Swallownest Holidays

Lovely and clean, really friendly staff, a really lovely stay

We travelled all day to get to Manchester. We arrived at the Portland to an underwhelming welcome by Irina. It was not immediately obvious we had arrived at reception as a woman was working on a laptop on a simple bench. It appeared we should have known that!!! We actually were at reception but you would never know it! There was not a smile, greeting or acknowledgement from Irina that we were unimpressed. The hotel was quite expensive therefore we would expect a better customer experience. Irina is in need of training or to be replaced by someone who actually likes the role. Unfortunately this soured our stay from the start. We are not in the habit of complaining but we felt so strongly about the poor customer surface we have had to comment.

It would have been a good stay except for one thing...the bed mattress was terrible and I spent the night tossing and turning and only managed 3 hours sleep and I was speaking at a funeral the next day so it wasnt good. Eveything else was great so if they could just provide mattresses where the springs dont bite into your back, shoulders and thighs it would be a great place to stay

Staff were polite and friendly and my room was clean and comfortable to sleep in

Didn’t use spa but the bedroom smelled damp and old