Editor Pick
Bargain Price and Great Location
- October 29, 2009
- Rated 4 of 5 by
dkm1981 from Blackburn, United Kingdom
-Introduction-
It's been so long since my partner and I went to Manchester that, when we got tickets to see The Killers (woohoo!) at the MEN Arena last week, we decided to make a trip of it and stay over, so we could do some shopping and - more importantly - sample the local food and drink!
Anyone who has booked concert tickets recently will know that, by the time you've added all the 'hidden costs' on, you've spent a fortune, so we were looking for somewhere cheap and conveniently located and I have to say, we definitely found that.
- How did we find it?-
After trawling through all the usual hotel websites, I stumbled across an advert offering rooms for £19 at Travelodge. This isn't the price we paid for the room (it was actually £35), but it certainly got my attention. After heading to www.travelodge.co.uk and searching for hotels in Manchester, I was given a series of suitable options. There are a couple of options in the city centre but we finally settled on this one because it suited our needs best (close to the MEN, close to the Arndale centre and the nightlife on Deansgate and cheap parking).
The website is easy to navigate and tells you everything you need to know about the hotel you've chosen, its facilities and what's close-by.
-Getting there-
*By car - the directions we printed off the internet couldn't have been easier to follow; head for the M60 Ring Road (North and East), leave at J17 and follow the A56 all the way into the city centre (passing the MEN Arena and The Lowry Centre) and then turn right onto Blackfriars Street et voila! It's the big, grey, imposing building on the right hand side! It was a painless trip considering what it can be like travelling into Manchester.
*By Train - According to the website, Victoria Station is a quarter of a mile away and Piccadilly is half a mile away. Victoria Station is obviously the better choice and is about three minutes walk, even for a slow-coach like me!
-Parking-
This is one of the main reasons we chose this hotel over the others. It has an underground car-park that is run on behalf of the hotel by an external company. It has about 50 (very badly marked out) spaces, although we were advised to get there at 3pm on the dot to guarantee a space, which turned out to be good advice. If you arrive after 3pm, you get 24hrs parking for £7.50, or it's about £1.50 per hour.
If there are no spaces available here, there is a NCP car-park next door that is about £15 for 24 hours.
-Where is it?-
As the name of the hotel suggests, it is very centrally located. It is more or less on the crossroads of Deansgate (where you'll find copious amounts of restaurants and bars) and St Mary's St (which is where you'll find the main shopping street including the Arndale Centre).
It took us about five minutes to walk to the MEN Arena and the Palace and Royal Exchange Theatres and the G-Mex are all within walking distance. The Museum of Science and Industry is about half a mile from the hotel
-What do you get for the price?-
The truthful answer is not a lot, but the Travelodge make no pretence about this being the reason why their prices are so low. They give you a room from 3pm to midday the following day and you can pay for any extras you want, including earlier check-in (£10), later check-out (£10), breakfast (£5.99 online or £7.50 at check-in, per person). We didn't take any of these options, so can't comment on the value for money, but considering there are so many places to eat in the vicinity; I would think you could get a better deal elsewhere.
-The rooms-
The rooms are basic, but contain everything you need. They have a double bed, en-suite bathroom, dressing table, coffee making facilities, a TV and wardrobe and shelf space. They are spacious, clean and comfortable.
The beds are extremely soft and bouncy, which sounds nice but actually makes sleeping quite difficult - every movement makes you wake up feeling a little sea-sick! My other half (who admittedly is a light sleeper) spent most of the night awake as a result.
The showers are super powerful, which makes a nice change in a hotel.
The TV has a selection of English TV and radio channels, including news, sport and entertainment (ITV I think).
There are a couple of things to bear in mind though. Like I said, the Travelodge keeps their prices low by removing all the 'frills', so don't expect to find toiletries (other than one mini bar of soap), a hair-dryer, an iron or even a phone! We were also only supplied with one hand towel and one bath towel, so I would recommend asking for another at reception when you check-in to avoid problems when you get out of the shower and find nothing to dry yourself with!
You can ask at reception as well for a hair-dryer, iron, and extra pillows (which you'll probably need).
-Other facilities-
*24-hour reception with efficient and friendly staff.
*2 lifts that go to all floors, although very sporadically!
*Wi-Fi - you need to buy a voucher (which can be purchased on-line when booking), which is valid for twelve months. Prices are £5 for an hour, £10 for a day, £20 for a week and £30 for a month.
*ATM machine on the wall outside.
*A bar cafe serving evening meals (Brewers Fayre sort of standard by the looks of the menu) and drinks.
*Vending machines, offering hot and cold drinks, snacks, ice-creams and travel essentials.
*Meeting rooms.
*Lounge area.
-My opinion-
Overall, I would say that we definitely got what we paid for and, for the price, you couldn't ask for a better location. I would recommend the Travelodge to anyone, although that recommendation would come with a warning attached; don't expect luxury and bring everything you'll need!
From journal A Weekend in Manchester