Since leaving my home town of Manchester in 2012, I haven’t really kept abreast of new hotel openings around the city. Sure, I still read restaurant reviews or the odd news article online, but I have to admit that I couldn’t tell you the names of some of the newest additions to the growing city scene.
So when we were looking for somewhere to stay over NYE – we were planning to extend our Christmas visit to the UK – I was surprised to discover a Motel One located near Piccadilly station. Not only was it brand-spanking new, but the rates seemed very reasonable (particularly for the festive period) and the location couldn’t have been better (we were going to be taking trains in and out of Manchester, as well as using the trams that depart from Piccadilly itself).
We arrived, sodden and cold, after a very wet and windy travel day from Yorkshire and what do we find in our Motel One room as soon as we put the electronic key card in the slot? A crackling log fire displayed on the TV screen.
I can’t begin to tell you what a welcome sight this was (I even tweeted about it, I was so giddy).
After a freezing cold day in the rain and wind, it was so nice to see this in our @MotelOne room. pic.twitter.com/jkOM102Og5
— Julia (@ConfusedJulia) December 30, 2015
As silly as it sounds, it actually helped us to warm up and feel altogether better about how we had been feeling just minutes before. In fact, over the next three days, we would regularly have the fire playing on the TV while we getting ready, or snuggled up in bed reading the new books we got as Christmas presents. Considering we don’t have an actual fireplace in our apartment, this was a novel idea for us.
Our room was spacious (we were staying in a family room) and we had a great view out over the city – we could even see diners eating by candlelight at Carluccio’s in the station! It was a weird feeling for me to wake up and gaze over Manchester like that; it is something I’ve only ever done in other cities, never my home town, but I loved it.
The bathroom was sleek and had a big rainfall shower (again, welcome after the cold travel day we’d had) but the only downside was that there was no hand soap provided. We inquired about this at reception – as we thought they’d just forgotten to re-stock it – and they said they don’t provide hand soap, however they do leave small bottles of hair and body wash by the sinks. I found this a little odd and it was awkward to use this instead of a bar or hand pump soap when using the bathroom. But now that I’ve warned you, you can travel with your own hand soap or hand gel and come prepared!
We chose to have the Motel One breakfast on two mornings out of the three we were there (because on New Year’s Day, after a late night, I just want something greasy and unhealthy and, to their credit, Motel One aren’t in the business of providing that 😉 ) The breakfast buffet was continental and included hard-and-soft boiled eggs. Food had been sourced locally or in the UK wherever possible (there were little Union Jack flags on the labels of everything made or sourced in Britain) and they even had organic soy milk and high-end granola options from Dorset Cereals – a nice touch.
I particularly liked the pastries – shoutout to the delicious gooey pecan danish that neither of us could stop eating – and, as Motel One is a German chain of hotels, the inclusion of pretzels at the breakfast spread was also a welcome addition.
As for the hotel itself, everything is very modern and stylish. The lobby and bar area have been designed in-keeping with the theme of Manchester – so there were big screen TVs playing concerts from the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, and there were photographs of other Mancunian legends on the walls. The bar even served cocktails that had been specially created for the city, including the Manc-hattan and The Worker Bee. I really liked this touch, and apparently each Motel One in every city is designed in this way, to reflect the local heritage.
Would I stay at the Motel One Manchester Piccadilly again? Absolutely. For the price and the location, I don’t think it can be beat, and it definitely has a more local-feel to it than a regular chain hotel. I may stay there again during winter just so that I can watch the roaring fire on the TV! (Yes, I’m a saddo.)
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