I've stayed here a few times now, and regard this as a pretty decent example of an Holiday Inn. Being a smaller hotel, you don't expect quite as much as some of the bigger ones, and I think the room rate reflects this. The rooms are comfortable and reasonably sized. The air conditioning/heating works well. The showers (as far as I've experienced) work well and run at a good pressure. Everything is in good order and very clean.

I've found the staff to be generally friendly, helpful and efficient. I've eaten a couple of times in the restaurant, and food was of a good standard, and came quickly. When dining alone, the general pace of service was good, and I was never kept waiting, nor felt hurried.

If I were to be picky, there are a number of things I'd like to see improved.

I just don't find the beds particularly comfortable. The mattresses are very firm and thin, as are the pillows (regardless of whether you choose soft or hard). I find this to be the case in most Holiday Inns, and I've stayed in a lot. After a few nights, my back/sides certainly feel a bit tired, as do I. Also, I'd really like to see ironing facilities in each room. Being a hotel in a city, people travelling by rail and air tend to have to pack things like shirts, and it's really quite nice not to have to request one each time, when I'm sure it should be standard equipment in a hotel of this standard these days.

Also, I noted that despite being a Platinum IHG member, this was never acknowledged upon check-in on any of my visits, neither was I offered an upgraded room, nor explained why one would not be available. I was given a single warm bottle of water and a chocolate bar, but only once and at the beginning of my stay. Given that one has to stay around 50 nights in an IHG hotel per year to acheive this supposed accolade, it doesn't give the feeling that one's loyalty is particularly appreciated, especially compared to certain other loyalty schemes.

Another seemingly minor thing was that I was never offered any condiments with my evening meal, and upon asking, the ones available were rather minimal (sachets of ketchup!). Salads were not dressed or given a choice of dressing. These small omissions do not necessarily ruin a meal, but can make it a lot less enjoyable. The food is expensive enough to warrant this extra effort - it can give a false impression of poor value. Drinks are expensive (£4.70 for a pint of Budvar!!)

Other than that, it's a fairly good experience for the business traveller, and despite its relative remoteness, fairly convenient for town via the Central Park Metrolink just over the road.

Holiday Inn can get it so right, so as a result when a hotel is just, well, okay - it can feel like a disappointment.
Central Park is situated along a busy urban road. We walked into the a restaurant in Manchester's Northern Quarter (foolishly, it took 50mins and we met some interesting characters) along a decidedly ropey set of half-derelict yards & housing estates, but the hotel itself feels secure & looks tidy. Rooms are adequate & quiet (we stayed in a standard twin), but mattresses were not the memory foam ones we had had at the HI I stayed at last weekend which was annoying - they were SO comfortable.
Staff were friendly for the most part - a young redhead man on reception was very good, the young lady on bar staff seemed allergic to smiling & seemed to regard us ordering a sandwich as a vague imposition.
Communal areas were functional and clean, but uninspiringly designed & laid out, and feature Holiday Inn's obsession with putting televisions with sport on on every possible surface. I had seen the cool roof terrace on the website & booked 30% on the strength of this, so I was most grumpy to find out it was for business conference users only. Bah.
Breakfast was lacklustre. Adequately cooked hot food, but missing treats like fried bread, beef sausage, and fried eggs that didn't bounce. An overwhelming arrangement of three croissants on a plate obviously had us salivating. Hot water in flasks aren't good enough for those of us whom like our breakfast tea scalding. We didn't eat dinner here, but after a late arrival had an expensive and very dry tuna sandwich. The night porter doesn't come on until 11 and the cook leaves at 9pm, so we fell into a hinterland of meagre options after our loooong journey.

I am probably being overly critical on this Holiday Inn. It was fine. But it felt more in the Premier Inn/Travelodge budget bracket, and quite poorly designed. In summary, fine as somewhere to lay your head, but not a hotel you'd go to for the experience at all.

this time bit disappointment, at breakfast croissant wasn't fresh, over all holiday inn is preferable. rooms are comfortable, no noise, they do offer some smoking rooms but not sure how much they charge for that, parking is free, breakfast included some time.

We stayed for 1 night at this hotel. We found the staff to be happy and helpful. The staff at the resturant were brilliant, very attentive and helpful. The food both in the evening and the breakfast were very well presented and tasted just as good as they looked. The beds were comfortable and the room was clean.

The reception staff on our arrival were very pleasant and polite and welcoming

Would definitely recommend this hotel the staff were outstanding We will definitely return again