Manchester - Some City Centre Hotels

Since I last wrote about the Manchester Premier Travel Lodge (GMEX) they’ve started on a significant upgrade to the hotel. On the outside it looks much the same, but a smartened up reception alongside the new restaurant (see separate entry) gives a far better image for the place. A new conference centre, not that I’ve ever used it, is advertised alongside the news that the first floor gym and fitness centre can be used at discounted rates for a monthly subscription. Fleetingly I did think about signing up for this facility but after a few more moments of consideration I decided, most emphatically that this wasn’t for me.

I’ve been a regular gust at this premier Travel Lodge over the last 9 months and it’s getting to the stage where almost all of the reception staff recognise me and know my room preference – a room at the back with a bath. I always request the bath because the rooms are slightly larger and the back of the hotel is much quieter than the front. The rates at the hotel do vary significantly depending on whether there are events in the City. Certainly if Manchester United are playing football "at home" or if there’s a large concert in the city then the price will be higher. However, the average seems to be coming in at £65 a night for the room – there’s no single supplement or additional payments required if you have multiple occupancy.

I’ve found all of the rooms extremely comfortable with a large double bed and a convertible sofa bed for a third person and the majority (always those with a bath) have a decent desked area with an office chair to allow work on a laptop. The hotel does have access to the internet (payable by the session) and although it’s not expensive I’ve always worked off line so I don’t know how fast a connection it offers.

In recent months they’ve changed all the TV’s to modern flat screens and with this has come a whole pile of cable TV stations – more than enough for a night’s entertainment. The rooms at the GMEX seem to be well insulated from sound and I’ve had very few nights when I’ve been disturbed. Indeed the hotel "promises" a good night’s sleep and asks that all guests respect others by being aware of their own noise. The receptionist will also say if there is a problem you should ring them and they’ll sort it out. As of this moment I’ve never had to ring them in the night. Although I did have a problem with a damaged kettle, which they sorted within 5 minutes of me ringing reception. I was quietly impressed!

In room facilities are still fairly basic with a hairdryer, T.V and tea / coffee making facilities. There’s a limited provision of tea and coffee but the hotel reception is always happy to give you extra supplies if you approach them. For a period of time they used to have extra supplies at the entrance to the lift, but alongside the upgrade of the hotel this service disappeared. Perhaps guests were using too much!

Once on your floor the entrance to the rooms’ corridor is controlled by your room-pass. An added level of security I’m sure but it can be a little bit frustrating as you fumble for the card and then have to re-access it when you get to your room. Although rooms have a non-smoking sign on them I suspect that this is a no-smoking hotel, as I haven’t yet seen a room without the prohibition sign on the door. That can only be a good thing as far as I’m concerned.

Over the months of my visiting this hotel I have always walked from the hotel to the station. It’s a 10-minute walk from Oxford Street, around 15 minutes from Picadilly. If you want to hop on a tram then a few strides will get you to the tram-stop in St Peter’s Square and there’s easy access from the hotel to numerous bus stops. A pleasant walk will take you to China Town and a mere twenty minutes away is the Curry Mile.

What better area to stay in with theatres, cinemas, restaurants and the City centre all a few minutes walk away from the hotel’s front door. It’s a straightforward no-nonsense hotel offering a good service at a reasonable price.

Since writing an earlier journal entry on the GMEX Premier Lodge, the hotel has completed a total refurbishment of its restaurant facilities making it a much more attractive place to eat in.

It had started off life as a utilitarian restaurant resembling a work’s canteen and although I’d eaten there before it was only at the end of a long day or in the morning to enjoy my "eat as much as you can breakfast." Somehow it seemed OK for early morning eating but it totally lacked ambience as an evening eatery. The building work seemed to take an age and I suffered having to walk down the road to a nearby hotel for my breakfast! However, they’ve "forced" an entrance to the restaurant from the hotel reception area so you no longer need to walk outside of the hotel to access the restaurant (a great improvement). It now seems fully integrated into the hotel rather than feeling like an adjunct.

I’d started my day early and it was almost 14 hours since the alarm clock had stirred me from my slumber so I was pleased to be able to catch the lift and then roll into the restaurant.

