We stayed in a suite (a lovely upgrade). The room was spacious with a four poster bed which was very comfortable. It was clean apart from one of the cups had a coffee/tea stain on the outside top!!! I wasn't impressed with that. How do they clean them????
The breakfast was ok but would be better if the fried eggs were not swimming on a plate full of oil.
The drinks at the bar were expensive, so no next day hangover.
The staff were pleasant.
I would stay here again if it was a good offer as we had this time.

I have just returned from my annual business trip to Bolton that involves a stay at this hotel each year. My review last year mentioned the planned refurbishment. I was disappointed this year to find the refurbishment seemed to consist of some new shower tiles but noticed little else different. the bathroom still consisted of a weak shower, cheap looking plastic fittings and overall very 80s feel. The hotel carpet throughout the hallway seemed very thin and worn. Not quite the improvement I anticipated. Finally the room was stifling warm with the only way of controlling temperature was by leaving the window open, I thought this may have been addressed..
I have read other reviews and I can understand the completely differing opinions this place draws from people. I believe the negative reviews are down to Mercure and the way the hotel is positioned commercially within the marketing and pricing of onsite services. To Quote the website "Modern comforts in a Georgian setting overlooking the West Pennine Moors" (Modern must refer to the fact it has wifi and a television in each room?)

This type of description can distract people from the 3 star reality! If it was honest it would read:

Friendly 3 star hotel, Clearly seen better days but offers free Wifi and swimming pool, with 80s themed clean comfortable rooms.

If like me you know what to expect then your expectations are managed and one feels less disappointment. For me this is an average standard 3 star hotel that is functional for the business purposes I require. The hotel has nice staff who make an effort to be friendly. The interaction between the staff and some guests for me makes this feel more like a large B&B family run guest house than a hotel.
For the last two years there has been a coach party during my stay and this has left me with the impression that they use this type of trade to fill up the occupancy and keep the hotel running. This is the first time I have stayed on a Saturday night in addition to the Sunday, and the bar was so quiet on the Saturday night that the bar staff did not stay behind the bar, the barman went to the office and told me to give him a shout if I wanted anything. I can understand this makes best use of staff time but this for me further enforced the feel of an empty B&B. I expected a bit more of a busy atmosphere on a Saturday night.
The reason why I have personally returned each year is the room price has been reasonable (Still is) and compares with a Premier Inn of similar standard if a little more dated. The beds are ultra comfortable and the room has always been clean. The free wifi is good enough for work purposes and this is an important aspect for me. As mentioned the staff are friendly.
The rooms are dated and do feel very 80s/ early 90s which is possibly when this hotel was enjoying its better days. The location is right on the motorway network and again for business or people looking to use the hotel as a base, is perfect.

Having said all this, next year I will probably look at the local Premier Inn for the simple reason that this 3 star hotel that is positioned in what is not a particularly affluent area where hotels are hardly in high demand, (based upon the place always feeling empty) insists on charging food and Drinks at prices comparable to a 4/5 star hotel in a bustling city centre.(I.E The Crowne Plaza in Liverpool charges the same price for Burger and Chips (£14.75) but is on a different level to this altogether!)
Also although the breakfast is nice, it is not an £11 breakfast, especially in this part of the world.
I feel sorry for the management of the hotel as I saw from a similar comment the manager confirmed prices are set centrally by Mercure. Anyone local probably knows all too well the food and beverages are overpriced.
There is nothing else in walking distance so if you do not wish to drive out or grab a taxi, one is left paying these unjustified prices. Now I am aware that there is at least one other hotel near by with more realistic prices for food and drink on the doorstep, this I will consider as an alternative.

We paid £65 for a family room as part of a wedding booking so very happy there. Breakfast was good plenty on offer.
Room was very warm air con required really and bed was not very comfy.
The rooms do need a little tlc especially in the bathroom. Grime and dirt in between the shower tiles is just not acceptable in my opinion. The booking confirmations are also a little confusing as mine appeared to say I had paid for the room upfront but it turns out I hadn't. I wasn't the only person checking in to be confused by this. Drinks at the bar expensive!

Overall please but would probably look at the premier inn not far away next time.

Stayed here on a Saturday night with my boyfriend. Arrived about 3pm, checked in promptly and the room was ready. The staff were all really attentive and professional. The room was tidy and clean, and really spacious. We had booked in for dinner in the evening and the food was well presented and delicious, as was the breakfast the following morning.

The only negatives were the bed wasn't very comfortable and the shower was dire. It was just a trickle, like there was absolutely no pressure in it.

We got a good deal, and I would stay here again if it came up again.

