voco Manchester City Centre, an IHG Hotel

The location was excellent, but it was the staff who made our weekend stay at VOCO Hotel Manchester memorable. Thanks to the whole team. At breakfast, Braima looked after guests with genuine warmth and professionalism. He was always smiling and attentive, and made everyone feel cared for. Xander at reception also helped me several times. He was friendly, knew his stuff, and shared local recommendations generously, which helped me make the most of my time in Manchester.

The lady at reception kindly let me check out later so I could shower after the run. Little acts like that go a long way, especially these days. I was lucky to find this place. It was reasonably priced for the Manchester half marathon, and the location was perfect, with the start line right outside the door. I'll come back next year.

The location is great, right in the city centre, and we were happy with the staff service after a problem at check-in. They charged us twice, but managed to sort it out. We also had to call about the £50 room deposit, which we were told would be returned within 72 hours. A week later it still hadn't arrived. After I rang, the person said it had already been sent and offered to email confirmation for my bank. Five minutes later the deposit came through with the confirmation. I'm not sure we'd have got it back if I hadn't called. We got the large room we booked. It was spacious with lots of storage, and the bathroom was really nice. It was a bit dirty when we arrived, with food on the floor. The noise came through very clearly from the rooms and hallway. Around 3-4am we could hear every word from next door, and it was very loud.

The bar and restaurant area was good, and breakfast was a good size. The room, though, smelled musty, looked tired and was a big disappointment. It was spacious, but very functional, and not the hotel weekend experience I had in mind. It definitely needs an upgrade. At check-in time they didn't have a room ready. After some scrambling and being asked to wait, we were given an accessible room. Staff generally seemed a little bored and indifferent, and we didn't feel welcomed. Overall it wasn't good value for money, and I won't stay here again.