It is quite hard to rate Motel One as it's not quite a 4, but a 3 is a bit mean. I'd want to award…read more7/10. We stayed here recently for a long weekend, paying £350 for a double room without breakfast. We asked for a quiet room so were put on the 12th floor at the end of the corridor.
Anyway, Motel One is a chain of German budget hotels, known for their relatively small, minimalist bedrooms. The one at Piccadilly is very close to the railway station (about 2 minutes from the Fairfield St exit, by the Metrolink station) , and well placed for those visiting the nearby Gay Village. The hotel itself is an a modern high-rise building, and has over 300 bedrooms. The foyer/reception area on the ground floor has two entrances (on Whitworth St and London Rd).
The foyer is very grand in a modern way, and includes the bar area and seating as well as the reception. It is also when breakfast is served in the morning. Decoration is provided in part by three vapour-effect log fires and a log fire running continuously on a TV screen, plus a selection of wall-mounted guitars.
There's a lot to comment on, so best set out as the pluses and minuses:
Plusses:
* Location perfect for Piccadilly Railway Station, trams and taxis, and also the Gay Village, and close enough to the shopping and nightlife areas
* Check-in was straightforward and the reception staff were friendly and efficient
* The room was spotlessly clean
* The bathroom, though compact, had a decent, reasonable if not "power shower" and nice fluffy towels
* Comfy queen size beds with nice bed linen
* Very good free Wifi
* Room service was good
Neutral:
* The rooms are on the small side; no wardrobe (only wall hanging rails), one tiny desk - but that is a feature of this chain (so good for a weekend, not for long stays or those with lots of luggage).
* The room design has clever space saving touches, like the kettle and tea/coffee being in a small wall cupboard
* The rooms have only cardboard cups - no glasses or china mugs
* The £10.50 breakfast is a buffet, served in the foyer. The cereals, yogurts and fruit salad were quite a walk from the seating area (which is by the main door - get the wrong table and you'll have a draught every time someone walks past). But plenty of choice otherwise and we enjoyed the breakfast.
Minuses:
* Sound proofing is poor inside and out: from inside you can hear other guests closing their doors (which had a tendency to slam) and conversations in adjacent rooms.
* The hotel is right by the tram tracks, and the sound of their horns, and their wheels squealing on the tracks, penetrates even the triple glazing. Light sleepers would be advised to pack ear plugs (trams run 05:45 to 01:00).
* There were no instructions except for the heating/cooling (which didn't cool at all, but we opened a window instead).
* Privacy: many of the rooms look at/are overlooked across a narrow passage by the offices opposite. Since there is no obscure glazing or net curtains, the only option if you want privacy in working hours is to close the curtains.
* The absence of a telephone means if you need anything, or have a problem, you have to go down to reception.
* the biggest issue for me was that the lifts (situated between the front door and the reception desk) have no security card system, so basically anybody can walk into the hotel and access all the accommodation floors. (Plus there are no spy-holes in the bedroom doors, so you don't actually know who is in the corridor outside.) On our visit, we saw some very odd people in the corridors - I think they were delivering food etc. But I think it is something that needs to be looked at.
So, overall, it suited our purposes, and the friendly staff and cleanliness meant we had no issues - but I was glad I brought ear plugs. With breakfast, I'm not sure over £400 for 3 days is really in a budget class, but it is central, comfortable (if you don't have too much luggage), and clean.