Crowne Plaza Manchester – Oxford Road | Accessible Hotel Review

This review of Crowne Plaza Manchester – Oxford Road is courtesy of a complimentary stay in return for an honest review.

Manchester is one of our favourite UK cities to visit. The more we visit the more we enjoy our time there. It’s becoming our second home for gigs with a few more already lined up for the end of the year. So we will be seeing you soon Manchester. Last month we got to stay at the super lovely Crowne Plaza Manchester – Oxford Road which was a great experience. In this review of Crowne Plaza Manchester, I will share what it is like to stay at this hotel in their queen wheelchair accessible room.

Location and Parking

Crowne Plaza Manchester – Oxford Road is a double-decker hotel with Staybridge Suites located within the same building (above Crowne Plaza). Located in the Northern Quarter of the city centre. We found the location ideal for our needs and what we wanted to do.

It was only a short walk to the Manchester Museum, which we enjoyed visiting the last time we were in Manchester. The train station is around a ten-minute walk away, so pretty handy if you are travelling to and from Manchester by train.

We arrived around five o’clock and were pleased to find a disabled parking bay not too far from the hotel. There is no actual hotel parking, but there is nearby parking at NCP – Car Park D: Booth Street at a cost of £8.00 for 10-24 hours.

With our blue badge, we were able to park on the street for free so we did that rather than pay for the NCP parking. It was just our personal preference.

It took us a few minutes to walk from our parking spot to the hotel which was absolutely fine. There was just one road we had to cross.

Luckily we were able to park in that spot each time even though we left and came back multiple times.

Entrance and Reception

The entrance of Crowne Plaza is completely step free. There is a push button to open the door and there is also a revolving door too.

My first thought when I entered was “wow”. The reception and lobby area is very open and fresh. A group of people were checking in when we arrived but one of the front desk staff quickly called us over which saved us waiting.

He took us over to the lowered reception desk and spoke to me directly. Check-in was complete within minutes and I was given the personal evacuation procedure.

Once I had read and signed it, we were shown where the closest refuge point was to our room then taken to our room.

We couldn’t help but notice the lovely smell that filled the entire hotel. I always appreciate the little things like that.

Wheelchair Accessible Room #1007

For the first time in a UK hotel we’ve stayed in, the hotel room door was automatic. The front desk staff was lovely so when he took us to the room he also came in and explained how it worked.

We have an automatic door at home, so it was great to have this great accessible feature in a hotel room too.

Our Queen wheelchair accessible room was on the tenth floor with access to the club lounge. It was a comfortable and spacious room with beautiful decor. There are eleven accessible rooms in this Crowne Plaza hotel, two of which are Club Rooms.

We are big fans of interior design and even the carpet design was amazing. One of the first things we noticed was the large windows and a great view of the city. I enjoyed sitting at the floor length windows enjoying the view, especially at sunset. Stunning!

The main feature of the room…the bed! I’m pleased to reveal it was a lovely and comfortable bed with a cosy duvet and plush pillows. I love the complementary deep sleep pillow spray by the brand, thisworks, which is placed on the bed. I like this whenever I stay at a Crowne Plaza hotel.

You probably all know by now that I always travel with my inflatable travel mat (like this one*) just in case the mattress is too hard for me. I was pleased when I didn’t need to use it as this bed was actually very comfortable so I slept well both nights.

The bed height was slightly high, which could prove tricky for some wheelchair transfers. However, if you require portable hoist transfers then it shouldn’t be a problem with space underneath to accommodate the hoist.

I loved how spacious the room was with space on each side of the bed for my wheelchair. There was even plenty of space between the foot of the bed and the desk. In my experience in a lot of hotel rooms, I’ve had to squeeze through or worst still, not been able to pass through at all.

I slept on the side closest to the bathroom as it had the most space for my wheelchair even with the bathroom door open.

