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Manchester, my old friend I have missed you. It’s been several years since I’ve visited Manchester despite living less than an hour away. It’s been more of an anxious thing why I’ve stayed away for so long, cities seem to have become a thing of the past, however now I am going to make them a part of my future. Hence the 24 hours in Manchester post you are about to read, although it wasn’t exactly 24 hours more like 27, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?
So Will’s present to me this year was an overnight stay in Manchester along with some shopping (present goals right there!) So we spent a little while searching the web for ‘quirky’ hotels in Manchester near the centre and we came across Ibis Styles which was smack bang in the middle of the centre, perfect. Ibis Styles caught my attention straight away with the weather theme, in the lounge sits a large deckchair and a huge pair of sunglasses oh and also multiple umbrellas on the ceiling. We were sold. So we booked our tickets and 6 days later, we were on our way.
Our check-in wasn’t until 2 pm and we arrived just after 12 so we decided to go seek out some lunch, me being me I was certain I knew the way to where I wanted to go, but ended up in the wrong direction, oops. After about an hour of walking, we settled down to eat some lush pizzas in a place called Insolito, which were huge and a margarita was only £7.50, so with some drinks lunch came to under £20, and we were stuffed for hours.
The manager was so lovely and it was super quick service, and I can imagine on an evening the atmosphere would be buzzing. After our pizzas, we popped into a few little stores on the way to check in, including a couple of vintage stores one with a sale of 1kg of clothes for £15, a bargain! I also ended up in one of my favourite shops Cyberdog, their shops are always an experience, although photos are not allowed in their stores, else this post would be full of their photos. After this, it was finally 2 pm and ready to check-in. I was excited to see what the hotel had in store for us.
The final stop of the night was to a bar, which was recommended to us by Greg, called Hold Fast located in the Northern Quarter. The bar was fairly busy for a Thursday night, they have a huge range of cocktails as well as plenty of other choices. I went for a raspberry vodka and Pepsi which is one of my faves and we headed to a table. Our table was situated next to a large variety of board games, which I thought was pretty cool.
We ended up playing 5 rounds of Guess Who and Greg beat me on all of them, I guess I am easy to read? Then we played some Jenga, the bar also has a DJ and games consoles. We had a super fun time at Hold Fast and it’s a great way to spend an evening. Overall I had a fabulous time in Manchester and definitely want to go back soon and explore.
