SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

chanp

Stayed at both and a the Ren a week ago. I like both, rooms better at the Marriott and the locatoin is better at the Renaissance. The bed at the Ren was prob the most uncomfortable bed I've ever slept on at a hotel. Staff at Ren are really helpful. Both places don't have gyms, so you have to walk about 3-5 mins from each hotel. I have to be in Manchester quite often, so will prob bounce between the two and will update with any major changes.

Land-of-Miles

Location I think depends on where you need to be in Manchester. The Renaissance is at the Victoria end of Deansgate. The V&A is pretty much in Spinningfields with lots of offices and the best bars and restaurants nearby.

Steve_19

My wife and I stayed at the V&A in February and were lukewarm on the property. We have not stayed at the Marriott so cannot compare.

We were given a room with two floors which was not bad, but I am personally not a big fan of the split level rooms and needing to up and down stairs inside a hotel room. The staff was friendly and let us check in early (10 am). However the breakfast was pretty lackluster and not much value to it. Location was not horrible, but it did require a bit of walking to get to the town center.

Some pictures from the hotel: https://www.thetravelingexpats.com/r...-albert-hotel/

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

mr_moon

Just finished a 2 night stay at Marriott V&A. Have to say it was the worst Marriott I've ever stayed at and I'm a PP.

Paid Ł464 for 2 nights..

No upgrade.

Hotel has no lounge so was told breakfast was included in the restaurant.

Was given room 434. Checked in around 10:30pm after a 2 flight long journey. The room was very cold! I got in bed and left the heating on. Woke up a few times in the night still very cold! Had to leave the hotel early on the Saturday so had a quick shower getting out and getting changed in a very cold room and went down for breakfast. Messaged the hotel on the Marriott app to tell them my heating didn't work. Was told they would send an engineer but was given no apology..

Breakfast wasn't great, small range of options. The eggs were cold. Asked if I could order an omelette but was told this was Ł9 extra..?

After I returned to the hotel late afternoon on Saturday I discovered the heating was still not working so went to reception and was given a new room. The lady I spoke to was very friendly, apologised and came with me to the new room to check the heating was ok. Was given room 408

Other negatives..
Shower head is very low. I'm 6ft and the shower head was about 5 inches below my head.

On the Saturday night after being given a new room, I had a quick shower before heading out for dinner. Was looking forward to getting out of the shower into a warm room this time.. only for the fire alarm to go off as I was in the shower, so had to get out and evacuate the building.

Not sure why the hotel bothers to have the chat service on the app as it seems to take them hours to respond. On the Saturday evening at 8.47pm I messaged to ask if all was ok at the hotel after the fire alarm and could we return. After not receiving any reply I messaged them again at 11:16pm asking for a response.. in the end I walked back and everything was ok. They finally replied at 7:22am!

The room had no mini bar.

The room had a very small window. Hardly any natural light at all.

skrosvik

At the Ren for 5 nights....booked a suite through a promotion they were running. Arrived at the hotel around noon - was alarmed when I saw how ugly the whole building looked from the outside. The room was not ready, but the front desk said it would be ready soon. I went out and came back at 3 PM (normal check-in time), and the room was still not ready, but again they said it would be ready really soon.....I sat down, and asked again around 4:00 PM and got the same answer....now I really wanted to go to my room. Spoke to a manager who came up with all kind of excuses - and the said we could either get a standard room while we waited or sit down in the bar - drinks on the house. He said he would also throw in some Marriott points. We said down in the bar and had two drinks each....then at 5 PM we finally got the keys to our room.

The suite was located on the 11th floor. Spacious, but really run down. A very light renovation - meaning new paint on the walls, new carpets, new curtains and some newish furniture....things like the lamps are old, but they have given them new shades, not very stylish though, hehe. But of course I can understand why they dont put alot of money into this building, its going to be knocked down eventually. They are not sure when it will happen, but the owner of the site will knock it down to build a 5 star hotel with 250 rooms, a park and houndreds of apartments. The building must be one of the ugliest in Manchester. I agree with the other posters - the bed is horrible. Cheap box-spring mattress, but walking around all day makes me so tired, so I have no trouble sleeping well here, fortunately. The most annoying thing with this suite though is the lack of lighting, two small lamps in the bedroom and two small lamps in the living room. Plus points to housekeeping - the room is spotless every afternoon I return to the hotel. Turndown service is also done here.

Bathroom is old, but it is large. Water pressure is weak. A/C works well, which is a huge plus. The TVs are very small, but have many channels. Wifi is okey. Complimentary minibar - two bottles of water, two small bags of chips, two small jaffa bars and two bottles of soda. It's refilled on a very random basis (I heard from my friends, who are staying in a standard room at the 3rd floor that they dont even have a minibar/fridge). Nespresso machine and kettle with ample amounts of coffee/tea. Bathrobes and slippers are also provided. No safe though.

Staff are very nice, nice staff at the front desk, friendly staff in the bar and restaurant. Breakfast is good I think the best thing about this hotel is it's location. Right in the middle of the city. Walking distance to everything.

Not sure if I would return though. Manchester might be one of those places where I would totally skip Marriott....after walking around town for a few days I have seen way better places, and neither Ren, Marriott or AC are very attractive hotels. The staff here are great and the location is amazing, so maybe if the price was right, but next time I will probably stay somewhere else.

Horace

Wow!

I recently made a reservation for the Renaissance Manchester City Centre Hotel for 2020. I liked the low nightly rate, the proximity to Manchester Victoria railroad station, and that's its a full-service property. I had no idea that demolition of the hotel is on the horizon.

With quick Googling, I found articles about the expected demolition and what might replace this Renaissance:

— The Ramada Renaissance, a really ugly Manchester building is finally going to be knocked down

— This is the riverside development that could replace the Ramada Hotel

(Apparently the newspaper is unaware that the Ramada part of the hotel name was dropped long ago.)

I didn't find any news about when the demolition will happen.

Oxon Flyer

According to local media reports, the Renaissance Manchester Hotel is closing on July 15, 2020.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co...-most-18326562

littlevoices

Sad that it doesn't say it will certainly be replaced. Let's keep our fingers crossed, they obviously kept delaying the demolition to maximise profits anyway, it should have been a fully depreciated asset in many regards!

That was in 2008, more than a decade ago!

khabah

A mixed-use development including a hotel is slated to take the Renaissance’s place - maybe we’ll see the arrival of the W Manchester that never was.

khabah