Hatters Hostel

Bargain!
And for the price, this is really great… Common rooms, free breakfast (unfortunately it only started at 7.30am so I missed it as I had to get my train back), activities planned, secure…
It has this old dirty feel to it, but the beds were clean. Funny super old bathroom with interesting flush system…
If you know what hostels are, and you are on a budget, I definitely recommend this place! paid around 12 pounds a night in a 10 bed dorm. Budget-​focussed, worth it! also at the edge of nice area to walk around.

Had an excellent stay over the course of 8 nights. I stayed in a mixed 8 person room every night. Let me preface this by saying that I prefer to stay in hotels and this was my first hostel experience. That being said, I was in the military and had to sleep in pretty rough conditions.
On with the review — I would say that the place is kind of dirty looking but not dirty (if that makes sense) — like a good steam cleaning would make it shine. There are several commune areas on the first and second floors. The commune rooms always have people in them, working on computers, watching tv, cooking, etc. The kitchen was adequate to cook in — no oven though (meaning no pizza).
The rooms were clean — sheets, pillow case and duvet cover were noticeably washed. Bunk beds are a staple and the mattress I slept on was surprisingly comfy. The major negative is the lack of outlets (power points). My room only had two in the most peculiar spots.
The toilets were kept clean and flushed — two obvious musts. The showers were clean. Oddly they are push buttons — push and water flows for 15 seconds. The water was warm for 7 of the 8 days.
The activities were fantastic. Game nights (kind of slow) and pub crawls (epic for the two I went on) make up most of the night life. A walking tour is also offered on Saturdays.
The service and staff were all excellent. I’ve never met so many nice people. Thanks guys for a fantastic stay.

i stayed at hatters th october, for 1 night, went to warehouse project, great location, bit noisy if your room is on street side, cheap£30 single room, nice bed lamp table mirror, chair, no tv (who cares) free tea/​coffe/​toast, nice mix of people, good party atmos on a saturday night, downside doors that slam, heels on girls make noise, early check out time (too early) for a hostel, all in all cheap basic great location, to get your head down after a night on the town!

This is a hughe Hostel it was full of students, but that was ok cause they have a lot of space. The worst thing that I have to say about it was about the barbecue place they offer you in their web site that you can make a BBQ and at the reception they have a sign saying £10 for BBQ, alright so when we went to ask about it they said that it wasn’t allowed to make it because they don’t have the staff necessary for made it, and the fire insurance doesn’t cover if someone different from the staff were making the barbecue. So I asked in the reception what happened if we try to buy one of those portables barbecues disposal and the guy at the reception literally said «I don’t know»… Ok that it’s my only bad experience in this hostel, but we were 3 grown up people in our latest twenties and also we are from south America so the barbecues for us is holy ritual, I’d been starting BBQ since I was 13, with gas, wood, charcoal, electricity, etc.
I completely understand the health and safety policy that all the Brits have but this was too much! It’s like all right you have cameras all over the place if I’m trying to start a fire you are going to see me and also they have blankets fire everywhere so I don’t get it… Maybe I’m too southamerican

I was not overly impressed with this place, but ultimately it has no major flaws and is located in a prime spot.
On the plus side they have free toast and juice at all hours. It’s cheap and located a short walk from the train station. It’s safe and secure, and clean as well.
The minus side the bathroom could be on a different floor, the dorms have too many people in them (personally I find 18 people to make things impersonal as well as increases the chance of snorers and very early alarms), and WiFi and internet are both not free… and not even that cheap to boot.

It’s very rare that you can say a place actually saved your life, but I can say that about this hostel.
On Easter weekend in 2007, I had made my way up from London through some major train reroutes to watch Manchester City play Charlton Athletic. By the time the match ended, the last train back to London had departed. With nowhere to stay for the night I desperately knocked on the door of Hatters. They were sold out being a Bank Holiday weekend, but found me a spot in one of the 18 person mixed dorms (maybe it had been freed up by someone trapped in London, I hope they had similar luck). My other choice would have been the transient hotel at the end of their street — and I shudder to think what might have happened there.
The location of Hatters is unbeatable. It’s just a short walk away from Manchester Piccadilly. And there’s a 24-​hour chippy less than a block away. It’s not in the heart of Manchester’s nightlife or anything (which was almost a good thing for sleeping as the club kids stayed elsewhere), but it’s pretty close to the Piccadilly Gardens station on the GMPTE.
Beyond that, this is one of the most social hostels I’ve ever stayed at. They have a very active (and very large) common area near the front desk. Even an introvert like me managed to meet fellow travelers over copies of the papers.
There is only one major issue with this hostel. The bathrooms are often on different floors from your room. Walking down stairs to shower wasn’t necessarily a good time (especially since Hatters is built inside of an old hat factory making it a bit drafty).
Security is a bit tight at night and all three times I’ve stayed here, I’ve found the night receptionist a bit surly. However, day reception has always been friendly and knowledgeable and the hostel has even prepared a self-​guided tour of Manchester’s musical landmarks. I would definitely stay here again in Manchester. Though being older now, a private room with a bathroom might be tops.

I stayed at this hostel in March 2008 for a weekend. It’s in a fantastic location, right in the centre of the city so there was no need to use public transport to get around and we could stumble home after a night out. The staff are really helpful and recommended a brilliant club for us to go to. Our room was nice, basic but clean. It was on the 5^th floor though and that means climbing a LOT of stairs. The girls toilets were on the 4^th floor so we did a lot of exercise that weekend. The beds are comfy but the showers could have more privacy. Each floor is named after a Manchester band and they have displays on the wall with pictures of bands. It’s a bit of a ‘party’ hostel so it was fine for us as we were in the city primarily to enjoy some good nights out but beware if it’s a good nights sleep you’re after.

Das Hatters war lange Zeit meine Stamm-​Unterkunft
in Manchester. Es ist in der Newton Street 50
sehr nahe im Zentrum (Picadilly Gardens) und bietet
wirklich günstige Unterkunft. Man kann dort zwischen
Dorms (Schlafräumen) und eher privaten Zimmern wählen
(2 oder 3 Betten). Es gibt auch Dorms für Männer und
Frauen getrennt, was ich ganz gut finde!
Leider ist das Hatters sehr sehr alt!
Das merkt man insbesondere an den Sanitäranlagen
(v.a. Toiletten und Bädern). Das Niveau ist nicht so toll,
aber es ist i.d.R. immer sauber und das muss man Ihnen
zugute halten!

This hostel is good for cheap nights, but also the most traditional-​backpackers option Manchester has to offer. If you’re expecting plush ensuite rooms and fancy stuff, then this is not your place but as a bed for the night, it’s not bad.
Based in an old factory in the Northern Quarter, the interior is crazy, colourful and informed though the Victorian building can be a little cold. They seem to have done all they can to brighten it up. Quirky and friendly, the staff are mad but lovely. It’s cheap too