Lifestyle: Hotel passes ‘sleep test’ with flying colours

JUST like most New Yorkers who have never ascended the Empire State Building or Londoners who have somehow avoided visiting the Crown Jewels, as a longstanding resident of the North West, I had never stayed at a Manchester hotel.

That was until the Macdonald Manchester Hotel & Spa on London Road invited my partner and I along for a “sleep test”.

The four-star hotel, which overlooks Piccadilly Station and the vacant but still iconic London Road Fire Station, also has panoramic views of the city and its surrounding area.

From my point of view it was a perfect gig, with Manchester – increasingly the centre of attention at the heart of city devolution and the much-talked-about Northern Powerhouse – having become a massively popular destination for city breaks, and I’m not just talking about stag and hen nights.

Some 10 or 15 years ago such a concept might have seemed a little ludicrous, but with the decline of Greater Manchester’s satellite town centres, a weekend trip into the metropolis on the train or Metrolink is now a highly attractive option.

The reality is that there is so much more restaurants, bars and night life experiences on offer in the big city than in towns like Bolton, where I hail from.

Not that my partner and I had to go far for a fine dining experience. Our stay included a three- course meal which we enjoyed to the full.

In true Macdonald tradition I tucked into a Macsweens Haggis, neeps and tatties in a whiskey sauce at £6.50 and my companion had the Potted pork, Arran mustard butter, toasted sour dough which came in at £8.

The main course was a no-brainer thanks to Macdonald’s Scottish Steak Club. We both obliged with medium cooked fillet steak which cost £28.

A combination of ice-cream flavours for the sweet course followed and the whole lot was washed down with a bottle of Australian red wine – Berton Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, – at £35.75.

Needless to say, following this hearty meal, the sleep test was not going to be difficult. But we were awake long enough to enjoy the vista from our eighth floor room, which had stunning panoramic views of the night time city.

The king-sized bed in the 400sq ft room was big enough to host a game tennis, but such frantic activity was out of the question after we closed our highly effective blackout curtains which covered the huge windows on two sides of our room.

Bathrobes and slippers were supplied and the bathroom, with separate shower and bath, did not disappoint either.

Although we were unable to sample the Spa treatments on account of the necessity to get home for our dog, I am reliably informed the hotel’s facility has established itself as the number one urban spa in the North West.

Integral offers include the signature treatment Paradise Escape, which begins with Madagascan Fruit Seed Full Body Exfoliation, followed by massage with warm body balms drizzled over the legs and back while the therapist focuses on muscular aches and pains.

An elixir of exotic orange blossom is massaged into the face to restore the youthful glow.

All in all, the Madonald passed its sleep test with flying colours and is the perfect gift option for special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays.