High price, without the high standards! (Crowne Plaza Manchester)

Member Name: emmakate06

Product:	Crowne Plaza Manchester
Date:	07/07/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean and tidy

Disadvantages: Poor service, club lounge disappointing

I recently stayed at this hotel at the beginning of July. It is located on Ringway Road, Manchester Airport and is literally across the road from Terminal 1 and around the corner from Terminal 3. There is a large car park operating on a ticket and barrier system and there is a 15 minute courtesy time allowed for people dropping customers off. Attached by a walkway is also access to a long stay car park which is where you can park your car if you are taking advantage of one of the hotels numerous parking offers.

The entrance to the hotel is large and clean and the reception area is clearly visible. To the left of the entrance is also the bar and restaurant areas which also looked very clean and inviting, although they were quite busy and due to having access to the club lounge with our room, we did not take advantage of these facilities.

On check in we were greeted by a lovely man who I think was called Justin. He was polite, courteous, friendly and offered fantastic customer service. He took the time to explain the parking procedure to us and gave us clear directions to our room. He explained the services available to us in the club lounge along with the opening hours and was also very willing to answer any questions that we had regarding our stay.

Our room was a club room, it was of adequate size with a king size bed. The decor was clean and modern with a large lcd panel tv fitted on the wall with built in alarm clock. There is a desk and workstation area along with an ergonomic chair ideal for business travellers. It wasnt as big as some hotel rooms I have stayed in, however it was plenty sufficient for a one nights stay. There was also plenty of storage for our belongings.

On arrival in our room we left our luggage and made our way to the club lounge for some refreshments. On the booking confirmation it also stated the dinner snacks and canapes would be provided, however we soon found out that this was just crisps. Hardly what I would call 'dinner snacks' or canapes. At 7pm, an hour after both of these were supposed to have been provided, a small tray of spring rolls was also brought into the room which fed about 3 or 4 of the people in the room before there were none left. Now whilst both of these were nice I didnt feel that it represented what had been advertised on the website whilst booking so I was left a little disappointed with regards to this and so we later ended up ordering room service. In addition to the canapes, soft drinks are complimentary throughout the day and between 6pm-8pm alcoholic drinks are also available. This is a small selection of bottle lager, cider, wine and mixers. The majority of club lounge users including myself take advantage of this and there wasnt much left in the fridges by 8pm.

We then went back to our room and I decided to take a bath. Unfortunately, there was a problem with this as the hot and cold taps were labelled the wrong way round which resulted in me burning my toe whilst testing the water. I am just very grateful that we were not travelling with our children at the time otherwise this could have resulted in a more serious injury to one of my children. This matter was raised with reception and so I sincerly hope that this problem has now been rectified. In addition, the bath was quite dirty as were the surrounding tiles and there appeared to be black burn marks around the bath. All of these points have been raised with the manager, however I am yet to recieve a response to assure me that the tap issue has been resolved.

After my injury, I decided that I did not want to walk down to the restaurant and so we decided to order some room service. We ordered two club sandwiches which totalled £23. These sandwiches were ok, definitely not worth the price tag though, both the chips and the chicken was cold and I am not convinced that the chicken was cooked correctly due to several pinkish parts throughout, they were very dry and there was no tomato on either sandwich despite this clearly being listed as an ingredient on the menu.

In the morning, we went downstairs to the club lounge for our continental breakfast. We had been advised the previous night that this was served until 9:30 and we went down at 9. Given that there was supposed to be food available until 9:30, I would have expected there to be some food left since there was still half an hour to go until that time. However, there was one croissant, one slice of cheese and some apples left. Not entirely what I consider to be a continental breakfast for two. We did go over to the main restaurant to explain that there was no food left and they allowed us to eat in there instead.

There is no longer a pool in this hotel either as this was removed during a recent refurbishment a couple of months ago. I was quite disappointed by this as I do enjoy an evening swim. There is however a gym available for use.

Overall it was an ok stay. The rooms are well presented as is the hotel and all areas appear clean and tidy. The decor is modern and is complemented by the furnishings throughout. Unfortunately, the service left us disappointed and needs improvement.

Summary: Ok for a one night stay