a&o Manchester City Centre

The staff were helpful and nice, and the location is the hotel’s biggest plus. The rooms were okay, but very bare, as if everything had been cleared out except a bed, desk and chair. They’re in the middle of combining two hotels under a new company, and you can really tell. Breakfast had some hot and cold options, though the fruit choice was just apples, and more variety, including eggs, would’ve been better. My stay wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t return.

I stayed in House 2 on the 4th floor, and the location was one of the few real positives: you can walk to lots of places, and public transport is close. The room looked clean and tidy. Its small bathroom wasn’t a major problem for me. The bigger issue was how neglected House 2 felt. The entrance area had nothing but barriers, while reception and the bar were over in House 1. Even before getting to the tiny elevators, which were noisy and slow, the place felt abandoned and uncomfortable. I couldn’t get the AC to cool the room. It wouldn’t react to settings below 30C, and if I set it even a little lower, it stopped blowing altogether. Getting a decent night’s sleep was impossible. The TV barely worked, took far too many clicks to respond, and stayed on one radio channel. I couldn’t change channels or use the inaccessible HDMI ports to connect my laptop. After two days the WiFi quit too, because the captive portal wouldn’t open so I could enter the membership code. This was my first stay with the A&O network, and easily my most disappointing hotel experience anywhere so far. House 1 might be better, but I can’t recommend this place based on House 2. I hope management sorts these problems out, because the location deserves better.

I was there for 2 nights. The rooms were comfortable, if pretty standard, and the city centre location is great. But the staff gave terrible service and seemed not to care about guests at all. I’ve had much friendlier, more accommodating staff at other hotels and hostels in Manchester. There are plenty of other city centre options, so I wouldn’t recommend this one, even though the rooms are decent.

The location is the one good thing here. The receptionist was rude when I found out I didn’t have ID. Not everyone drives or has travelled abroad, and the ID requirement should be made clearer on the website or Booking.com. Even after paying for the room, you could be refused check-in if you don’t have ID, and there’s no guaranteed refund.