I read the reviews and thought this place sounded great. It's not. It must have changed hands since it apparently won an award. The room was very seedy with dark red 'pub carpet'. The toilet had not been cleaned properly. There was an old 1980s travel kettle but no tea bags. The shower and loo made the loudest humming noise constantly. I had been quoted £54.95 but then they tried to charge £59.95. Could have stayed in the Hilton for £60!

I have to say that the female staff were all lovely, the male staff all hostile. The location is good. Would never go back. Luckily didn't ruin a great weekend.

When I planned my journey to Manchester I soon realized that a cheap hotel room is not that easy to find. So I was happy to find "The Ox" (on Lonely Planet´s Haystack Website [--]). We booked a double room for three nights.

"The Ox" is popular gastro-pub with nine ensuite rooms on the first floor. The building is 300 years old.

The hotel is situated in the Castlefield area of Manchester´s city centre. It is a very nice area, especially in summer. The hotel is just opposite of the Museum of Sciene and Industry. The Beetham Tower, Manchester Youth Hostel, The Great Northern Leisure Centre and Deansgate Locks are close by.
To the centre of Manchester (Piccadilly Gardens), it´s a 10-15 mins walk. To Metrolink Station "G-Mex" it´s about 5 mins.

The check-in was fast and easy. We got the key in the pub. Our room was situated to the entrace of the pub, overlooking Stone Street.

Our room was spacious, had a comfortable double (1.40 m), two bedside tables with lamps and alarm clock, a colour TV, tea/coffeemaking facilities, a low table, two chairs and a closet (only three clothes-hangers...).
Their was noise from pub of course, but we did not mind.
The bathroom was very spacious, but quite basic. It had a window, shower, toilet and sink. A bar of soap and a lot of cosy towels were provided. There was no hairdryer and there was not very much storage space

Overall, I enjoyed my stay at "The Ox". It´s a friendly good-value
hotel. I would recommend it especially to people who attempt to explore the Castlefield (which undoubtly an area worth exploring). As I like clubbing, I guess the next time I go to Manchester I would choose a hotel closer to the city centre.

My husband and myself recently stayed for 1 night at The Ox in Manchester which is a lovely pub in the centre of Manchester. We found it from a mention on Trip Advisor as we were looking for somewhere cheap and cheerful not too far from the city centre.

The Ox had everything we wanted - the room was clean and spacious and had just been refurbished. It cost £49.95 for the room for 1 night. We had dinner in the pub too which is apparently one of the best Gastro pubs in the North East and it certainly lived up to its reputation as the food was fantastic. Staff were very friendly and helpful.

Booking was easy (theox.co.uk) and communication was good both by phone and email.

Only downside was they dont serve breakfast but recommended a great "greasy spoon" cafe about 100 yards away which was brilliant.

Would definitely recommend this as a cheap alternative to the usual faceless city centre hotels which cost twice as much. It was only about a 5-10 minute walk from the city centre shops.

I could imagine it would be noisy at weekends as I'm sure the pub gets a bit lively but we stayed on a Monday so was very quiet.