"I rarely write reviews, but this experience left me with no choice.
I stayed here for the Manchester Marathon and left deeply disappointed on multiple fronts.
FIRST — CLEANLINESS: The room was not properly cleaned on arrival. I found hair on the chair upon check-in. I have photographic evidence of this.
SECOND — INFLEXIBLE AND DISHONEST SERVICE: As a long-standing IHG One Rewards member, I was granted a late check-out until 2:00 pm. Due to the sheer volume of marathon participants in the city, I was unable to return to the hotel in time and requested a one-hour extension to 3:00 pm. This was refused, with staff citing housekeeping urgency as the reason.
I would understand if the hotel had been overwhelmed with similar requests from marathon participants. However, from what I observed, very few fellow runners were staying at this property, and the front desk made no mention of any such demand. The refusal was therefore not driven by genuine operational pressure — it was simply an unwillingness to exercise any judgement at all.
To make matters worse, shortly after I checked out, I personally observed hotel staff sitting and playing cards. Draw your own conclusions about the credibility of the "housekeeping urgency" explanation.
To add insult to injury, the manager's written response to my complaint suggested I should simply book an additional night if I needed a later check-out. This is not a resolution — it is an insult to a loyal member's intelligence.
THIRD — STAFF INDIFFERENCE: What struck me most was a telling contrast. After completing the marathon and returning to the hotel, still wearing my finisher's medal, fellow guests I encountered in the lobby and elevator congratulated me warmly, asked how the race went, and said "well done." These were strangers — other guests, not staff. Not a single hotel employee — from the front desk to housekeeping — offered so much as a word of acknowledgement. Their only interaction with me was to hurry me out of my room. In a city that had just hosted thousands of runners from around the world, this level of indifference from the hotel team was both deeply disappointing and telling.
FOURTH — ROOM TELEPHONE NON-FUNCTIONAL: The in-room telephone was completely non-functional during my stay, making it impossible to contact the front desk from the room. In an emergency situation, this could have serious consequences.
FIFTH — SECURITY RISK: The elevators have zero access control. Any member of the public can walk in off the street and access every floor of the hotel freely, without any verification whatsoever. Combined with a non-functioning in-room telephone, this creates a genuinely concerning safety environment for all guests. I strongly urge IHG to review whether this meets its own brand safety standards.
What troubles me most is this: I am a loyal, long-standing IHG One Rewards member — and even I could not receive the smallest degree of flexibility or human warmth under exceptional circumstances. If a loyal member is treated this way, one can only imagine how an ordinary guest would fare. This speaks volumes about the standard of staff training and people management at this property.
My purpose in writing this review is not to cause harm. It is to encourage this hotel to empower its staff to exercise better judgement, genuine flexibility, and basic human warmth when guests face exceptional situations. Rigid procedures should never come at the expense of basic human understanding.
I will continue to stay at other IHG properties. But I will never return to this hotel, and I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone."
