Cheap Hotels in Manchester

Ok so i thought i would do a quick roundup of some of the best hotels for people on a budget in the city of Manchester. I think at the moment everyone is beginning to think about hotels at the cheaper side of the scale weather you are looking for a short break or a longer stay. I think the important thing though about booking discount accommodation is that you should never have to lower you standards for accommodation or make undue allowances for a place to stay that you would not otherwise. For this reason i do not usually recommend hotels under 3 star as it really isn’t necessary in most occasions and the price of certain 3 star hotels has really come down in recent years so there are great deals to be had.

• Copthorne Hotel, Manchester is a unique 4 star hotel overlooking the waterfront in the south west of the city. At around £66 per night for a double room i think this represents very good value for a hotel in this category. Another plus point is the hotel under two miles from the city centre. It is also quite close to the Trafford shopping centre which has over 250 individual shops and also the Manchester United museum is quite close by.

• Best Western Princess on Portland – Im not usually a fan of big hotel chains as they can be quite commercial and often very impersonal however the Best Western chain has a very good reputation and the Portland is no exception. The best thing about this hotel is its location and this is what you are mainly paying for as you are right in the heart of the city centre and only a short walk to the main attractions. A standard double is around £75 a night which i think is really good value for this area.

• Also on Portland street but around £10 cheaper is the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly hotel. This is a new and very stylish development right in the centre of town. You can expect all rooms to have climate control and a flat screen TV. Again the main feature of this hotel is the location and area but it is also very cheap for a 3 star of this standard.

As you can see one of the main factors in accommodation price is location but there are still great deals to be found right in the city centre like the Ramada. The key really is to compare the features of any hotel and not just the star rating. Remember that a lot of hotels choose their own star rating and not all are rated by an outside agency like the AA or visit England.

Another thing a lot of people have been remarking to me about recently is the quality of some in house restaurants which can be both good and bad. For example the Clippers Brasserie at the Copthorne has had some very good reports recently but it can be hard to tell unless you try it out for yourself. I think the quality of any hotel restaurant is really only relevant is certain situations, ie if you are in a more remote hotel you may not be able/willing to travel out every night to eat, so if the in house restaurant is poor you really are going to notice.

With this in mind choose wisely!

Hotel reviews Best Western, Cheap, Copthorne, Food, Ramada

Do you go full board or half board when booking a hotel? Its a question some people forget to think about when they decide to book. For many full board is an attractive option as it allows them to budget more accurately what they are going to spend on their holiday. However you have to think about how often you are going to take advantage of the included meals to benefit you. For example if you are often away from the hotel seeing the local attractions its unlikely you are going to want to travel back to your hotel just to eat, especially when there are so many great restaurants dotted around the city of Manchester.

For many half board is often the best option as it gives a certain amount of flexibility. Its true that everyone will want breakfast in the morning as who wants to go hunting for food in the morning on your holiday? However half board usually includes one other meal ie in the evening and it is this where money is usually wasted.

Most people tend to eat out in the evening when on holidays and so most of the evening meals in the hotel go to waste. It is here that hotels make their money back on the meals as it is a buffet and if people don’t turn up they don’t have to give out food.

You also need to look at the type of food offered by the hotel and not just how cheap the hotel is. Some restaurants within hotels will have there own reviews available on the internet were you can decide if the food is for you or not. You will also need to let the hotel know beforehand if you have any special dietary requirements.

Food, hotels Catering, Food, Full board, Half board