Well, my first blog for Prestige Creative is finally here!
It’s been ‘in planning’ for a while but what with work, life and all the other usual excuses, you get the picture!
Anyhow, I was prompted to finally start blogging thanks to a rather marvellous hotel stay my wife and I enjoyed at the Macdonald hotel near Manchester Piccadilly train station this weekend.
As parents of two young children, we don’t often get away just the two of us but this weekend my mum had agreed to have our two (she must be mad) and we thought hey, why don’t we treat ourselves?
The rain was lashing down in stereotypical Manchester fashion, but did we let that dampen our spirits? No way, not when there’s a free babysitter! We booked one of their Panoramic Junior Suites (no 702) and skipped in just before tea time on Saturday. The hotel was very busy but after a short wait for check in and the lifts up to the seventh floor, we arrived and flaked out in style! See pictures below.
Panoramic Junior Suite - Macdonald Manchester
A lovely welcome in the form of a bottle of plonk and two chocolates, a gift and some guide books were just the beginning; smart Apothecary toiletries, a super soft king sized bed and some great views across to Piccadilly train station and we felt instantly happy!
The room was furnished with dark curtains and throws offset by creams and whites, a Nespresso coffee machine gave us an instant caffeine fix whilst crystal glasses begged for a dram to be enjoyed in them as the evening progressed. The service was good, with different pillows being delivered to us within 10 minutes and hot milk even faster when we returned from our meal in the evening.
I took this walk in video of the room upon arrival – to be honest it doesn’t do it justice, turnsout these rooms are some of the largest in the city, and I’ll wager some of the comfiest too, if my experience was anything to go by.
Often I go to concerts in the city and end up in the grotty little pub next to the Apollo, next time I’m coming here and sitting in their plush bar instead – the food here is affordable and of very good standard and the ambience is upmarket but accessible, a good solid 4* hotel with friendly staff.
One of the hosts asked me if I was there for the football. There was a sea of red shirts amongst the guests as a certain team from Stretford were playing Liverpool, I was quick to distance myself from that particular flock, pointing out I was a City fan. Not sure I’d have mentioned them by name had I known then that we were about to serve up our worst performance at the season at Everton just a few hours later!
Despite that minor blip, I have to say that the breakfast in the morning was another highlight, and did Manchester proud with its thick, crispy grilled bacon, hearty sausages and peppery black pudding amongst the other usual brekkie favourites. Add good quality coffee and freshly squeezed OJ into the mix and its high fives all round from me.
Ok, so now I’ve done one blog let’s hope for a few more eh?
See you next time!