The bedside tables were free of clutter with only the emergency red cord on one side and the cordless telephone on the other side. I actually loved the cordless telephone and think all hotels should have them in their rooms.

It made calling room service so much easier as I was able to sit anywhere in the room and put it on speaker without having to struggle to hold the phone to my ear which usually hurts my back and arms.

Power sockets were located on both sides of the bed so ideal for charging laptops, phones and most importantly my power wheelchair.

Having a power socket next to the bed allows powered wheelchair users to charge their chairs while in bed. This is especially important if the wheelchair user cannot walk or travelling alone as they need their wheelchair next to the bed beside them.

The desk area was accessible for my wheelchair which meant I could roll underneath without banging my knees. It was a good height for me so this helped when I was doing my makeup and eating. A Nespresso coffee maker, as well as tea, kit kats, biscuits and hot chocolates, were provided.

The closet had a sliding door for easy access, which is great for wheelchair users. Inside the closet was a mini-fridge with complimentary bottles of water, hairdryer, drinking glasses and a safe.

Room Service

We love ordering room service. Who doesn’t? Lazying about your hotel room and enjoying delicious food never gets boring. We were so happy to see several vegan options on the menu. It was a tough decision, but we opted for the vegan pizza and my goodness, it was amazing.

I was so disappointed that I couldn’t manage to finish my pizza though. I’d go back to Crowne Plaza Manchester just for the pizza. In all seriousness, the chunky chips, fries and vegan chocolate brownie were all lovely.

Both mornings we had breakfast in our room too. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, mornings are a struggle and rushing to get up and dressed to head down for breakfast turn an enjoyable hotel stay into feeling rushed and tired.

The View

The view was simply awesome! The floor-length windows made all the difference as it allowed me to drive up to the window and enjoy unrestricted views from each direction. Most hotel room windows I’m unable to see out of because they are too high.

Our accessible room at Crowne Plaza was amazing. I was even able to see the road and paths, which may sound trivial but I liked being able to look down and watch the world go by so to speak.

We enjoyed chilling in our room and watching the sunset over Manchester. The sky was painted with beautiful colours and cast golden light through our room. It was lovely.

Accessible Bathroom

The accessible bathroom in our Crowne Plaza room was large with plenty of space to move around in my wheelchair. There was also space for a portable hoist if required.

The grey slate wall tiles gave a modern contemporary look which I liked. The toilet had a pull-down grab rail on one side as well as two fixed grab bars on the wall. The position of the toilet provided right-hand side wheelchair transfers.

Next to the toilet was a washbasin which was longer in length than it was in-depth which meant it didn’t stick out and get in the way when being transferred.

The roll-in shower was spacious with a wall-mounted shower seat. The pull-down grab rail was positioned next to the seat. The water controls and showerhead were within reach.

The only thing I struggled with was the sink. The sink was sunken between two walls and there wasn’t space to roll underneath. I had to remove my footplates to try and get closer, but it was still difficult. My feedback was passed to the management and designers, so I will update when I know anymore.

Manchester Vlog

We filmed bits and bobs from our Manchester trip including a hotel room tour, entering the Albert Hall in a stairclimber, exploring Manchester and more. You can watch it below.

Final Thoughts

Crowne Plaza Manchester – Oxford Road is a beautiful hotel in Manchester city centre. We loved the location and how easy it was to walk/roll about and to get to the Albert Hall for the Dermot Kennedy gig.

Our Queen accessible room was lovely and stylish with a fantastic view of the city, especially at sunset. The accessibility of the room met my needs and I enjoyed the automatic door entry system.

The only negative was the design of the bathroom as it prevents being able to roll underneath and getting close enough.  The food was delicious (10 out of 10 for the vegan pizza) and the breakfast was great too. I would highly recommend the vegan pizza if/when you visit the Crowne Plaza Manchester. We will definitely return to Crowne Plaza Manchester – Oxford Road for future trips to Manchester.

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