Having almost a year going to the same group of hotels I decided the time was right for a change. A colleague had told me about
laterooms and I’d checked it out as a site. It looked good to me as it was showing a number of expensive hotels at highly competitive prices. I was spoilt for choice but as I recognised The Princess on Portland Street as a hotel close to my normal one I decided to give this one a go.

I have popped into the reception of this hotel on a previous occasion and having been told the price I had decided not to book myself in, because although I’m staying on expenses I feel I have to get the best deal for me and my company. The booking was easy and I’d opted for a single night stay in this 4 star hotel and was pleased that when I arrived everything was in order. I asked if I could be booked into a quiet room and was given an executive room on the fifth floor. The carpet in the lift looked a bit worse for wear and I was beginning to wonder if booking into this old cotton mill had been wise, but as I left the elevator on the fifth I entered a large square landing with 4 rooms off it. Mine was one of them and this looked OK. On the landing was a couple of small sofas and although the red carpet was looking a bit tired this was generally a welcoming sight.

The entry card into my room worked on the first attempt and a large well-decorated room awaited me. There were two queen-sized beds in the room (I can only sleep in one of them!), a settee, and a good work space next to the TV. The Princess on Portland offers free WiFi so I was able to catch up on some of my e-mails as well as check putting the finishing touches to a couple of IGOUGO journals. There was a good selection of drinks - tea, coffee (both caffeine and caffeine-free) and drinking chocolate and although the milk was a little short I was fairly convinced that I could get more from reception. Indeed when I returned from my night out I was given a jug of fresh milk from the kitchen.

The bathroom was well kitted out with a shower and separate bath and plenty of soap and shower gel and back out in the bedroom was a trouser press and an iron. Not that I would be doing any pressing of clothes but it’s a nice touch that is useful if you’re away for more than one night.

The room was exceptionally quiet which really surprised me as the hotel is on one of Manchester’s busiest roads and that together with a really comfortable bed gave me a real good night’s sleep. The wake up call came through dead on time and having showered I made my way down to get breakfast. The dining room was busy and entry was slow as the waitress and Assistant Manager (more about him later) took people’s order for breakfast. The routine was, before getting a table you ordered tea or coffee and then confirmed what you wanted for your cooked breakfast. I decided on the full monty (that’s a full English) less mushrooms and having chosen my table made my way to the buffet to select cereals. There was plenty to choose from on the buffet table with fresh fruit, cheeses, cold meats, breads, patisserie, fresh juices etc. I selected my cereal and juice and returned to my table by which time my tea was brought to me.

All good so far!

But …. Firstly I notice that my cup has a crack in it. Not a good start, but it replaced without fuss, a fresh pot of tea delivered and an apology. I’d finished by cereal and nibbled on a slice of toast and noticed that things were getting a bit frantic in the kitchen. The Assistant Manager had taken off his jacket and assumed control in the kitchen giving the cook explicit directions and obviously concerned at the time the breakfast was taking to prepare. I signalled the waitress and enquired as to the problem – apparently it could be another 15 minutes before my breakfast was ready. That was not good news and I let her know that in a friendly way and she responded with a sympathetic smile and an assurance that she would expedite my order. True to her word she went straight to her manager and after a brief discussion I noted that my order was moved along the bar.

Within 5 minutes by freshly cooked breakfast was at my table. But….. The egg was cooked like a bullet and the sausages pale and anaemic looking. This was not what I’d call a well-cooked meal and so I sent it winging back to the kitchen and expected the Assistant Manager to come over to me. He didn’t so I headed for him. He was courteous (as was I) and explained that they always cook their sausages in that way but accepted that the egg was not acceptable. He offered to re-do my breakfast immediately and refund the cost of my breakfast. That was an offer I couldn’t refuse so I settled down to wait, for the second time, for breakfast to arrive.

This time the sausages were cooked just how I like them, the fried egg had been transformed into scrambled eggs and the mushrooms that I didn’t want were on the plate. Hey. Ho I’ll just get on with it. I ate the breakfast pushing the mushrooms aside and when the Assistant Manager returned to check out if everything was Ok I made a joke about the transformed meal. He looked mortified, apologised profusely and set off to arrange my refund.

At the end of the meal, other than the fact that I was later leaving the restaurant than I would have liked I reckon the front of house staff had done their best to put right the problem. The Assistant manager said that he hoped I would return and he could assure me that things will be better next time. "We will improve" he said with a high degree of certainty.

I’m not sure that I’ll ever know!