The restaurant now has a modern feel to it with a gentle relaxed ambience and as I waited at the "queuing desk" to be shown to my table I noted that the place was divided into small select seating areas with a range of different seats and seating configuration. Indeed it appeared small and intimate whereas in reality it’s a fairly roomy place. I chose to sit in a luxurious leather arm-chair and settled down with one of the restaurant’s complimentary newspapers and a pint of Boddington’s beer (a beer that was brewed in Manchester from the late 1700’s, but has recently been taken over by one of the larger brewers).

The waitress re-appeared to take my order but I needed to "buy a bit more time" because I’d distracted myself by reading the paper. So turning my attention to the menu I was pleased to see that the choice offered was quite comprehensive. I had no pre-conceived idea of what I wanted to eat so I read and re-read the menu before finally making my choice.

I have to declare that the menu doesn’t offer the greatest of choices but there is a range that I’m sure will satisfy most palates. They have a choice of starters or small dishes including meatballs, fajitas Thai fish cakes and mini fish and chips (a main course rather than a starter). I, however, decided I’m missing out on the starters and I’ll possibly pander to my sweet tooth later on in the evening (I’d spotted that they did Bread and Butter Pudding – one of my favourites).

But back to my main meal - the menu is divided into four : "from the grill"; "classics" (mainly lasagne, sausage and mash and the normal "pub grub); fish (which didn’t read awfully tempting); salads and vegetarian meals (interesting that they combine those two!)

There really was no contest and I selected the 8-ounce sirloin. It proved to be well cooked with a decent portion of chips and accompanying peas and tomato. I’d also selected a side portion of beer battered onion rings but the size of the portion was a wee bit disappointing. The service was good and efficient but the food although tasty was nothing special. Even the dessert was lacking a bit and that was a real let down!

Table-table is good enough for a quick standard dinner but I think in the future I’ll make the effort and check out the host of restaurants that lie around the City centre.

Having said that if you are staying at the G-Mex it is well worth taking the "all you can eat" breakfast option. There is plenty to go at and I haven’t yet tired of the choice and the opportunity to read on a free newspaper before setting off to work in the morning.

The Britannia is a Grade II listed building with a particularly grand entrance hall sporting a magnificent chandelier that would not be misplaced in the grandest of theatre auditorium. On checking in, with a decent internet deal, I was given a card to cash in for a complimentary bottle of house wine. I was expecting that the wine would only be given alongside an evening meal but I was told to take the voucher to the bar in order to redeem it for a bottle of house red or white. Having checked in I wandered back to the ground floor to claim my bottle of red. It was nothing special – an Italian that I decided would nicely accompany one of my homemade "special lasagnes" that I was planning to cook later on in the week. Indeed both my wife and I were pleasantly surprised with this fruity little number when we "cracked it open" the following Friday night. It was nothing special but there again it was not offensive and IT WAS FREE!

Checking in had been a bit of a challenge as I had great difficulty understanding the hotel receptionist and he volunteered little. Even asking for a receipt had been a task in itself, as he didn’t seem to understand me I could only catch every other word uttered by him. He mumbled and his accent was heavy and his command of English extremely limited – all of these speech qualities mitigate against him ever being a first class hotel receptionist in the U.K. Having made my payment and obtained a receipt my next task was to sort out where I should go for breakfast the following day. Why I did it I’m really not sure as after several minutes I was none the wiser and I decided to explore the hotel on my own. After all finding the breakfast hall couldn’t be that difficult!

Having achieved check in I climbed the grand balconied staircase to the first floor and strolled down the broad corridors to my bedroom, which was at the furthest point from the reception. The corridor walls were covered with pictures and period furniture dotted the length of the hall set amongst the original ornate pillars of this Victorian (1858) cotton Cash-and-Carry warehouse. This clearly is a grand building although it soon became clear that it had seen much better days – the paintwork is scuffed, the carpets threadbare in places and the bedroom (to be kind) is shabby chic. I have to say none of it was "offensive" and it wasn’t too hard to look through the shabbiness and just appreciate the decadent splendour of that impressive reception. Perhaps I’m being too kind. It was tatty, run down and I could clearly understand why the price for a night was so competitive (I mean cheap)!

The hotel is extremely well-placed - close to the tram terminus, bus station, Piccadilly station, China Town and Manchester’s Arndale Shopping Centre and although this makes it "handy" it also makes it very noisy. Indeed my room overlooked the bus station and I just knew that the noise of the buses would not abate until the wee small hours. Indeed the "paper thin" bedroom walls and inadequate secondary double-glazing ensured that I had one of my worst night’s sleep in a British hotel.

