Regency Guesthouse Manchester

The walls are paper-thin, so you can hear everything happening around you. There's also no room service, reception desk or area, or doorbell. Don't expect a TV, radio, tea or coffee station, iron, hairdryer, decent towels, or a bathmat. For the price, there are plenty of better value places, some of them cheaper. After my stay at the regency guesthouse, I got a partial refund for the trouble, but only after a lot of reluctance and duress. I wrote an honest review last week and the proprietor told me to take it down. I've decided to leave it up so people can make an informed choice. The manager can be manipulative and weird at times, though on the whole he's OK when everything is going according to his business. I wouldn't recommend even one night here.

We arrived and our booking was cancelled. It had been booked, confirmed over the phone, and the check-in time accepted, though getting hold of them by phone was almost impossible. The pictures don't show the place as it is: a student house above odd offices, with lockable rooms, shared facilities, and lots of noise. Stay away from this place and its owner. The landlord took weeks to get back to me about a query, and I only received my refund 13 days later.

There was no inside lock on the door to the top-floor attic room. I don't know if the other rooms are the same. The outside had a code box, so anyone who knew the code could walk in. The room was old, run-down, and dirty, with mold around its only Velux window. My 18-year-old daughter and her friend had booked it for a concert in Manchester, but they didn't feel safe, so I drove three hours to collect them. The person who showed them the room shouted at them and told them to sleep together in the double bed, not use the single. Pay more for somewhere reputable. You can't put a price on safety.

We knew about the shared bathroom, and the lack of parking was the only other downside. The beds were comfortable, the rooms fairly quiet, and everything was nice and clean. Good-sized rooms and pretty good value for money.