easyHotel Manchester City Centre — Hotel in Manchester

I stayed at this hotel at the time of the recent Oasis gigs as it was one of the few remaining options for accommodation in the city. Sure, they were taking advantage of the situation by charging over £250 for a room, but you know, any port in a storm.

The hotel's in a good location between Piccadilly and Victoria stations, and around the Northern Quarter. It's in a grand old building with an unassuming entrance. Check in was quick and friendly. We were assigned room 11, in the basement. The room was fairly large, but without a single surface to put anything down on! No table, sideboard, drawers. Fine, though. We weren't there long enough to unpack. High level windows allowed passers-by to look in, so blinds down. Again, we were only sleeping there so not a massive issue. Bathroom was small and cleanish, you know when it's a bit old and tired so never really looks gleaming? That. So after spending no more than ten minutes in the hotel, we dropped our bags and headed off to Heaton Park.

The real problems manifested on our return, in the early hours. As we were getting ready for bed we kept hearing a loud, sort of smashing / banging noise. We initially thought there was someone in our room but then realised it was coming from the direction of the bathroom. I couldn't pinpoint it exactly but came to the conclusion that it sounded like water coming down a pipe that went thorough this room, smashing down onto a flat surface in the walls or under our basement room. It was loud, like really loud, but assumed it would stop in the night. It didn't.

We persevered rather than bringing it up with reception in the night, which was a mistake, but after a full day out and our tiredness, we thought perseverance would be the best option. After all, this seemed to be one of the last rooms int town on a busy night, and there wouldn't be any free rooms to move us to. After a night of very little sleep, we checked out at 10am (it costs more for a lie-in, should you be lucky enough to sleep). I brought up the issue on check out and got an embarrassed apology and was told it was because it’s an old building!

I later made a complaint through the agent I booked through (LastMinute.com, that’s one for another review… But I had a voucher) who contacted the hotel. They were told I should have complained on the night / early hours, and it happens because it’s an old building. So I guess the “old building” response is their stock answer to this complaint, which it follows they are well aware of.

I was trying to work out whether I’d be as annoyed about all this if I’d paid the stand fee for this budget hotel, rather than the £250+ that I did, and I came to the conclusion that I would. You book a hotel primarily to be able to sleep, and that is the one thing that we weren’t able to do.

In fairness, we had friends staying in the hotel in another room and they didn’t suffer the same issue, so it seems to be room-specific. Their room was tiny though! Probably the smallest twin room I’ve ever seen. You have to walk sideways to get around the beds!

So, if you choose to stay here and pay the budget price that it may be worth, be aware you’re you could end up in a room like this. If you do, complain at the time, irrespective of the hour. If they give you the key for room 11, ask for another room. If you’re faced with paying an exorbitant price at a busy period, don’t bother. You may as well sleep at the station and get an early train home or look at the airport or further afield and get a taxi. It’s not worth it in...

This is not a Hotel, do not be fooled by these reviews, first check out the lowest scores, check Trust pilot, this group have a 2.1 rating, 66% of the reviews are 1-2 stars. I moved out after 3 nights the place was so bad, constant noise, fire alarms going off, the rooms are like rabbit hutches, there is no table, bedside cabinet, shelves, drawers, in fact no where to put clothes, just two steel hangers that you cant move, poor lighting and heating. A Tv that is too high on the wall, but has to be because you would not be able to get past it when you get out of bed, there are no facilities to make any drinks, no cups, beakers in the bathroom, a shower that fills up around your feet with water not going down the plug hole. I have never stayed somewhere so poor, and a 6 night stay averages out at around £67 a night, so no it is not that cheap. Yes its close to the center of Manchester. Its a listed building that used to be a hat factory, hence the odd shape of the building. They will tell you its all to do with being eco-friendly, but its more about giving you nothing for your money. I would never give tham any more of my money. The room was not cleaned in the 3 days I spent there. The heating system blows out cold air most of the time, and the controller is right down at the back of the room, so a pain to switch on/off. You may be able to put up with it for one night. Be warned, and read carefully before you book, as it is very clever the way Hotel booking sites try to show the best ratings first for these places, always check out the LOWEST RATINGS first. I am shocked to see any positive reviews about this place, I suppose it just shows how many of todays generation accept such low standards, but I suspect people use this place as a sleepover before going home after a night out. It may be cheaper than a taxi ride. I just wished the council never gave permission to make this historic building into what is is today. I also believe a lot of the 5/5 reviews on here are...

I stayed for 4 nights. Overall, my stay was comfortable and clean.

I can not stress enough how much I enjoy non-carpet flooring in the rooms. Much cleaner feel. I hope this is adopted as standard.

I needed some more pillows because they were very thin, this was no problem.

Towel exchange was no problem.

My room was very small, and granted, I wasn't expecting a huge size, but the double bed put into this room took all the space, and you'd be hard pressed to walk around it. If you stayed two people in that room, I think it would be hard to move if one of you weren't on the bed. Maybe it would be better with a single?

One thing that peeved me was the lack of storage and surfaces to put things on. There are two solid steel hangers bolted to the walls and a tiny nook by the bed that would leave most phones teetering on the edge due to size. When the room is as small as it is, smart storage solutions are required. A small shelf to put some things on would be very welcome, and I think it would've been a good idea with more hangers so you could get some stuff out, and not constantly move all your stuff off the suitcase you're using as a shelf, get clothes out, move everything back.

Some bins, or ability to get rid of waste would be good if you're staying multiple nights.

I love that there is a water dispenser, and the building itself is an old brick building with some cool features.

Location is perfect. Some things I wish I knew at booking: Charge for early/late check-in: £20, Charge for cleaning: £15 per day, charge for luggage £5 per item. Iron and hairdryer can be borrowed for free. Although the luggage charge was waived for this review.

All in all I would...