Having experienced one good hotel in the Jarvis Chain, this was our choice of venue for our weekend away to witness Spurs lose at Old Trafford. The footie may have been disappointing, but the hotel lived up to the quality reputation, save for a few minor mishaps.

LOCATION
The Jarvis Piccadilly is situated in the heart of Manchester, a short walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. The hotel overlooks Piccadilly Gardens and the Tram Station, however, don't be fooled by any pictures you may see of the hotel, as where there was once rows of trees and shrubbery, there is now a building site, as the council and local firms busily prepare for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, to which Manchester is the host city.

CAR PARKING
The hotel has its own free car park, accessed through a side street behind the hotel. The driveway is very curvy, narrow and steep, both up and down, it is situated above a pay NCP car park, so be careful when approaching you choose the correct entrance, signs are located overhead. Prior to your visit, you can either obtain directions to the car park from the hotel, or download them off the internet, but you need to be alert and it is useful to have someone directing, as the traffic around this area is busy, hindered by the one-way systems throughout the city.

On arrival you report to reception and the concierge will either allocate you a space, or park your car for you.

RECEPTION
The hotel reception is a real grand affair, synonomous more with your average regular travelling business-person, than the hundreds of football supporters that descended on it this weekend. Service is all computerised and processing is speedy and efficient, the concierge will assist you in taking your luggage to your room, for which you would be well advised to tip, my other half had the grand total of 70p change on him, whoops, not off to a good start.

PRICES - GOOD NEWS AND BAD
I shall give you the bad news
first, Rack rate prices are not cheap.

A double room, without breakfast is £129 per night
A suite without breakfast is £200 per night.

Continental breakfast is £7.50 and full english - £10.95.

THE GOOD NEWS
If you are travelling at weekends, check out the Jarvis internet site for late deals. We secured a standard room including breakfast for £136 for two nights, i.e. £68 per room per night. A far cry from the extortionate prices in reception at the hotel

THE ROOM
The hotel has 272 bedrooms that are quite small, but adequate and contain all the facilities you would expect to find in a hotel of this standard, including, en-suite, King size bed, remote control TV with pay Movie Channels, all the sky sports channels were provided FOC, telephone & modem link, hairdryer, Trouser Press and tea & coffee making facilities. The hotel is 11 storeys high, and the rooms offer a birds-eye view of the city. The hotel offers a range of both smoking and non-smoking rooms.

During our stay, we had a problem with our toilet tank that flooded our bathroom floor, despite reporting it twice, it was still playing up on our departure.

THE FACILITIES
The hotel has a wide range of leisure facilities including a good size indoor heated swimming pool and separate children's pool, steam room & spa bath, sauna & solarium, gymnasium, health & beauty salon and hair studio.

The hotel also offers a choice of three bars, The Portland bar, which is actually adjacent to the hotel and accessed off the main street, but worth a visit as drinks are cheap, £1.50 for a print of John Smiths, and £1.50 for a pint of Fosters. This is not open Sundays.

There is also a Club Bar which offers both 'basket' meals and drinks, this was not however open during our stay, I believe, because of the number of football supporters in the city.

And last, but certainly not least, the Arts Grill and Bar. We opte
d not to try out the Gril as the prices were slightly more than we wanted to pay, but I believe you could have a meal here for around £15-£20 per person. The bar section had a large comfortable seating area, and a wide screen for sports fanatics. Primarily, the staff were friendly and helpful, although the prices were much higher than the Portland Bar, around £3.45 for a pint of John Smiths and half a Lager. Although this was high compared to the local pubs, the prices were still much lower than other hotels I have stayed in, and reasonable considering the Piccadilly is renowned as THE Business Meeting Place in Manchester. The hotel also offers a number of conference rooms for businesses.

BREAKFAST
The full english breakfast offered

A wide range of cereals and fruits
Orange Juice
Coffee/Tea/Hot Chocolate
Toast
A range of pastries and rolls, accompanied by butter, marg and conserve if required
Bacon, sausage, fried potato, fried & scrambled eggs, beans, tomatoes and mushrooms

All on self-service, buffet style.
It is worth trying, and if you can get a window seat, the restaurant offers a panoramic view over the City.

The hotel is approximately ½ mile from Piccadilly station, Manchester and 10 miles away from the airport.

SUMMARY
If you can get a good deal over the internet, then it is certainly worth a visit, it is stylish, upmarket with good service and good food, situated in a convenient location both for shopping and site seeing, and travelling to outlying areas of the city.

HOW CAN I STAY THERE
You can book on-line at www.jarvis.co.uk
Call central reservations on: 01494 436264
Or call on the hotel direct on:
Telephone 0161 236 8414 (if you chose the last method, from experience, be prepared to pay higher prices.

Jarvis Piccadilly Hotel
Piccadilly Plaza
Manchester
M60 1QR