Thistle Manchester Hotel

I’ve just spent in Manchester
The hotel is conveniently located at the busy center and offers you most everything at walking distance, or with helpful taxi drivers at the front of the hotel the hotel rooms are immaculate although small
The breakfast offerings are very good and the service staff is attentive and helpful
Parking is off site and will set you back 15 pounds a night which is a little steep.
I would stay there again

Paid £59 a night. And guess I got what I paid for.
The hotel is noisy, you can hear everything that goes on in the corridors.
Shower pressure was great. The cleaners were on the ball and rooms were cleaned — even if the «do not disturb» sign wasn’t removed till late afternoon.
The biggest complaint was the noise — didn’t really get a decent night sleep because of it.
Had the TV on — wasn’t on loud and the people next door could hear it, just like we could hear everything they were doing/​saying.
Shame because when you think of Thistle, you think quality.
The bar in the hotel was lovely.

A grand hotel in the middle of Manchester. A 5 min walk from Piccadilly train station. Could do with modernising a bit but the location is great.

I am here overnight for a conference in Manchester tomorrow. I booked this hotel as it had a swimming pool. You can imagine my disappointment when I check in after a hectic train journey eager to go and chill out in the hot tub, to find it closed at 7.30pm so no swim for me.
Objecting to £5 surplus for room service, I ventured down to the restaurant. Now I did ask to be seated ina quiet corner (being on my lonesome) but I didn’t ask to be ignored or literally shouted at from across the restaurant «you ok?» I couldn’t very well shout back «no, my vegetarian aubergene pesto and pepper club sandwich has no aubergene or pesto in it!» I did manage a catch someone’s attention within 10 meters and the response was «the delivery didn’t arrive today»
Surely if that is the case you say so when you present it at the table or offer an alternative instead of a pepper and egg club sandwich which was ok but not what I ordered. Ok rant over.
The rooms are ok for £90 per night, nothing wow or memorable. There was no heating in on in the room when I arrived so hopefully it will have warmed up a bit when I head back to my room later.
The receptionist was helpful and when I asked about directions for my conference tomorrow, did print me out a map.
We will see what breakfast is like tomorrow.
Ok, I am now back in a roasting hot room!
Also I have to update that they didn’t charge me for desert as the main course wasn’t up to scratch! That’s a bit better, I am contemplating whether to adjust my star rating from a 2 to a 3, but then it should be good without having to complain, what do you guys think?
Ok, to update my review from yesterday. I slept well and the shower had pretty decent water pressure. Breakfast was actually well run. It was a buffet breakfast with fresh produce. Not a great selection of veggie items but the standard mushrooms /​eggs and hash browns. Wish you could score half stars as I would rate it 2.5 stars, it just falls short of 3 stars for me. I am pretty experienced with hotel stays having lived in hotels for 3 years whilst touring, so whilst I may seem picky, it is because I have many hundreds of hotels stayed at to compare it too and I know what else you can get for your money. Ok for an over night on a business trip but not a holiday.

I’ve just spent a week in Manchester, England (my first time in the UK) with Accommodations at the Portland in downtown Manchester… and in spite of the rainy (rainy) weather I found the staff… the entire staff, to be upbeat, cheery and truly delightful… the kind of morale that must be generated ONLY from the very top… these folks are professionals and expert at what they do: kind, humorous, gentile and wonderful at making your home away from home, just that. I had a delightful week there much because of this fine hotel management and operation.
The hotel is conveniently located at the busy center and offers you most everything at walking distance, or with helpful taxi drivers at the front of the hotel… the hotel rooms are immaculate … carefully prepared and maintained… clean as clean can be … with every useful convenience one would expect for a short or extended stay.
The breakfast offerings are wonderful and the service staff is attentive and helpful… smiles in the morning, when you really need them… fresh and delicious fruits, breads, meats and cheeses… great coffee and juices… just a perfect start to a day of facing those rainy sidewalks…
The evening staff and kitchen offerings are just as fine as the earlier hours and I do have a habit, as many travelers, of coming and going at all sorts of hours and I knew the hotel would be a welcomed return with each passing.
I want to personally thank all those wonderful people there at the «Portland Thistle» for taking such good care of me and help making my first UK excursion a success on every level… you are all wonderful, thank you truly… and hope to see you all again soon.
World Traveler
Angelo Marinosci, Jr.

First, a tip. When you check in they try to intimidate you into pre-​purchasing your breakfast, because it will cost more on the day. What they fail to mention is the host of breakfast-​serving establishments where you can eat for much less.
Ok, the review. I didn’t like it. The rooms were small, dingy, and dirty. I know because I looked at three before settling on one. But even that one wasn’t particularly nice, just not obviously sullied like the previous options. The mattress was soft and springy, the walls were paper thin, and there were ghosts of stains on the bathroom tiles.
There was a wee gym and a teeny pool that was useless if you actually wanted to swim. There was no one manning the desk the first time I went to use the gym, and when I walked past it he popped out of nowhere and chased me down saying I needed to sign in and eyeing me suspiciously. Yes, that’s right, I’ve come all the way to your hotel with no wallet or keys or anything just so I can have a go on your shittay elliptical machine. As you can see I’m still grumpy about being treated like a criminal.
It’s the least expensive chain hotel in the area, but it’s not that much less than the surrounding hotels and isn’t particularly nice. Maybe if you’re just there for a night but I wouldn’t recommend it for a longer stay.

The Thistle staff are friendly, the rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable, this would be a completely acceptable although unremarkable city hotel except for one thing.
Paper thin walls.
If you have to wake up for an extremely early meeting, the last thing you want is to hear is incredibly loud and never-​ending sex noises coming from the room next door. Seriously were they for real? If their bed hadn’t made moving noises, it would have sounded too porn like*. This kept me up for 2 hours, in the last hour before I needed to wake I relented and phoned reception asking for ear plugs. They had no ear plugs but they kindly moved me to the vacant other room next door which thankfully was sex-​free, although I didn’t manage to sleep before my busy day.
I spent the whole of breakfast scrutinising couples in the restaurant with sleep deprived hate driven eyes. Own up! It was you wasn’t it? Well tuck in to your fry-​up, it was well deserved. Don’t worry about the calories, I am sure you both burnt enough off. Be careful not to choke on that sausage.
*Disclaimer — not that I know what that sounds like. honest.

This city centre hotel is an acceptable location for an overnight business trip, as testified to by my girlfriend’s father. Its situated on Portland Street, making it minutes away from all the likely locations for your business meetings and lunches.
When visiting for a drink, I must say I didn’t think much of the reception area and bar. It’s a tacky bright red colour, and although not in any way grim, its not particularly cool, fashionable, or pretty.
The bar is open really late as well so if your business dinner turns into a piss up, theres no need to cut it short! Its also very near to the northern quarter, where the bars are in no danger of closing until the wee hours.
Being as it is on Picadilly Gardens, you’ve also got the top food options, including Manchester’s best fast-​food, Rice, with its gorgeous noodle and rice combos, perfect if you’ve not got much time to spare on a day of hardcore businessing.