Macdonald Hotels - not that bad after all

I've been to the Macdonald Hotel in Machester for a meeting today. Previous experience of this company was very negative. They used to run the St Paul's Hotel in Sheffield. In terms of the chaotic service it felt like the chain equivalent to Fawlty Towers. I had a three terrible experiences in a row there. The last time was so bad and the manager so embarrased, the drinks we had ordered and waited for so long were on the house. This particular hotel is now run by the Mercure chain and has improved considerably. It is now a great palce end an evening out in Sheffield (see last post). Given the Sheffield experience I had a sense of dread about today in some respects, but consoled myself that this was just for a work related meeting, not a weekend away.

The meeting room was okay, but the various pillars got in the way of seeing the PowerPoint presentations. Tea and coffee was good and served in quite nice china. The lunch was tasty and the service efficient. The hotel felt of a good standard and does its job, but is a bit uninspiring. The location is ideal for work related meetings, it overlooks Picadilly Staion, so is a short walk from there. It is about ten minutes walk to the Bridgewater Hall and a good fifteen minutes from the Arndale Centre. For a leisure venue I prefer the Midland Hotel and the Raddison Edwardian. The location, next to the Bridgewater Hall is a better place to be if you are in Manchester for a few days and they are more stylish. They are also more expensive.

The Macdonald Hotel in Manchester wouldn't be my first choice of places to stay, but all in all I have a better view of Macdonald Hotels this evening than I had this morning.