Voco Manchester City Centre

The only person who made us feel welcome was Braima at breakfast. He was polite, kind and really helpful. The reception staff could use customer service training. This was our second visit, just four months after the first, and the difference was shocking. We came for a wedding at the weekend, but the atmosphere was poor and nobody welcomed us like they had in October 2025. Staff weren’t helpful, and they started stripping the chairs before the wedding guests had even left the room. The food was a flop, worse than what I’ve had at a child’s birthday party. I can’t believe such poor food was served at someone’s big day. The hotel’s standards have slipped badly. I wouldn’t recommend it and will spend my money elsewhere.

Only the people at reception were smiling and kind. The hotel has a quirky look, which we liked. We arrived early and had two pots of tea for £8, a modest price, but the table hadn’t been properly cleaned and the floor was dirty too, as my photos show. The waitress didn’t try to clean the table.

Breakfast was good, and the staff there gave good service. My king premium room was very spacious, and the comfy beds are what I like about Voco. The towel was rougher than I prefer, though, and check-in could have gone better: I was given the wrong breakfast time and nearly charged for the wrong booking before I pointed it out. The location is great, about a 5-10 minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly station. I’d come back for that comfortable bed.

The city-centre location is great, and we got the large room we booked, with plenty of space and storage and a really nice bathroom. Staff were helpful, and they sorted out the problem when they initially took our payment twice. There was food on the floor when we arrived, and noise carried very clearly through the room and hallway. Around 3-4am we could hear every word from next door. We were also told our £50 deposit would come back within 72 hours, but it still hadn’t arrived a week later. When I called, the hotel said it had already been sent and promised an email confirmation for my bank. Five minutes later, the money arrived along with the confirmation. I don’t know whether it would have come back without my call.