from the committee and team.
Audit Framework: Eastercons Reconnect (2025), Levitation (2024) and Conversation (2023), with thanks to all those involved in preparing those prior audits and Eastercon members who have provided feedback.
Overview of Venue
The venue for Eastercon 2026: Iridescence is the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. It is located within the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) campus, near the M42 and connected to an international airport and train station.
Address: The NEC Birmingham, Pendigo Way, Birmingham, B40 1PP, United Kingdom.
Telephone number: (+44) 0121 780 4242
Transportation and Accessibility
Please refer to the Eastercon 2026: Iridescence Travel Guide for general information about transport to and from the convention.
Airport: Birmingham International Airport (BHX) is adjacent to the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) campus, where the hotel is located. Pedestrian access from the airport, past the train station, through the NEC to the venue hotel, which is mostly flat, or has ramps, and lifts. To note that when the NEC is hosting a function, security checks may be in operation. The NEC is open from 6am to midnight daily and is available to walk through whatever event is on.
Train Services: Birmingham International train station is located between Birmingham International Airport and the NEC campus, where the hotel is situated. When exiting the train station to the NEC, turn right.
Taxi Services: the hotel has a drop off point directly outside its main entrance. Numerous taxi services operate in the Birmingham area, including the train station and airport to the hotel. Advice is to check when hiring about their suitability for wheel chairs, mobility scooters, etc.
Car Parking: the hotel has its own parking area, which is large and flat. Blue Badge parking is available at the hotel, but it is not free or discounted further from the reduced rate secured by the convention. The convention’s reduced rate for parking is £14 per night. This can be paid in advance via the link sent to convention members by email. It can be paid closer to the time or at any point during your stay. There will be QR codes distributed around the venue.
Hilton Birmingham Metropole Accessibility Features
AccessAble report: https://www.accessable.co.uk/hilton/access-guides/hilton-birmingham-metropole
Entrances: the hotel has three entrances, all of which are flat and have automatic doors.
The main entrance is located from the carpark and leads directly to the hotel lobby through a large double doorway.
A second entrance, to the left of the main entrance from the carpark, goes to the south wing, also known as the Monarch Suite, of the hotel where Eastercon 2026: Irisidescence has programme rooms and is labelled LivingWell Health Clubs.
To note: over Easter there is another convention being held – HaruhiCon – in the Monarch Suite.
Opposite the Monarch Suite entrance is the NEC entrance, which caters for pedestrians coming to the hotel from the NEC, train station and airport.
Check-in: Check-in to the hotel is in the lobby and slightly to the right from the main entrance. There is a specific low desk at the concierge station around the corner from registration. There is seating in the lobby area, but at busy times there might not be enough seating for people with limited mobility.
Bathrooms in public areas: There are numerous toilets for disabled (gender neutral), female and male guests in the ground floor area used by the convention. In one set of female and male bathrooms in the middle of the hotel there are steps. All of the other bathrooms have flat access.
Function Rooms: The majority of the function rooms are on the ground floor and these will be used by Eastercon 2026: Iridescence for programme items, art show, dealers’ room, and social spaces. The Pavilion room is situated next to the indoor swimming pool and chlorine can be smelled from inside the function room. The corridors are wide with a hard surface. The function rooms tend to have a short pile carpet. Door widths are suitable for access with mobility scooter/wheelchairs, although it is noted that where there are two doors, both should be unlocked and may need to be propped open to facilitate access.
Corridors: There are two main corridors that join the hotel lobby and main bar to the south wing where Eastercon 2026: Iridescence will be running programme items. The corridor on the NEC side (from lobby to Art Show, Dealers, Arden, Balmoral and Sandringham function rooms) contains two sets of four steps after Arden, one set of which has a steep ramp and a folding seat lift but the opposite set of steps do not. The hotel can install a second ramp for those steps. There is a narrow corridor (about one metre wide) that links this corridor to the carpark side (from lobby to the Monarch suite) corridor. It is recommended that wheelchair and mobility scooter users use the carpark side corridor to access the Balmoral and Sandringham function rooms.
Bars and Restaurants: The Hilton no longer accepts cash payments at any of their food and drink venues. Payments are card-only. Hilton bar and restaurant staff members will ask guests if they have any allergies.
The Hilton hotel accommodates food allergies that are included in the 14 allergens [https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-allergy-and-intolerance] that are required to be declared as allergens by food law. These include: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
To the left of the main entrance and lobby area is a coffee shop (Gild to Go) and the lounge bar. The coffee shop is a small serving kiosk with a variety of hot and cold drinks and snacks.
The Lounge bar area has two entrance points on this side. The direct route to the serving point is up three steps, which is wide and has bannisters on both sides. The second entry, left of the stairs, is flat and has no steps. This leads immediately to tables and chairs, but if you go to the back of this section there is a ramp with a gentle incline which takes you to the serving point and the raised area of seats. This ramped route is not immediately obvious from the hotel entrance. The chairs in the Lounge bar are mostly mobile with some bench seating against the walls, chairs can be arranged to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. This does mean that they could block access routes if not arranged with care. Some of the tables are different heights, with chairs or bar stools. The serving bar itself is quite high and could be difficult for people in wheelchairs. The bar can also be accessed from the back, as if coming from the swimming pool, this has a ramp and a stepped route close together.
Brightsmith bar, which overlooks the lake, is smaller and usually quieter than the Lounge bar. Seating and tables are similar to those in the Lounge bar.
Eastercon 2026: Iridescence will be using Arden for a social space where food brought from elsewhere can be consumed. It is an enclosed space so it would be best if nuts were not consumed here. Also, it is recommended that the air quality be monitored and crowds controlled. The doors to this room from the NEC side are narrower than most of the function rooms and are likely to prove difficult for wider wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
Breakfast: There is a buffet style breakfast in the Arbor on the ground floor. Reception to the Arbor will ask guests if they have any allergies. It is a choose your own table system. The Arbor has movable tables and chairs, which has the benefit of being able to accommodate people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters, but may also mean blocked access routes if care is not taken.
Over Easter, the Arbor is open to hotel guests from 7am to 11am. (Weekday times for days that are not Bank Holidays are 6:30am to 10am).
Event-Specific Information
Programme Rooms: Each room used for programme items can be configured according to the convention needs.
Dealers’ Room: While it is a spacious room, it is recommended that the air quality be monitored and crowds controlled.
Streaming and Online Content: Programme items will be streamed from the convention, and a Discord server will be available for online participation, contingent on volunteer support.
Near the Convention Hotel
Outdoor spaces: The hotel is part of a resort space around a lake. There is a small garden and open grassed space with a few picnic tables. Part of the area closest to the hotel alongside the lake is being converted to a glamping site and was under construction at the time of the audit. There is no children’s playground in this area.
Alternative Bars and Restaurants: A variety of mostly chain restaurants are a short distance (less than 0.5 miles) away in Resorts World Birmingham (https://www.resortsworldbirmingham.co.uk/), around the lake. The path to and from the hotel/Resorts World is a hard-surface and while not completely flat is accessible for wheelchairs and mobility aides. Restaurants include Zizzi’s, Five Guys, Nando’s, TGI Fridays, Las Iguanas, Pizza Express, Karaage, Vietnamese Street Kitchen, Costa Coffee, and others. Booking is suggested as these can be busy.
General shops or supermarkets: There are none within easy walking distance of the venue. A small WH Smiths outlet is located in Resorts World Birmingham and a small Londis shop is located in the NEC.
Contact Information and Further Inquiries
If you have any questions or require further information, please contact us at access@eastercon2026.org