At one point in the early hours of the morning I was convinced that the next room were holding a rave and when the clock reached 1.30 a.m I did ring reception to ask them to intervene. They responded quickly and effectively and soon a silence descended on the room – although I did hear a lot of chuntering and the slamming of doors before some of the occupants left the room and the silence followed. Well, not quite as the predicted noise for the street outside prevailed. I reckon this place will be even noisier when the universities are back from their holidays and the students start their partying.

However, after my poor night’s sleep on a fairly lumpy single bed (with a posh, albeit very well worn "art noveau" headboard) I made my way down to the basement restaurant. Although the tables offered limited space (a bit too close to fellow diners for my comfort) the breakfast itself was superb. There was a great selection of fresh fruits, cold meats, salads and cereals (including a pot of porridge) for starters followed by an appetizing range of hot food. Making up my cooked breakfast was a challenge as I didn’t want to over-indulge (how wrong can I be) with fried bread, eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and fried sliced potatoes. But I still left room for croissants (rather than toast) with lashings of marmalade.

Do I forgive them my sleepless night? No! But it was a great breakfast!

Will I return to the Britannia Hotel – not in a month of Sundays!

I just fancied a change of venue and decided to try another well-known chain of hotels close to the City centre. The Hotel Ibis is on Portland Street near to China Town and when I booked in I just had to trust in the receptionist’s assurance that the back rooms were quiet. I confirmed that I wanted a back room and also checked out their cancellation policy. I was surprised that you could cancel up to 4.00pm on the day of your stay, but it’s real helpful if, like me, you’re travelling on business with the possibility that I could, at the last minute be re-directed to another site.

The hotel lobby is real spacious and light but it does also accommodate the restaurant, an internet access area, a significant information centre with leaflets and local papers, and a lounge area. Indeed in the late evening it looked more like a local drop-in centre rather than a hotel. The hotel doesn’t do "proper meals" but does offer a range of snacks that you can eat in the lobby area or take to your room. However, you’re so near a load of fine restaurants, snack bars and pubs that it really doesn’t matter.

I received a real warm welcome to the hotel and the receptionist seemed to recognise me from my pop-in call to book the room on the previous week. Either that or she was very good at giving the impression that she knew you. Whatever the case it was real impressive!

I’d asked for a quiet room when I’d booked the room and it was duly confirmed that I’d been allocated a room at the back. "These aren’t as light as the front of the hotel" she explained "but there’s no traffic noise". I happily agreed – light and bright wasn’t necessary, after all it was a hotel bedroom and its main function should be to give me a decent night’s sleep. I was on the first floor so a brief ride in the lift soon took me to my destination.

The functional corridors pointed me to the room and although I had some difficulty getting my swipe card to let me into the room (I momentarily thought it was faulty) I finally gained access. Indeed even after a couple of nights I never really got the hang of the plastic entrance card!

On first appearance the room seemed well equipped with a modern TV and an almost futuristic bathroom. However, on reflection the room was really quite basic. There was a kettle, a small selection of coffee and a tea bag, but no hairdryer. The water glasses were plastic - don’t you just hate that? Trying to catch up with the news was a complicated process as the TV was programmed to take you through numerous "pay options" before allowing you to view the terrestrial free channels. Still I wouldn’t be in the room long!

After a decent meal out I returned to what turned out to be a fairly noisy hotel bedroom. Nothing to do with traffic noise but everything to do with thin walls and poorly insulated corridors. The soundproofing was abysmal and I could clearly hear every footstep of everyone that passed my room.

After cursing the fabrication of the building I finally drifted to sleep and was only grateful that I’d set the alarm clock. A cooked breakfast is not an option at the Ibis and so I was unsure how much I’d enjoy the buffet in the uninspiring foyer / restaurant of the hotel. Needless to say with low expectations I was not to be disappointed. In fact I was pleasantly surprised.

There were a variety of foods on display ranging from cereal, cold meat, hard-boiled eggs, yoghurt, croissants and various breads. The coffee machine could be programmed to churn out cappuccinos, filter coffee, or drinking chocolate but having said that it was not untypical, in taste, to a standard mass-production coffee machine. In other words not the best tasting beverage to start off your day. However, generally the quality of the food was good and there was plenty of it. Indeed momentarily I heard myself thinking that it was a better breakfast than a full English. Needless to say I soon talked my way out of that and decided that if I was staying in a hotel the least I expected was a decent full-blown English to set me up for the day.

