Overview

The Wilde Aparthotel is a modern and very accessible hotel, which opened in 2022. It is part of a small chain of hotels. It has 256 rooms on the 9th to 20th floor.

Transport & Parking

I travelled by tram, which is modern and step free. From Manchester Piccadilly Station, two stops to St Peter's Square. From the tram stop it is a two minutes, level walk to the hotel. On exiting from the front of the tram I turned left and directly in front of me was an open square with a statute of Emmeline Pankhurst. Behind the statue was Dickinson Street and on the left hand corner was Hotel Motel One. Walk down the road, pass the Hotel Motel One and at the opposite end of the same building is the entrance to the Wilde Aparthotel, at the corner with George Street. There are also buses that stop very close by.

Access

The entrance to the hotel is on the ground floor and there is step free access throughout the building. The entrance has automatic doors, however, if you are returning in the evening you may need to use your key fob. On the ground floor there is a small foyer with some chairs and a member of staff on at the desk. Then there are two lifts to take you to the ninth floor. On the ninth floor is a reception desk, bar and breakfast area with free standing tables and chairs. This is where you check in and collect your key fob. On this floor is also the pantry, where you can buy snacks, microwaveable meals, drinks, etc, an exercise room, laundry, luggage store and an accessible public toilet. The bedrooms are located on floors 9 to 20. On checking in I took the lift to my room 1012, on the tenth floor. I had been able to book my accessible apartment online and was impressed with the number of photos provided, so I knew it had a wheels in shower without having to contact the hotel to check the facilities. This was brilliant. The room was quite spacious. On entering there was along the right hand side the kitchen area. It had everything you could want. There was a hob, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, toaster, kettle, coffee maker. There were cupboards and draws with pots and pans, dishes, cutlery. There was also an ironing board and iron, hairdryer, fire blanket and safe. Although I am not too sure how easy some of those things would be for wheelchair users to reach if they were on their own. The safe was in a bottom cupboard and I was unable to reach it. The room opened out to a dining area with a small table, dining chair with back support but no arms and a pouffe with no back support or arms. There was a king size bed, the Hypnos mattress was so comfortable but the bed was firm, so it was ok for me transferring. There was an emergency cord next to the bed. The bed linen was lovely, with quirky cushions. Lighting and heating are by push button. However, they have a sensor so if you go near them they light up making it easier to operate. By the bed one of the buttons switches off all the lights in one go, brilliant idea. The ensuit bathroom had wheels in shower. There were plenty of grab rails. An emergency cord by the toilet and another by the shower. There were two sinks, a small one by the toilet and one by the shower. It is a pity that they did not make one of the sinks at standing height, as someone with lower back pain I find bending down to use the lower sinks quite difficult. In the shower area there was a shower seat with out arms but there were moveable grab rails. However, there was no shelf to put your toiletries on so I ended up putting my toiletries on the shower seat, which defeats the purpose of having a shower seat. The towels provide were lovely, large and thick. However, the Good to Know information card said that they wanted guests to use the heated towel rails to dry their towels rather than use fresh towels. However, there was no heated tower rail in the accessible apartment. Given that disabled people might use more towels, for example I will put one on the bed so I can sit down and dry myself rather than struggle to stand, I am using more towels and have no where to dry them. I hope the shelving and heated towel rail can be considered for the accessible apartments. Overall, I was very impressed. The apartments are stylish and extremely well equipped. They have thought of lots of little details such as a salt and pepper mill, milk and bottled water are in the fridge, there's a couple of small chocolate bars and there are dishwasher tablets and dish towels.

Toilets

There is an accessible public toilet on the nineth floor, where reception and bar is. This is spacious, clean, tidy and well maintained. There are plenty of grab rails and an emergency cord that reaches towards the ground.

Staff

Staff were very helpful and welcoming. When I arrived the member of staff chatted to me as I checked in. He said that I an accessible room on the 20th floor and would I need assistance if the fire alarm went off. I asked to see the stairs and was advised that there was a refugee point on each floor. On discussion my room was changed to 1012 on the 10th floor. Later I ordered a hot chocolate from the bar when I came back in the evening. The service was very friendly and quick. Likewise check out just involved me having to drop of my key fob on the ground floor.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I loved these apartments. If you book register to become a member as you get 10% off the price. The apartments are stylish and fun to stay at. The location is excellent, very close to a tram stop, round the corner from the Art Gallery and very near many restaurants, shops, etc. Highly recommend them and wishing to go back soon. Thank you to the staff who work there.

Photos