Luther King House

I visit Manchester regularly for work and normally stay in the Travel Lodge in Ancoats. However, parking has become much harder and I am working to a tight budget so looked around for alternatives and found Luther King House. I suited my purposes perfectly. Free parking and free breakfast were both a real boon, and the easy walk into central Manchester (through the area where I used to go to school many years ago) was both convenient and exciting. I had meetings and events over three days in central Manchester, The Wirral and Chester, and the location of LKC was perfect. Finally, I loved the central courtyard - a great space to sit and reflect each morning.

I realize that this is not intended as luxury accommodation and although the room / bed were very comfortable, some upgrading would be helpful (especially electrical fittings and the shower. However these are minor issues in the whole scheme of things.

Check-in easy and pleasant. Good car parking (no charge.) Access to rooms arranged round a lovely courtyard with grass, cherry trees and a small, working fountain - and seating with good quality picnic tables. Covered seating too (in the sort of sort of cloister/verandah.) Rooms are smallish but quite adequate (mine was a single.) Decent tv at work table and bedside light. Good curtains (doesn't sound much but makes a big difference!) Rooms are described as 'modest' but that's underestimating them. There's a small bar adjacent to the door to the courtyard, open evenings. Maybe the best surprise was breakfast. Site describes it as serving 'continental breakfast' which I took to be a coffee, a roll and a pastry. In fact the breakfasts are fabulous and in a nice big, but also intimate, room. I'm not going to list everything that was there and over three mornings I didn't manage to sample everything. As good a breakfast as I've had anywhere - no kidding. No 'fry-ups' but absolutely everything else (and as much as you want.) Very nice food staff too. The building is in a tree-lined street and is about a 1km north of a cluster of restaurants and pubs. There's a pleasant park just a couple of minutes walk from the Luther Centre and the city centre is to the north - maybe a couple of miles. The bus (there are plenty) only costs about £1.60. Along that road (Oxford Road) are the Whitworth Gallery and Manchester University Museum. The excellent municipal Art Gallery is right in the centre of town. I'm going on a bit but this stay was a really nice surprise.

No complaints at all.

The unusual access to an excellent library for anyone interested in theology or philosophy, or a supremely quiet place to study. The courtyard and little fountain outside my window were also a great little treat. Breakfast is basic but good healthy choices for those with Spartan tastes, you won’t go hungry that’s for sure. The Staff can sometimes appear a bit bored and beleaguered, but overall they were pleasant, courteous and very helpful.

The chairs in the rooms need deep cleaning, as well as the carpets, felt a little bit unpleasant to walk on in bare feet.

I was travelling for a meeting at Manchester University and I found the location very convenient. It's very easy to get to on the bus and there is a very wide range of restaurants only a 5min walk away. It has a very tranquil feeling and the courtyard garden is a bonus. The continental breakfast was a treat as well and included ham, eggs and cheese as well nice yoghurts and fruit compotes. I'd say that Luther King House is very good value for money and very convenient for people visiting the university or the hospital.

It was not clear from the advert that there is no lift to the floors where the rooms are located. The receptionist directed me to the stairs at the other end of the courtyard and did not ask whether I needed any help with my luggage. It so happens that my suitcase was light but I am also at the early stages of pregnancy so it would have been considerate if they did not assume that everyone can carry their luggage up the stairs.

Every member of staff is welcoming, helpful and pleasant (the male cleaner, the people present at breakfast, the receptionists}. Breakfast is so varied and copious! I was impressed. There's plenty of space to park for free and WiFi is free too. It was quiet, I was never disturbed by the noise. The garden with its fountain is a pleasant place; plenty of room to sit outside. Hotel rooms usually lack sockets; absolutely not the case here; I counted 10 in my bedroom :) There are many restaurants at walking distance and the town centre is 3 miles away. Considering the facilities, the price is very reasonable.

The mattress was too soft. I could have done with a 3rd towel; there was one hand towel and one bath towel.

Great place to stay. It's basic accommodation and a little shabby but perfectly clean. There's a lovely courtyard garden and comfortable lounge and a bar to buy drinks in reception. The continental breakfast was excellent with plenty of choice.  It's in a quiet area with parking and is a short walk to a huge variety of restaurants.   Above all though, all the staff we met were, without exception, wonderfully friendly and helpful. We couldn't fault them.

The first two nights were very good value for money but the third, which I booked at a later date, was substantially more and we felt a bit over priced.

I love staying here, because of its theological connections it always seems peaceful and to me that's a big reason I keep returning. Yes it's basic but I don't care because it's good value, has a good location and, as I say, a calming vibe.

If I hadn't been here before I'd call it noisy and for this particular visit it was. An angry local was banging on a window and ranting very late at night for an extended period and then returned later for another go at about 2.30am. A rowdy group also made a lot of noise late on and even then doors began slamming very early in the morning. This isn't the norm, part of why I love staying here is the peace and quiet, but for this stay I struggled to grab much sleep due to noise. It's basic so has no air con in the rooms, not normally an issue but in this heatwave, the temperaturein the room was oppressive.

Everything! All of the staff we dealt with; Monique & Vicky on reception, Martin the breakfast chef, and the housekeeping team went above and beyond to make our stay a most enjoyable one: We could not fault our room: It was spotless, with a lovely comfortable mattress -- Something so sadly lacking in some expensive hotels! The breakfast selection was out of this world; Martin went out of his way to put on a great spread, and welcomed us with a word & a smile ------- just how it should be. The value for money is outstanding -- obviously you are not going to get the Ritz for the price, but if you want that.. Go there, is what I say. We will definitely be back!!!

NOTHING!! Unless, of course, you happen to be one of those people where nothing is right for you........... We do not fall into that category.

What we liked: - we slept (5 rooms) together in a separated part of building in a quiet environment! - for us the breakfast was good!! And each morning free tables to have breakfast.. no queue - good connection with the buses to the city center and the airport (BUS 43) - very good service when we left an mobile phone in a bathroom after we did checkout... really really appreciated the effort to find the phone... with good results! Thanks again!

What could have been better: - beds were not very comfortable to us - if you are allergic to dust ... too much dust in a room. - if you are romantic you could say a nostalgic place to stay, but rooms can use some make-over/ronavation

Breakfast was lovely. Lots of choice for continental. There were hot drinks, juices, muffins, cereals, crossiants, toast, cheese, ham, fruit, boiled eggs and yoghurts on offer, and all were kept topped up so never ran out. Gluten free toast was offered if required as well. Friendly and accomadating staff. Bedrooms are basic but clean and comfortable. Basic bar available in the evenings and lovely public lounge and garden areas. Good value for money

Property is a bit run down in places but you can see that it's slowly being done up and this is reflected in the price.