Good for a nice weekend away (Hilton Manchester Deansgate (Manchester))

Member Name: blackmidnight

Product:	Hilton Manchester Deansgate (Manchester)
Date:	03/11/08 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great staff, nice views

Disadvantages: Price, bar is overated

I stayed in the Hilton Manchester Deansgate at the end of October for two nights. There was a great deal in their newsletter offering half price rooms if you stayed for two nights which made the cheapest rooms about £90 which considering the useual price is nearly £200 this seemed like a bargain and as I had always wanted to stay here decided to book it as an early Christmas present for my partner.

Check in is from 3pm and when we arrived at 4pm there was no queue. The member of staff was very polite and welcoming and we were checked in within two minutes. We were allocated a room on the 14th floor which was south facing. The views were lovely, we could see old trafford and the peak district and at night the trafford centre.

The rooms themselves aren't that big and the bathroom is much smaller than I expected. We had a queen size bed which was very comfortable and the room was equipped with phone, alarm clock, internet facilities (you had to pay £15 for 24 hours) tea/coffe making facilities, mini-bar, hairdryer, iron & iron board, safe... There was a large desk with had a mirror in it and a nice flat screen TV. Had quite a few channels (BBC1,2,3,4,5 as well as TV5, a Dubai TV channel, sports channels, news channels, CBBC and E4). There were also view on demand facilities on the TV but we did not use these so I am unsure how much they cost.

The worst thing about the room was the fact that you could hear people talking outside as they were going to their room. To avoid this try and get a room which does not end in 01-06 as these are probably the most likely to suffer from this problem. The rooms at the end of the corridor are probably the best to go for if you can get them.

Whilst we were staying there, there was a fire alarm at 2am. The hotel was evacuated but this was handled well and some silver foil blankets were handed out as it was very cold and some people had come out in their night clothes. The staff handled the situation well and were polite and friendly despite all the unhappy and cold people!

The room rate included breakfast which at weekends could be had until 11am. The selection was good; fresh fruit, hot English breakfast, cereals, continental breakfast and pastries. Orange juice, tea and coffee were bought to the table. Some of the hot breakfast (scrambled eggs & hash browns in particular) didn't taste too good but the majority of it was lovely and filled us up until the evening.

The bar which this hotel is known for, Cloud 23, is located on the 23rd floor. The advantage of staying in the hotel is that you can skip the queue for the lift which takes you up to the bar, at the annoyance of the other people who are queuing. I was quite disspointed with the bar after all the hype I had heard about it. The views were good but not that much better than from our room and if all you want is a good view, just take the hotel lifts up to the 22nd floor and you will get the same view. The cocktails were expensive (£8 for the cheapest ones) and most of the tables are reserved so you have to wait around if you want to sit down. The bar staff were friendly but some of the other staff walking around were rather rude letting us know that 'that table is reserved so could we move' even though we were not sitting at the table or even planning on it, we were just standing around! However if you don't mind spending at bit on a drink it's a fairly nice place to go for one drink.

Overall the hotel was lovely and the staff were friendly and helpful. The rooms were nice and the hotel is in a good location, however I don't think I could justify paying full price for the rooms when there are hotels which do the job just as well for a cheaper rate.

Summary: Great hotel, good location