Blackfriars Vacation Packages

We travelled all day to get to Manchester. We arrived at the Portland to an underwhelming welcome by Irina. It was not immediately obvious we had arrived at reception as a woman was working on a laptop on a simple bench. It appeared we should have known that!!! We actually were at reception but you would never know it! There was not a smile, greeting or acknowledgement from Irina that we were unimpressed. The hotel was quite expensive therefore we would expect a better customer experience. Irina is in need of training or to be replaced by someone who actually likes the role. Unfortunately this soured our stay from the start. We are not in the habit of complaining but we felt so strongly about the poor customer surface we have had to comment.

Room spacious and clean , didn’t particularly like the open plan bathroom and shower over the bath. Slept well nice and quiet. Wouldn’t have chosen if I had known pet friendly although didn’t see any dogs.

bedroom tv was out of date so none of the apps worked. the tvs weren't tuned properly so most channels were missing. the internet seemed to be faulty so was connected via a different apartment. the connection was flaky, dropped out constantly. the kitchen amenities were basic, no cooking utensils. no soft lighting in living area only bright harsh kitchen lighting...had to use a lamp from bedroom, though no side table to put it on. windows are floor to ceiling and only roller blinds so you're either in blackout or a goldfish bowl . the window sills are metal, the building has no overhang, and windows are staggered so when it rained raindrops sounded like ball bearings hitting a steel tray, the sound seemed to amplify through the window frame by the bed, kept us awake half the night. batteries both tv remotes were dead, manager brought 2 other remotes, the batteries lasted five minutes and also died, had to buy our own. the listing for the flat suggested there was parking available, failed to mention the only parking was via another private company at £17 a night. flat itself is fine just needs a few basics fixing.

For the price compared to cheaper hotels room was small

Everything was perfect except from our room being located near a store cupboard for the staff, no soft close doors ment we heard the door being slammed all night.