I recently stayed at this three-star hotel near Manchester airport. My first visit to the hotel was in 2008 when we used it as a home base for travels by train for day trips to Thirsk, York, and Blackpool. Being close to the airport you also have access to the train or you can hop on a bus into Manchester which we did one day for some retail therapy. This year we stayed here for a night before flying home and connected with some relatives we had not seen in over 40 years. The hotel has a shuttle bus which you can book on line when you book your room. The bus used to be complementary but within the past couple of years they have started charging £6 per person for return journey bookings. We arrived at the airport by train and had not booked the shuttle because when we booked the room the website indicated that it was complementary (which to us meant free). We ended up getting a taxi for £13 from the airport. The taxis are ready and waiting so more convenient than the shuttle bus and it was less than a fifteen minute ride. We did book the bus for our trip back to the airport the next day. It runs every 45 minutes.
The hotel room was very clean and comfortable. The Java Lounge Cafe Bar on the ground floor has a coffee station where you can order specialty non-alcoholic coffees and packaged cakes which was a nice option for meeting up with our relations. Two cappuccinos, 2 mochas and an Americano cost £13.30. It was a good spot for us to be able to sit and visit. The only drawbacks were the sofas are looking very tired and worn and the staff cannot take credit cards for payment. They also were not able to take the £50 note my aunt had so I had to go to reception, which was short-staffed, and set up a tab for the bar. If you book breakfast and dinner through reception you get a cheaper rate at the restaurant so we booked breakfast for the two of us, and after our relatives arrived, we booked dinner for the five of us. The dinner in Jenny’s restaurant (£12.95 if memory serves me or £9.95 if booked at reception) was buffet style roasts with good vegetables and potatoes and a range of desserts. The food was good as was the service keeping the tables clear of used dishes. Breakfast (£10.50 or £7.95 if booked at reception) the next morning was also buffet style with a good selection of hot and cold food including really good whole fried mushrooms.
We booked through Booking.com and paid £58 including taxes for a twin room with two single beds, tea and coffee making facilities, tv and en-suite bathroom. At the price, it is good value for money and we would use the hotel again when needing somewhere to stay near Manchester airport. There is free Wi-Fi and free parking and the hotel has a gym and a pool.