Nice pool- very refreshing. Room comfortable & clean. Jacuzzi needs fixing!
Breakfast was ideal for family - plenty of choice and space for young nephews. Good value, practical family hotel. Car parking easy, staff helpful

Good stop over but not near shops etc.
We stopped off at this hotel for a one night’s stay en route to Scotland. I would have been delighted to have stayed longer. We had a king size bed with a comfortable mattress and pillows, and a flat screen tv with numerous channels. The room hag a kettle with a nice variety of tea, coffee etc. There was an iron and ironing board in the wardrobe. We could also control the air con and heating ourselves. Shampoo, body lotion etc were provided in the clean modern bathroom which contained a bath and shower. The hotel also had a gymnasium, 15 metre heated pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. My choice of evening meal was very good, egg mayonnaise, a delicious fish pie followed by a home made crumble. Graham chose different food to me and said that his was equally as nice so two happy bunnies.

Its not your high end Mercure. No air con which normally would not be a problem in Bolton...unless its the summer. The restaurant was also very warm but the windows dont open??. The staff were very friendly and helpful. It needs an update but then again so do I.

A little late doing this review sorry. My sister had her wedding at the hotel early July & I want to say a big thank you to all the staff for making everyone feel so welcome and help the day go off without a hitch. Too many people to mention but a special thanks to Rob, Jack, Sue, Lydia, Isabelle, Vesi, Claire, all the bar/breakfast staff & the chef's who put on a massive pre wedding buffet on the Friday night, a lovely wedding meal & evening buffet. The wedding party had adjoining rooms which made it easy on the wedding morning with everything we needed & any extras were accommodated without a second thought, event rooms ready for us to set up on the day, room service breakfasts for the mother of the bride & lovely decoration of the bridal suite. There was nothing more that we could have asked for, again a massive thank you!

nice hotel just 20 minutes from Manchester City Centre. Helpful staff , tasty food from the restaurant. both evening meal and breakfast. Good leisure facilities and free wifi throughout the hotel Good business meeting point

Nice & modern inside, the sports bar had a lovely lady serving us in there Sunday evening. She went the extra mile for us, ensuring we had water for the room and treated our two daughters to a chocolate bar each !!!
Breakfast was lovely, thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast, especially as we had stayed the night before in a different hotel not too far away and hated it there.
The swimming pool was clean, warm and had a jacuzzi, which the water was lovely & heated but had hardly any bubbles ! thwy also have a sauna and steam room, cannot comment as did not use them.
Would i stay again, most definitely.

Very nice hotel and attentive staff. The only con i have is that we've paid for a double room and only when we got to the room realised we have a twin. Apart from that, great location close to shopping centre, restaurants and cinema

Hotel in itself is lovely staff are always nice. There was a big wedding on so place was fairly busy which we didn't mind.

Drinks are overpriced 4.00 for a hot chocolate 4.90 for a beer. We didn't spend a lot of time in hotel.

Never tried the food the prices put us off. Not a cheapskate but £11pp for breakfast and £14 for a burger is excessive

Rooms are lovely
Showers were quite cold

Beds are very comfortable

Having stayed in many hotels for business & pleasure I was disappointed by this so called 'privilege room' We booked this to attend a friends wedding just up the road so in terms of location this was ideal however there were are number of downsides that we felt did not support the extra money or the title paid for this room key issues were
- bathroom very dated, no non slip mat, poor toilet flush
- bed very hard, big gap round main door so light from main hallway shone into the room all night
- the coffee machine didn't work & the hairdryer was located right next to the tea & coffee making facilities as opposed to the desk/dressing table area
- the room was only prepared for one person despite booking for two
- we were not told about breakfast times or other facilities in hotel, which apparently had a pool etc
On a plus side the waitress in the lounge was very nice.
To be honest this was a basic hotel room that did not warrant the title of 'suite' or 'privilege' room

Pleasant hotel and overall a good stay. Check in very good and room adequate. Breakfast was good with a decent selection. Was only a brief visit but certainly nothing to complain about, happy to recommend for a business trip not sure about leisure.

The location was excellent for Salford and Manchester; 30 - 40 minutes.
The staff were excellent and really helpful.
The food was okay; sandwiches as I arrived well after 21:00hrs.
The room was clean and tidy.
When you see the pictures you'll see why, in my opinion, it needs a little TLC.

I would stay here again.

As a regular visitor I am always made to feel welcome and the staff are great. Some rooms are better than others and many are in need of a bit of tlc, although cleanliness is always first class. Standard and specials menus provide a decent choice of meals. No aircon in rooms so can get a bit warm on a hot day. If you are feeling energetic you can make use of the gym and pool.

Recently stayed at this hotel for a night and found it very comfortable. The room was large and newly refurbished and the food was excellent. At our wedding the staff were very friendly and polite, including Joe and Caitlin who couldn't do enough to help the guests, making the day even more special. They made everything run very smoothly from what we could see and were very organised and professional. Visited the gym as well which was good and the bars were clean. Would recommend for a wedding.

