Holiday Inn Express Manchester City Centre Arena

A fantastic budget hotel with a Premier feel. The rooms were very clean and had aircon, and the bar area was great. Showing your show tickets gets you 20% off. It’s well located for AO Arena and Printworks. Our only criticism was the bed, which was too soft for us.

The sofa bed was really uncomfortable for an adult. I was travelling with two tall guys and ended up sleeping on it, though it might suit a small child better. The room was good enough for a couple of nights, and the staff were amazing. It’s a perfect spot for exploring the city.

When the shower broke, maintenance came right away, so the service was very fast. The hotel is close to everything, and the cleaning was very good. They offered us the option to join as members for free, with benefits like a later checkout on the day we leave, free breakfast, and points that are easy to earn. We have no complaints about the cleanliness.

The hotel seems recently refurbished and is well located near AO arena and Manchester city centre. The lobby made a good first impression, clean and smelling nice, but that didn’t last because the front desk processes were inefficient. At check-in, there were five staff behind the desk but only one checking guests in; the other four watched. The staff member and guests at the front of the queue were standing and staring into space, and we couldn’t tell if they were waiting for something or if communication had broken down. It wasn’t a good look. We arrived at 3pm, the expected check-in time, but one of our three rooms hadn’t been serviced. The desk staff apologized, and we waited about 10 minutes, though it still wasn’t ideal. The room was pleasant, comfortable, and clean. The bathroom was modern, but the Dove soap and shower gels seemed quite watered down. Towels and bedding were clean, the bed was comfortable, and there were hot drink facilities and a wall-fixed hairdryer. Breakfast was busy at 9:30am on a Saturday, as expected, but staff couldn’t keep up. Some dishes were often empty, there wasn’t enough cutlery, and seating was unavailable or still waiting to be cleared. One coffee machine seemed broken, as the coffee tasted like dishwater. Checkout was just as disorganized. We waited in a queue while someone else was dealt with, then eventually left our keys on the desk and went. I was surprised there wasn’t an express key-drop box like many hotels have. The most disappointing thing was the parking setup. The hotel website said nothing about parking or nearby hotels, so we chose the nearby Print Works APCOA carpark. Inside the hotel, though, there was a sign saying guests could pre-book using a discount code. By then we’d already parked, so pre-booking was impossible and we missed the discount. I can’t see the logic in only displaying this information inside the hotel. Guests need to know about it before their stay. All in all, it’s a decent, modern hotel in a good location, but the processes need to be more efficient and streamlined for a better guest experience.