Manchester is the third most visited city in the UK after London and Edinburgh, so there are LOTS of places to stay. There are also lots of other visitors. So it’s worth arranging your accommodation as soon as possible.
This guide aims to inform you about the places you might find in your own searches of the usual hotel / self catering websites, to help you plan what will work best for you. We don’t often stay in hotels in Manchester ourselves… but where we’re happy to personally recommend somewhere, we’ve included it.
A few local singers may be able to offer accommodation. If you would like to request a place, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do.
Manchester city centre
There are plenty of places to stay, from apartments and boutique independents to budget chain hotels and pubs.
Each of the different areas of the city has its own character. Our Gay Village is reputedly the oldest in the country. In the ‘newest’ area of the city – Ancoats – hipsters and gourmands are drawn to the renovated textile mills.
The Creative Tourist website is a good place to read about different quarters. (Click Explore then Neighbourhoods )
Hotels we can recommend:
YHA Manchester Hostel in historic Castlefield – a good budget option for travellers happy to share a room. 10 minutes’ walk to Deansgate/Castlefield tram stop.
Motel One. There are 3 Motel Ones here. Each is in a central location to explore the city centre, and just a few minutes’ walk to a tram stop which will get you to Stretford.
Innside (fabulous breakfast, and near HOME bar/cinema/restaurant. It’s handy for the Deansgate/Castlefield tram stop on the Altrincham line, so it’s direct to Stretford)
DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester – Piccadilly
Expensive but great hotel with bar and restaurant, just round the corner from Piccadilly train & tram stations.
Stretford
The singing venue is on a main road in the centre of Stretford. It is 4 miles south west of the city centre.
Staying here would obviously be very convenient, especially if it’s got free parking as that’s pretty limited at the venue.
The drawback is that Stretford is next door to Old Trafford . And Old Trafford is famous for its sports grounds. Which means that the hotels can be pricey even though many are ‘budget’ chains.
Until Manchester United announce their match dates we don’t know how much competition you’ll have for rooms. Increased demand = higher price. But maybe you’d want to know before you commit if it’s going to be full of football fans? That decision rests with you!
Hotels we can recommend:
Trafford Hall Hotel Victorian style in a 4* hotel. Just 2 stops on the tram to Stretford from Trafford Bar, which is a 2 minute walk from the hotel or a 45 minute walk to get to the singing venue.
Salford – our sister city
Unusually, Manchester city centre and Salford city centre are right next to each other, separated only by the River Irwell. When some of the BBC “moved to Manchester” they had actually moved to Salford…
The city has many interesting areas but the bits you need to know about are Media City and Salford Quays. Together they form a shiny waterfront complex that is home to BBC, ITV, The Lowry (theatre and gallery), and the superb Imperial War Museum North. Not to mention numerous hotels and a thriving bar/restaurant scene.
From Media City or Salford Quays, it’s roughly 20 minutes by car or 30 minutes by tram to get to Stretford Public Hall.
Hotels we can recommend:
Travelodge Salford Quays A good value hotel with a secure car park. Price varies a lot based on demand, so book early to secure a cheaper deal. 7 minutes’ walk to Salford Quays tram stop. With a change, it takes about 35 minutes to get to Stretford Public Hall. Or about 10-20 minutes by car.
Chorlton
About 10 minutes’ drive / 30 minutes’ walk from Stretford Public Hall, Chorlton is a lovely, leafy, leftie suburb.
It is lively, affluent and bohemian. It’s self contained – i.e. there are independent shops, artisan cafés and vegan havens so you’ll not feel the need to go elsewhere.
Chorlton is a contender for the evening social/s (but nothing is booked at time of writing).
It is well served for public transport. But, whilst you can get a tram directly from Manchester to Chorlton, and Stretford tram stop is easy walking distance from the singing venue, there’s no direct service from Chorlton to Stretford. It is easily doable though: travel 3 stops back towards the city, change at Cornbrook and head back down to Stretford on the Altrincham line. It takes about 20 minutes. Bus is more direct. Car is quick but taxi is advisable, as it’s only a short journey and you’d not need to worry about a parking space.
Sale/Altrincham
There are plenty of places to stay along the tram route south from Stretford.
Sale and Altrincham are pleasant, well served suburban towns with nice architecture, pubs, food offerings and green spaces.
They’re both just a few stops further along the tram line from Stretford. It’s about 12 minutes by tram from Altrincham to Stretford, and 3 minutes from Sale to Stretford. So if your hotel is handy for the Metrolink station you will be very favourably located.
It’s worth comparing the map of hotels on booking.com to the Metrolink map to find somewhere convenient.
North Manchester
North Manchester is not quite so lovely and leafy as South Manchester. But there are plenty of neighbourhoods to the north of the centre which are well connected due to the tram network, including Prestwich, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale.
Prestwich is the nicest (probably) and closest (definitely) of these. It has a busy urban main street full of places to eat and drink and green spaces within easy reach.
Stretford’s tram stop is on the direct line between Bury in the north to Altrincham in the south. So anywhere along that line would be relatively straightforward for travel. But do make sure any accommodation you choose is within a few minutes’ walking distance of a tram stop – it would take ages on a bus. To give you an idea, Bury – Stretford will take about 50 minutes on the tram, maybe 45 minutes by car.
Manchester Sacred Harp 