Review: Innside Hotel, Manchester

If you have ever been to Spain chances are that you will have probably stayed at some point in a Melia hotel. This Spanish hotel group has various hotel brands such as Sol Hotels, Melia and Innside, all aimed at different markets.

The Innside brand is well established in Germany. Described as a range of urban lifestyle hotels designed for savvy, professional travellers, who are looking for more than just a standard business hotel. The first hotel in the UK has recently opened in Manchester. The hotel is located in the heart of Manchester in the First street development which contains the HOME project, with its two theatres, five cinemas and art galleries.

If you are staying on business the Manchester Central exhibition hall is a 5 minute walk away. For leisure travellers the Bridgewater Hall, if you are going to the theatre, is also a 5 minute walk. The Palace Theatre is an easy 10 minute walk. The shopping areas are about the same distance.

Appealing not just to business travellers but leisure travellers too the group intend to open further hotels in Glasgow and Birmingham.

Arriving on a wet and windy night it was a pleasure to be greeted with a warm yet professional welcome by the receptionist. Although the desk was busy we were offered a free drink whilst in the queue. A simple touch but one that added to the first impression of the hotel. The other guests checking in all appeared to be European business travellers who knew the brand well and could rely on the high standard the Innside brand sets itself.

The hotel has 208 rooms that come in 3 configurations: Innside King Guest Room, this they say is the simplest offering yet from the rooms I saw they looked far from simple. The next level up is the Innside Premium King Room which offers more space, a king size bed, a sofa bed and work and vanity area.

The suite my partner and I had the pleasure to stay in was the Innside Lifestyle Suite, located on the top floors of the hotel; they offer cityscape views of Manchester. With a generous 51m2, you have more than enough space. Being on the upper floors makes the suites very light and airy. With 2 flatscreen TV's, a free mini bar containing soft drinks, excellent quiet air conditioning, which has to be the quietest of any hotel I've stayed in, a very comfortable King size bed, free Wi Fi, which was very fast when I used it and a desk with a quality chair, all of a high standard.

The restaurant on the ground floor is entitled Manchester Street on 1st. The chef it appears comes from Australia but moved to Spain so the menu is a mixture of Asian meets European dishes that works well. The starter of Iberian ham with Catalan bread was delicious as was the main 8oz fillet of beef. Highly recommended. The staff were highly knowledgeable about the food on the menu and where the food was sourced. Friendly, attentive personnel without being too intrusive whilst dining made the whole experience of a first class nature.

Breakfast too was highly impressive. Whilst some other European brands have tried a one size fits all policy for breakfast with the food served when they move into the UK market; Innside have adapted the breakfast to UK tastes so besides the normal continental breakfast there are British favourites, bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns etc. Eggs can be cooked to your own individual taste. With a buffet style service all tastes seemed to be catered for. A DJ plays soft music in the background which adds an ambience to the enjoyable experience.

The hotel has a Wellness Suite open 24 hours a day. With a state of the art gym, Finish aromatherapy and a range of beauty treatments and massages this is something you would expect to find on a cruise ship, not in a hotel.

The First Floor where the Wellness Centre is located has on the walls quotes from Manchester pop artists such as Noel Gallagher from Oasis, Ian Brown from the Stone Roses and even football legend Eric Cantona. The one which I liked best though was from Anthony H Wilson, whose legendary Hacienda nightclub used to be just across the road from the hotel. "This is Manchester. We do things differently here..." is his famous saying. It could be applied to this excellent, top class, warm, clean and inviting hotel. "This is Innside, they definitely do things differently here"

Highly recommended whether on a business or leisure trip to Manchester. The only downside was having to leave the hotel at the end of our stay.

Rooms start from £99.00
www.melia.com
Telephone 0161 200 2500