THE HOTEL
This is one of Yotel’s 14 city centre hotels around the world, including two in London and one in Glasgow.
The Yotel concept is one that offers a stylish and classy option that might be short on big thrills and unnecessary costly extras but is high on comfort, smart design, amenable technology and strong eco-credentials.
The property is ideally located in the heart of the busy Deansgate area, close to several restaurants and bars and a 10-minute taxi ride (or 20-minute walk) from Manchester’s Piccadilly train station.
CHECK-IN
After entering through the hotel’s revolving entrance door I was greeted by a circular station with several self check-in kiosks. The hotel had also supplied me with a QR code that could be used for check in. It was pouring with rain outside and a couple were getting in a flap, with umbrellas that wouldn’t close and raincoats dripping with water. They were in no mood to do the registration by themselves and a ‘Mission Control’ assistant was quickly at hand to complete their check in and issue the key.
Check-in is from 15:00.
THE ROOM
I stayed in a Premium King room. It was stylishly compact – with exposed industrial-chic piping on the ceiling – and utilised all available space imaginatively.
It featured a king-sized bed with a comfy organic, hand-made Naturalmat mattress, with mounted bedside spotlights for reading and multiple USB ports and sockets on either side of the bed.
There was also a work desk, mirror, and two shelves, one with two coat hangers and another with a towel, and a 40-inch TV.
The rain shower was a luxury touch – with water flow measures that ensure the shower heads and taps that are 45% more efficient than standard – and the bathroom mirror was lit by a light that turned on and off by touch.
Yotel has partnered up with Australian beauty brand Urban Jungle, to offer guests amenities with an ethical (and vegan) bent. The range, in refillable oversized plastic bottles (no throwaway miniature plastic bottles here) includes Make Good Shampoo, Save the Day Conditioner, Magic Bullet Hand & Body Wash plus Thirsty Work Hand & Body Crème.
The Manchester hotel’s other green credentials include solar roof panels and reduced energy consumption throughout the hotel. Low-energy LED lighting and occupancy sensors for heating, lighting and cooling systems in each room mean energy is only used when rooms are occupied.
THE FACILITIES
The free Wi-Fi was superfast throughout the hotel.
MOTLEY, a restaurant and bar, occupies most of the ground floor. On the busy Wednesday evening I was there the bar was packed with both hotel guests and non-residents. There was a great selection of draft beers from local breweries on tap, including their own Motley Lager. Hotel guests receive 15% off their bill when dining at MOTLEY.
The breakfast was a fabulous buffet with cereals, porridge, fruits, croissants, and ‘real’ coffee and everything you would hope for from a cooked breakfast including vegetarian sausages.
On each floor, close to the elevator there’s free tea and coffee and ironing facilities in a self-serve galley.
TRIB3 is the onsite fitness studio. Free 45-minute coach-led HIIT classes are available throughout the day with five free guest spots in every session, exclusively for YOTEL guests.
THE BUSINESS
Four ‘spaces’ that can host between eight and 50 people are available for meetings, events or private dinners. Each room benefits from natural light and doors that offer direct access to a terrace and out onto Deansgate. The hotel says it offers “better than standard meeting room fare”, super-fast WiFi, AC, screens with easy connectivity, stationery and more.
THE VERDICT
With an unbeatable city-centre location, this is a super-comfortable hotel with enough creature comforts to banish all thoughts of any kind of ‘minimalist’ experience. There are plenty of newsworthy sustainable and green touches too. For example, the hotel operates a scheme to give back to guests who decline housekeeping to combat energy wastage: for each day they receive a £5 drinks credit at the hotel’s bar and restaurant, MOTLEY.
THE DETAILS
2 John Dalton Street, Manchester M3 2NW; Tel: 0161 511 5060; yotel.com
Nightly rates begin at around £130 a night for a Premium King room, including breakfast.
