Any budget hotel or B & B recco's for Manchester/UK??

I basically have an overnight layover there, arriving Saturday late at night by train, then flying out later in the morning the next day/Sunday.

Am up for ideas on must see's/avoid's on a Sat. night/Sun morning as well, but wanted to nail down where I'm sleeping first :)

When I was in Manchester last summer I stayed at the Gardens Hotel on Piccadilly. It's within walking distance from the Piccadilly station, and there is a bus that connects the station with the airport. It was 42 pounds then. Rooms are small and simple, and mine was very hot with poor ventilation, but that was late July. There is a bar downstairs and convenience store just a block or two away. It was within walking distance to the downtown shopping area and Chinatown.

Alternatively, you could stay at the Bewleys Hotel Manchester Airport, which as the name suggests is right next to the airport. They run a free shuttle. That was 69 pounds.

I haven't been to Manchester, but have looked into this issue for a possible trip. Priceline 4* bidding often yields results in the same price range mentioned above. Another possibility is Travelodge, particularly if they have a Saver special - http://www.travelodge.co.uk .

Plenty of budget hotel chains including two Ibis hotels (http://www.ibishotel.com/), some Premier Travel Inns (http://www.premiertravelinn.com/) and the above mentioned Travelodge.

The Britannia (http://www.britanniahotels.com/hotel_home.asp?Page=108), Jury's Inn (http://manchesterhotels.jurysdoyle.com/jurysinn_manchester) and the Princess on Portland (http://www.princessonportland.co.uk/) can all have relatively cheap special offers.

As for what to do, lots of options. Depends what you are into!! Have a look at the Visit Manchester homepage:
http://visitmanchester.com/index.aspx

I needed an easy place to sleep near MAN while transiting and stayed at the quite new Travelodge near the airport. It was perfectly adequate for budget quarters and cheap. They have various locations and, if you can hit the right day, insanely cheap rates. Here's the link... (http://www.travelodge.co.uk/) I was there during the summer & couldn't find anything comparable price-wise on PL or other hotel sites. YMMV.

There are a couple of hostels: Hatters and Hilton Chambers offering a cheap and cheerful place to stay. The bonus is that they're slap bang in the middle of the city: tons of music and events going on there. Check out www.hattersgroup.com :)

Welcome to TravelTalk travelchic1980 !

Thanks for the input, and we look forward to more posts.

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