Overall the Ibis on Portland Street was an uninspiring chain hotel that did not encourage me to return. Ok for a night or two but generally noisey and fairly impersonal.

Just outside of China Town on Portland Street is a "bank of small pubs" that really demand a visit. Two of them are really tiny and on this first night I popped in to "The Grey Horse Inn". This is a tenanted pub owned and therefore stocked by Hyde Brewery, a small locally based brewer. The elderly barmaid was stood outside and seemed surprised that I was intent on entering the pub. "Welcome to the morgue" she greeted me, "it’s been quiet all night and you’re only my second customer since five o’clock." I was now almost nine and the pub was absolutely deserted. So I was not too surprised that she was surprised that I was going to have a drink in her pub.

The pub is a typical old world pub with an elaborate bar, beamed ceilings and banks of bench seating around the wall. There’s only one room but a small wall divider succeeds in creating an impression of private space. I was uncertain whether to try the Hyde’s original or go for their stronger seasonal ale called Eager Beaver, which at almost 5% is sure to have a bit of a kick. I was unsure and when offered a taster I happily accepted and was even more delighted when I was given almost half-a-pint of the cask ale. It was a "complex" tasting beer and I decided I’d go with the Holt Original – a much "meatier pint". However, I thought it would be churlish to leave the Eager beaver that had been offered freely to me!

This was a comfortable pub and I was not unhappy that it was quiet – I had time to catch up with the local and national news by scanning through the newspapers available for patrons to read.

The following night I was out for a pie and mash at "The Bank", a pub on Upper Mosely Street (see journal entitled "Manchester - a train ride away") with a work colleague and we decided to call in at the other two pubs on Portland Street. So having devoured one of their legendary pies we waddled down Charlotte Street onto Portland Road.

"The Circus Tavern" had a queue of people stood on the steps enjoying a pint on this beautiful barmy May night. The bar is the smallest I’ve ever seen and once we’d "fought our way through" we were disappointed to see that they were only serving one cask ale – Tetley. Now there’s nothing wrong with this brew but I regard it as somewhat pedestrian, ordinary and un-adventurous. It was well kept but I guess that the pint was made more attractive because of the ambiance of this petite pub. There’s the entrance corridor leading, within four strides from the pavement, to the tiny bar and then two small rooms (or snugs in bar lingo) off the corridor. If there were 30 or more people in the pub then it’s going to be crammed solid and as each "room" will accommodate no more than 10 people seated you’ll understand why drinkers will happily stand near to the bar.

Some people refer to it as Manchester’s hidden gem and it has two claims to fame: firstly it’s Manchester’s smallest pub and secondly it’s been frequented by a host of sporting and television celebratories and the walls are almost covered with photos of the stars. Unfortunately the cask ale isn’t the best in the world, but I enjoyed a pint of Tetley’s original in the packed and extremely popular little bar.

Having supped our pints at "the Circus" we decided to try out "The Old Monkey". There is literally a hop step and a jump between the two pubs and "the Monkey" is by far the largest of these three pubs. It’s a typical "spit and sawdust" establishment, which sells, exclusively, brews from the local Joseph Holt Brewery. This is a no-nonsense ale which is not in the least bit ostentatious and although it was perfectly drinkable it isn’t one that I’d rush back to experience. In fact the no-nonsense ale goes with this no-nonsense pub. There are bare boards on the floor and limited seating in this barn of a place and although there was a small group of visiting business-men (the suits gave it away!) generally "the monkey" seems more like a local’s pub.

It claims that on a Wednesday you can enjoy a range of moderately priced curries (£6 for a meal and a pint of ale). However, tonight was Wednesday and there was no evidence that anyone was partaking. Perhaps they’re not that good after all! Certainly the photographs in the flyer did do encourage me to even consider re-visiting for a bite to eat.

"The Old Monkey" does have a large upstairs function room / bar, but I’m presuming that this is only opened on busy nights. Certainly on the night of my visit the downstairs bar was fairly quiet and the was no movement from upstairs.

The staff in all three of these pubs were really welcoming and if you’re in the vicinity I’d recommend that you have a drink in each of them. It will be an experience and an insight into drinking establishment of the early 1900’s. Added to that the beer ain’t too bad either!!