Hilton Manchester Airport
TheBabyWebsite were one of the sponsors at TheLittleOnesFair in Altrincham and so we had to find a hotel nearby to stay in for the weekend.We had a look around online, as you do, and came to the conclusion that The Hilton, Manchester Airport was the best bet. We've always found Premier Travel Inn to be excellent, particularly with the kids, as they'll let the 5 of them stay in one room! But although Premier Travel Inn promised the cheapest Room Rate with £48 (if I remember correctly), it didn't include breakfast which came at an additional £7.50 each per night.
The Hilton, on the other hand, was offering a rate just under £180 which included breakfast and dinner on the first night thrown in for good measure. Obviously that was slightly more on paper than the Premier Travel Inn but the 3-course meal in the restaurant on the Friday night made it well worth the money. An absolute bargain, in fact!
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Although I have to say, Hilton hotels are very clever at getting you to spend more money than you intended. We both thought that the coffees, we were kindly offered at the end of our delicious meal, were included in the price and it was only on check-out that we discovered they were an additional £8 plus!
When we checked in, the extremely friendly, lovely receptionist gave us a free upgrade to one of the new rooms on the executive floor. I love this word 'executive' that they all use. It seems to signify different things in different hotels. In our hotel in Manchester, it meant we got a fluffy white dressing gown and slippers! It also meant that a miniature brandy and two yummy chocolates in a very expensive-looking box, were brought up to our room on the first night and two bottles of mineral water on the second night. Yet when we were upgraded to the executive floor in the Hilton Kensington last year, we had free nibbles and drinks early-evening , a tiny bottle of red wine in our room and fancier toiletires than the other rooms.
One thing I liked about our room in Manchester was the fact that the hairdrier was a proper one and actually near a mirror I could see in properly. Trivial though it may seem, it really annoys me, when hotel have one of those awful hairdriers stuck on a bathroom wall near a steamed-up mirror. Those hairdriers inevitably have no oomph to them whatsoever and you may as well have an 80 year old with emphysema blowing on your hair, it takes so long to dry! The bed was nice and big and comfy though the pillows were a bit soft for me. However there is a pillow menu so if you want to change your pillows, it's not a problem. We had air-conditioning in the room too but I suppose its an essential in an airport hotel as it would be noisyish with the windows open. I'm a light sleeper and I can't remember hearing anything all night....not one single plane. The room was lovely and quiet to be honest. People were leaving their rooms at all times of the night and early morning to fly off to all sorts of destinations but I wasn't woken by one single over-excited child running down the corridor in their haste to get to Florida for the easter Holidays!
The hotel was extremely easy to get to and was a mere 10 minutes from the venue we were attending which was great for us. But I can't think of a better hotel to stay in if you're flying off from Manchester airport early morning and need somewhere to overnight. The Hilton Manchester Airport is right on  the airport campus so no worries about getting stuck in traffic the next morning. You'll wake up relaxed and as long as you're not flying at an ungodly hour, you'll be able to go down and have an absolutely lovely breakfast. Now if you're anything like me in hotels at breakfast time, you won't know where to start and you'll eat far more than you ever would at home. Do you start with the fresh fruit and yogurt (and it is fresh fruit not tinned like The Holiday Inn Express that we stayed in when we were at The Baby Show in Excel) or the muffins and pain au chocolat? Or do you go for the Full Monty, cereal or croissants? I had a cheesy-ham omlette followed by pancakes and maple syrup one day...mmmm!! Eyes bigger than belly, I picked up a Danish too but was defeated before I even picked it up!
Check-out for us, like Check-in was smooth and easy. The Hilton Express check-out system can be a god-send late on a Sunday morning when everyone wants to check out at the same time. It's also particularly good to know about if you have a plane to catch and don't want to be stressing in a queue at reception.
We'd definitely go back and use the Hilton Manchester Airport again and if I was you, I'd always check out Hilton prices before booking any hotel stays. Their Best Rates are usually very reasonable, they have superb Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Deals and when you consider that most Internet-advertised cheap hotel rates don't include any meals, Hilton hotels are surprisingly competitive.
Any negatives about our stay? Well yes, why does a gin and tonic and a pint of Stella cost nearly £10? But thereagain....what a lovely way to enjoy a long, cold G and T!
Kathryn Crawford,
April 2007 |
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