Top Notch if you're on a Budget! (Britannia Hotel - Manchester)

Member Name: katyboo123

Product:	Britannia Hotel - Manchester
Date:	26/10/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Advance room rates, cleanliness, location

Disadvantages: No onsite parking, no leisure facilites (unless accessed via Britannia Sachas - the sister hotel)

The most prominent and beautiful building on Portland Street. With a sweeping movie like stair case, Chaise longes scattered on each landing area, crystal chandeliers inside a Grade II listed builsing, 363 bedrooms, conference facilities, a night club, bars and restaurants, cheap advance room rates, what better place to use as a base to explore Manchester from?

Location

The Britannia, Manchester, is located on Portland Street. It is situation around 5 minutes leisurely walk from Piccadilly Gardens / Station, with excellent Tram, Train and Bus Links. The National Express station is next door, and it is very easy to find if you go to Manchester by car. As it is a City Centre hotel, it is not the best choice for the Airport (which is around 8 miles away), although trains go from Piccadilly to the Airport on a regular basis. Shopping couldn't be closer, with the fantastic Selfridges and John Lewis being close by, you are also in walking distance of the Printworks (various eateries, cinema, etc) as well as the Manchester Wheel (like the London Eye but smaller!). You also have the Arndale Centre 10 minutes away and are close to bus routes to take you to the Trafford Centre too. China Town, Canal Street and the Village as well as the G-Mex and city financial sector are also situated near by.

Pricing

If you book online prior to your visit, you can pick up a budget / city double room from around £40+ excluding breakfast (see notes about restaurants). This represents great value accomodation for a city centre. If your trip is for business you may want to consider paying extra, as the city doubles are generally located in the basement, or lower levels, and mobile reception tends to be quite poor. If you are visiting Manchester for leisure, i.e. shopping, concerts, nights out, tourism etc then this hotel is absolutely ideal as a clean comfortable tidy place to get cleaned up and get your head down in between activities.

Parking

There is no on site parking. You have to use Chorlton Street NCP and for 24 hours it costs £16, which includes your 20% discount which the hotel gives you by swiping your parking ticket from the NCP. Factor this cost in, when choosing your hotel.

Amenities / Restaurants

There is high-speed wi-fi throughout the hotel, and a charge is payable. I have never used this as when I go shopping in Manchester, I don't take my laptop. There are Wave and Rogue bars, both of which get very busy, and are staffed by door personnel on a night. Quite often there are DJs on, and there is sometimes a pianist playing in the ground floor bar. There is a pizzeria, Jenny's restaurant and Crompton's French restaurant and bar. I will say that in my opinion, although all of these outlets offer convenience and nice food, they are very expensive. You would be better off venturing out and sampling China Town, or some of the other numerous eateries. There are various conference suites available in the hotel for business, and you can use the leisure facilities in the nearby sister hotel Britannia Sachas, although I haven't ever taken advantage of these, as an early morning swim to me does not need to be preceeded with a 15 minute trot across Piccadilly!

Rooms

In each room you get tea and coffee making facilities, a TV, hair dryer and telephone. Bedding is clean, fresh and comfortable, with extra pillows and blankets in the wardrobe. There are no ironing boards, you have to go to an ironing room to use them. This is quite accessible and normally very quiet. But my tip is to take an iron with you, or iron before you go! The bathrooms are clean and smart too. You usually only get 2 large towels, and 2 small (smaller than handsize) towels. Think the correct term for them is guest towels. If you are two women getting ready in there, take some extra towels for your hair, or be prepared to share! You get a key card for your room and on an evening you have to present this and be checked off a list to get access in to the hotel. This is just a security measure, and stops unwanted visitors in the hotel.

Disabled Access

There are lifts to floors and lift access to the reception area and some of the bars, including Jenny's. Staff and duty managers are happy to help Wheelchair users access bars and restaurants. Rooms are quite small for Wheelchair users, suites are larger, but they have 2 steps down to the lounge (and are quite expensive!). The hotel is happy to welcome Guide Dogs, and I discovered from their website, they are happy to provide a small fridge for medications if required. There is a full disabled access statement on their website, which I would recommend reading if you plan to visit the hotel.

Overall

Excellent value accomodation in a central location, by no means 5 star, but as we all know, you do get what you pay for!

Summary: A great budget hotel, and a perfect base for exploring Manchester