My friend and I had booked tickets to see Will Young in concert and as a Travel Agent I always seem to get lumbered with the travel arrangements such as the hotel, this time though I wanted something close to the event that was warm and cheerful, I normally stay at the Travelodge on Deansgate but this time it was all booked up and I didn't fancy trying to get a taxi at the end of the concert or walking for miles in heels either so I had a look on the Travel Inn website only to discover it had rebranded as the Premier Travel Inn.
~**Brief Update**~ Travel Inn and Premier Lodge recently merged to become Premier Travel Inn, claiming to be the UK's Leading value Hotel Company. The reason for this merge was to try and compete and become more widely recognised than the Travelodge by offering more locations, more than 460 that's almost double the amount of Travelodges within the UK.
~**The Location**~ I consulted with the commander in chief my friend Lindsay who was used to doing the walk from the MEN to hotels and she stated that this location was perfect just a 10 minute walk from the MEN and as we had travelled in by train
it was just a short walk from Victoria Train Station to the hotel through the main city centre, so it was ideal for shopping the following day before returning home.
~**Directions**~ If travelling by car travel on the M56 and continue to the end of the Motorway, follow A5103 to the city centre and then follow for the A57(M) towards the GMEX, take the 2nd exit and follow signs for the City Centre and the A56, after 1 mile turn left just before the Manchester Evening News Arena onto Chapel Street and take the 1st road on the left and the hotel is located on the right hand side. Alternatively if you are travelling by train head straight out of the Victoria train station and walk through the city centre and follow the signs for the MEN and you will see it located on the left hand side. There is limited parking to the front of the hotel, but should there not be any room there is a large NCP multi storey car park to the rear of the hotel that is available 24/7 for a small cost, unfortunately the hotel does not offer any discount at the NCP car park.
~** The Cost**~ The standard cost for rooms MON-SUN is 54.95 sometimes the rate can change due to key events held in Manchester. The price however did not alter during our stay when the Will Young concert was on.
~**Booking Online**~ To make a booking online is really simple and a whiz for those that are used to using the internet. On the left hand side of the web page you will see a number of options and make a booking is one of them if you click on that option a new page will load up and will ask you to select your required hotel, date of arrival, number of nights, type of room required, number of adults, smoking or non smoking and the number of children/babies. Once you input this information it will provide you with a costing if you are happy to continue then select the next option here is where you make your reservation and you will need to input the information of the lead name of the booking:-
1. Title 2. First Name 3. Last Name 4. House number/Name 5. Postcode (to save time click on the yellow box to get your address up, this will then prefill the next fields) 6. Email address (this is so that a confirmation can be sent to you) 7. Telephone Number 8. Mobile Number 9. Guarantee Details, this is to guarantee the booking, here you are asked for credit or debit card details and you have to ensure that the correct option is selected, here you are reassured that he details entered are completely secure. 10. Card Type select from Visa, Premier Travel Inn Card, American Express, Mastercard, Visa Debit Card, Switch. 11. Card Number this is the long number to the centre of your card 12. Start date or valid from date if one is present on the card if not leave this blank 13. Expiry date or valid to date this is on all cards and is a required field 14. Issue Number for switch/maestro cards only 15. Name on the card, this will be checked upon check-in. Here you are provided with a prompt that your payment card will be charged if the booking is not cancelled before 1pm on the day of arrival The card details are taken at the time of booking to reserve the hotel and you are still required to pay on arrival, your selected card will only be debited if you donot check in by 1pm. You are then asked if the trip is for business, and if you will be arriving after 8pm.
You cannot proceed with the booking unless you confirm that you have read the terms and conditions, this is important as many people neglect to read the terms and conditions and as far as the hotelier is concerned if you tick that box and proceed with your booking then you have read them.
Your booking confirmation is then sent to you by email and on screen you are provided with your booking confirmation reference and a summary of your reservation.
~**Checking In**~ Checking in is as simple as any hotel, and you can check-in from 2pm, you confirm your surname, and you are then asked to check the details of your reservation and sign to accept the details, payment is then taken, if you are paying with cash and not the debit/credit card you will be asked to provide a form of ID. Payment is then taken and you are issued with your keycard and a receipt for your payment if you wish to purchase breakfast this can be done at the time of check-in at an additional cost. You are then directed to your room. The reception area at this hotel is fairly small and there are vending machines in the lobby offering drinks, crisps and other snacks. To get to the next level you use and escalator and this takes you up to the bar est restaurant and lifts to take you to your rooms.
~**The Room**~ Our room was located at the end of the corridor in a corner of the building, so I think that we ended up with one of the larger rooms available. Directly opposite the door to the room was the ensuite bathroom complete with toiletries, bath with overhead shower, toilet and sink and fluffy white towels to dry yourself with. The bathroom looked very modern and recently decorated and was extremely clean. The bedroom it self contained a long vanity unit complete with built in lighting with a remote controltelevision, tea and coffee making facilities and wastebin underneath. We had booked a twin room so we had two comfy beds separated by a bedside table. There wasn't much of a view out of our window it just looked out on the street below but for the money it was a comfy room with all you need to get a good few hours sleep. The colour scheme was pale walls with a orange/red/purple patterned duvet and plenty of pillows.
~**Breakfast**~ This cost 6.95 for a full breakfast available at the restaurant and it was a buffet style breakfast so you could help yourself offering:-
Sausage Bacon Beans Eggs Mushrooms Tomato Preserves Fruit Cereals Toast Croissants Fruit juice Tea/Coffee
The food was hot and of a good quality and it certainly didn't look as if it had been standing under the heater lamps for hours and hours. Mon-Fri breakfast times are 7am-9am and on the weekend it is just an hour later at 8am-10am operating the same on bank holidays.
~*Checking Out*~ You are required to vacate your room by 12noon which is standard procedure for most hotels, but as we had a late night we had to set the alarm to make sure that we did not oversleep. Once you are ready to vacate you simply drop your card in at reception and if you want to do some shopping without your luggage they will hold it at reception for you so that you can collect it later, free of charge.
This hotel was great for what we needed it for and I think it did give it a few more brownie points than the Travelodge as it was that little bit better location wise and the food was of a higher standard and a reasonable cost, but again breakfast was a bit high compared to some 3 star hotels that build it into the price of the room, I have no complaints about this hotel it is clean and the staff are efficient and friendly.
This hotel is located close to a number of sights:- Arndale Centre a 10 minute walk Trafford Centre 5 miles by car Old Trafford Football Stadium 5 miles by car Maine Road FootballStadium 3 miles by Car
Thank you for taking the time to read the review, if you think it could be improved then please let me know.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Right by the M.E.N. Arena and just 400 metres from Manchester Victoria Station, the hotel ... more
offers great value, with spacious, comfortable and modern en suite rooms and some limited free parking.The Premier Inn Manchester City Centre (MEN Arena) is just ...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
very helpful by (89%):
helpful by (11%):
