I had quite a long (5 nights) stay at the Mercure this time. I have been about ten times in the last fourteen years to attend a conference. This time I stayed on for a bit afterwards going out into town on the Sunday evening and to the theatre on Monday. The staff were the friendliest and most efficient they have been in all those stays - their willingness to please was very noticeable. Rebecca at reception (and her colleagues) were very kind and printed out my crossword for me every morning which was a bit of a pain for them because the only printer working for them at that point was three floors up from their desk. Abbie and Rose looked after me very well in the dining room and at breakfast - they are real superstars. Thomas was my waiter at supper on Friday and he was delightful - efficient and charming. My room was comfortable as always, there was good water pressure in the shower and it was all very clean. All the public areas of the hotel were in good condition and the food in the restaurant was much better than I remember it previously. Overall it was a fabulous stay. The location is great with the bustle and fabulous food of China Town in one direction and the delights of the Arndale Centre in the other. I went to the Exchange Theatre (a short walk from the hotel) to see the brilliant Daniel Kitson and walked to the Old Wellington pub on Sunday afternoon to have supper before Becky Hill at the Arena. Manchester is a great place. I felt safe and loved how busy and vibrant everywhere was.

My only beef is with the WiFi (as it has been on previous occasions). In public areas it is good but I once again found it unreliable in my room. The (quite sophisticated TV) offered the ability to stream from connected devices but in practice the WiFi was too patchy to work properly. My laptop connected reasonably well but my phone and iPad really struggled (so that could have been my issue not the hotel's). It did not materially affect my enjoyment of the stay but it was a minor niggle!

Good location

Room was a little smaller than expected. Usb sockets near bed were charging super slowly

Excellent location for shopping and exploring the city

Pleasant rooms

Fantastic location, only 8 mins walk from the train station and a couple of minutes from the bus station. The staff were really friendly and even gave us a complimentary ice lolly on arrival! The room was really clean and had everything we needed for the night we stayed. We would definitely return.

The huge double bed was very comfy, although the sofa bed wasn't up to the same standard and was quite hard.

Location central

It was tired and worn out. No air conditioning or ventilation. The room was like a sweat box.

Breakfast was nice, location good

We booked a family room and got a very bad bed for our daughter. When we asked for an extra mattress it was denied and nothing was done. So the first night she slept with springs coming up her back. The big bed was like a trampoline bed. The next day we got moved to a better family room but the bed there was not great eiither.

Location, good breakfast

Very noisy due to location but the banging lift didn’t help matters

Breakfast excellent

Room a bit bigger, but was fine for our needs