My wife and I have just returned from a two night stay at this hotel....the receptionist who checked us in was very pleasant and thorough and gave us directions to our room which was lovely and big with a seating area aswell as a huge bed! Everywhere was very clean....we had a bite to eat in the bar and the food was really good too.
Breakfast was plentiful with a good choice...we also had a couple of treatments at Natural Balance (which is based within the hotel) which were excellent.
Will certainly be staying again in the future :0)

I had my wedding here in july..I could not fault the hotel at all.we had a brilliant day and the staff were helpful especially rob who looked after our wedding.the beds were comfy and the room was pleasant. The breakfast was lovely and lots off in..the breakfast staff were pleasant again who was vese isobel and Lydia would recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for an event or to stay.

We attended a family wedding at this hotel and because we had a long distance to travel home and we wanted to have a drink or two we decided to book a room for the night. The room was clean as expected and free wifi available in all areas of the hotel. The king size bed was extremely comfortable and along with the blackout curtains this helped us have very good nights sleep. Complementary tea and coffee were provided but sadly no biscuits! The bar prices were a little to extravagant for my liking c£10 for a G&T and lager but apart from that we would still happily stay over again if necessary. Oh and to end on a plus point the full breakfast was very very good.

The room was okish and in keeping with the aged property (creaky floorboards etc)

However the bath was impossible to fill as it had air gaps in the plumbing or something causing the water to splutter everywhere (this did not settle down)

Eventually we managed to fill the cramped aged yellowing bath to a suitable level/temp.

The bed was uncomfortable, it was lumpy with nasty hard pillows.

I'm yet to taste breakfast but am not hopeful of owt decent.

We stayed for one night as we were attending a family funeral the following day. We stayed in room 214. The room was a decent size but was definitely in need of a refresh. The sink in the bathroom has a big crack in it; the shower is ancient and lacks pressure; above the shower there are dots of black mould on the ceiling. The furniture in the room shows obvious signs of wear and tear!
Breakfast was adequate but limited. The fresh fruit available for us was just melon chunks. Croissants were on the menu but absent when we ate. We could have requested them but it was a sad day for us and to be honest they should know how many people they are catering for and have supplies available!
The bar area could be so pleasant but some chairs are badly stained and greasy and when you are paying £80 a night, it's just not good enough!
Having said all that, the staff were very polite and accommodating. The hotel has such potential because of its location and I hope things will improve.

I stayed here whilst on business trip to Bolton.
I had concerns after reading other reviews but was pleasantly surprised . The room was clean, pleasant & comfortable and it made a change to have a decent size bathroom. Nice to have a leisure club, though I didn't have time to use it.
However there isn't any a/c in the rooms & I stayed on one of the hottest days we've had. The window didn't open very far, and the hotels set back off a busy road, so it was noisy. But I'm sure this will get sorted.
Didn't eat dinner, but breakfast was good & I had a great omelette.

First impressions were not good. The Lancashire rain was pelting down in a summer downpour and the path from the car park to reception was almost totally blocked by the wedding DJ's transit van. Stepping through the perfect puddle alongside the van made for a grand entrance.
Reception staff were very quiet but efficient. I'd booked a privilege room which made for a good bed, extra space, and a coffee pod machine. All good and clean.
At least one wedding reception was in progress so it didn't bode well for a peaceful stay. The torrential rain accompanied high temperatures and made for a muggy night. No aircon meant a sweatlodge atmosphere in the room and opening the windows from desperation brought the wedding into the room. The restaurant was also aircon free. Breakfast was good and the lack of aircon meant nothing was cold.
Checkout time revealed that the DJ had probably stayed over and whatever he had shifted it had obviously not been his van.
Did he play hot summer nights, I wonder?

Long time since I've stayed here but every bit as good as the last time.

A warm welcome at reception, swiftly booked in and allocated a top floor room.

Room was spacious and decorated to a high standard with all of the usual facilities you would expect from a corporate hotel group.

Bar is well stocked & it's open plan design off reception is welcoming.

Breakfasts are excellent with fresh fruit, a great range of fresh bad hot foods plus a cold range too all presented self service buffet style.

Leisure club I finally found time to use it and from the moment you walk in you realise this is of a high quality. The pool was one of the warmest indoor hotel pools that I've experienced. Just four other people enjoying the facilities which made it all the more relaxing. On top of the pool there is a jacuzzi and a steam room. It seems the club has two saunas, both sited within the changing rooms. Not huge but more than spacious enough.

Ample car parking at the rear of the hotel. All in all a great hotel and equal to anywhere else in the area.