Penta Hotel

I stayed here for 1 night in June of this year. I chose it because it was fairly central and easy to travel to/from the Co-Op Live venue, and also because it suited my super low budget. Pros: Great location/close proximity to town, especially for someone that's new to Manchester. It's also a walkable distance to/from the main train station. Cons: The bathrooms are a bit old and nitty gritty, so the drainage in the shower wasn't great. Most of the floor on one side of the bathroom/around the shower drain was noticeably dirty/sticky on account of a regular build up of slow draining shower water. Not great in a shared dorm with lost of people using the same shower! Also, just a heads up, the hostel is located right on what can be quite a busy (and loud) street for nightlife, so earplugs are a good idea if you're a light sleeper. Also, another heads up, the door at the main entrance is weirdly hard to open. I saw several guest struggling to push it in while I was there. Overall, a pretty decent hostel for the price (minus the drainage issues) and perfectly fine for 1 night on a budget. I would have absolutely no problem staying here again.

Was here for a visit the week before last to see the city and visit family before Christmas to find out it was over booked although I had booked and and paid prior. The receptionist tried to help us as much as possible but there was no manager at night to help and they seemed a bit lost something that continued throughout my whole stay…. When we did see who seemed to be the Manager/ higher up or owner they were always there in the day and never seemed to be doing anything other than being on laptops, whilst the rest off the staff done all the work. The manner in which they speak to staff and fellow guests is disgusting the Spanish girl is very rude and condescending whilst the Gentleman seems very angry and very low intelligence with the way he speaks to his staff… not to say the fact customers who are bilingual can hear them bad mouth their hard working staff in Spanish as if no one else speak the language (felt very sorry for the staff who were working) Accommodation was super loud as it was right above two noisy late night bars which is never mentioned on Booking.com and the rooms were the furthest thing from noise proof even to the point you can hear everything from the room next door and outside. Mattresses were super uncomfortable and you could feel each individual spring leading to a terrible night sleep. The Room was incredibly warm, there was no thermostat to control this and you can’t open the windows because then all the noise from the street floods in. I was provided with a fan but this didn’t help as there was no cool air so it just ended up blowing warm air around the room. (Don’t think the staff quite understand how a fan works but t doesn’t create cold air it just circulates the air and needs a cool source to push cool air) Shared common area wasn’t too bad but the kitchen is dirty and smelled really bad, constantly smelled like someone was cooking fish or curry. There is shared bathrooms on both the first and second floor, both were covered in mould and the floors were soaking wet which doesn’t help with mould… you have to rent the towels and return them with no money returned which is absolutely mental I have never stayed anywhere where you have to rent and return towels there usually sold or provided. Night staff seem disengaged and emotionless which i can understand as you don’t see them take breaks and seeing how the day runs you can’t help but feel bad for them. All in all the only positive aspect is the bar and the surrounding area, close to live music venues, really convenient for travel, being close to the Christmas markets and both of the football grounds for the big football teams are a short travel. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone for the price you pay you might as well book at 4* hotel as you’ll spend the same amount but get better service.

The lady who is on this evening is amn absolute credit to the company! Polite, helpfull,genuinely a lady who cares about the company and just an all out pleasure to deal with! This girl needs a raise for her customer service! The most helpful receptionist I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with! Also the rooms are immaculate and the vibe in general is very laid back... I would highly recommend!