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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask Manchester MNers about safe all-night cafes etc.

81 replies

ReanimatedSGB · 13/08/2019 23:38

I have to do something in Manchester which means I will have to stay over night and there seems to be no affordable hotel accommodation left. Are there, in the city centre, a few safe-ish cafes or bars that are open all night? Somewhere I could sit with coffee and a book for a few hours?

OP posts:
QuaterMiss · 14/08/2019 00:41

This thread has brought back far too many horrible memories ...

What will you be in Manchester for, OP?

x2boys · 14/08/2019 00:46

I mean ,I'm not actually suggesting you stay in Bolton where I live but it's only about 25 mins by train and there are plenty of cheap B&B,,,s as I'm sure there are in most nearby towns it's far safer staying just out of Manchester than up all night in an all night cafe .

DuMondeB · 14/08/2019 00:54

Naps is open til 5 most nights. Way too dark in there to read though - it’s pretty much the only place open that late midweek in the city centre (except for the previously mentioned Mc Donald’s near St Peters Sq).

Bit of a ride out on the tram, but the safest place to be awake all night is the airport.

ShhhBeQuiet · 14/08/2019 00:59

Have you tried air B and B - there is usually loads of availability.

If you tell us the date I bet we can find somewhere.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 14/08/2019 01:01

We live in one of the Manchester satellite towns. DD’s favourite club is in Manchester. Her and her maters often club until four then go to maccys for a couple of hours then home on the milk train. There doesn’t seem to be a better option.

x2boys · 14/08/2019 01:06

Yeah fair enough for a couple of hours with several friends Tinkly but if you don't know Manchester and are preparing to spend several hours alone in an all night cafe in not sure that's the safest option ?

x2boys · 14/08/2019 01:10

I mean I used to go to rock worlds all nighter back in the day have breakfast in cafe pop and go back to my student house in eccles and sleep all day but even 20odd years ago I wouldn't just have spent the night in all night cafe in my own .

TinklyLittleLaugh · 14/08/2019 01:16

No I’m just saying that there doesn’t seem to be a safer or nicer cafe option than maccys or I imagine DD would have tracked it down. Depending on SGB’s budget, I think she should try and look for a room further out of town.

x2boys · 14/08/2019 01:21

Sorry Tinkly,yes I agree there are plenty of nearby towns with much cheaper options.

Andromeida59 · 14/08/2019 03:05

OP, it's worth looking at Stockport for accommodation. There's a Premier Inn, Travelodge and Holiday Inn Express in close proximity to the station. I love Manchester but I wouldn't want to spend all night in a cafe.

gobbynorthernbird · 14/08/2019 07:17

To the PP suggesting Napoleon's, Pedro's, Black dog, etc (there's also Liars Club and Mojos), how do you think a lone middle aged lady is going to get on hunkered down with a coffee and a book?

Loopytiles · 14/08/2019 07:20

Night buses in manchester are good, hotel somewhere far out. Or get train somewhere with cheaper accommodation, eg halifax!

PurpleFlower1983 · 14/08/2019 07:21

The Travelodge at Salford Keys is usually cheap and easy access to the city centre by tram.

Allmyarseandpeggymartin · 14/08/2019 07:37

Another one recommending a train out of the city and a cheap b&b

Peccary · 14/08/2019 07:41

The trams run until 1ish do that opens up more places. I've lived in or near Manchester my whole adult life and would not fancy staying out all night .

If there is a united match on, it's perfectly likely all reasonably priced accommodation is booked. People come from Ireland and Scandinavia for the match.

If you share the date, maybe we can help?

fizzyfizz · 14/08/2019 07:47

Piccadilly train station? I think the Costa kiosk is open 24 hours and there'll be somewhere to sit, but probably not all that comfy. Out of town option would be better.

Mabelface · 14/08/2019 07:51

Definitely not a great idea to hang around the city centre overnight. There'll be a hotel room somewhere close by.

JacksonCage · 14/08/2019 08:54

If you absolutely have to, OP (and by that I mean there is no accommodation within a certain radius of the city centre - try Stockport, Bury, Salford Quays, even as far out as Ramsbottom and then places like Bolton, Wigan and Huddersfield) then as a PP said the airport would actually be the safest. Accessible by bus from Piccadilly Gardens, tram and train from Piccadilly and Victoria. But within the city centre itself? Not at all, and I wouldn't recommend even trying for those who know it well.

But really what I think your best bet is, and as a PP also said, if you share the date then someone will no doubt be able to help by finding somewhere that's relatively close and also accessible by public transport.

I hope you get somewhere sorted.

Armadillostoes · 14/08/2019 09:01

Just to add to what various posters have already said-central Manchester is not a safe place to be alone as a stranger in the middle of the night. There are a lot of people who are vulnerable, desperate and therefore potentially a risk to others as well as themselves. There are also some nasty criminals lurking about, usually exploiting said desperate people. Add to the mix lots of party-goers drunk/high on drugs. All on all-please just don't.

NoMrsLevinson · 14/08/2019 09:04

What budget and where do you need to be?

If you really can't find anything at all and have to stay up all night, which seems unlikely in a conurbation of a couple of million people, I'd agree with getting the train to the airport and sitting in one of the terminals. It's about a 20 minute journey from the city centre on the train and will be well lit and staffed.

QuaterMiss · 14/08/2019 09:25

Piccadilly train station? I think the Costa kiosk is open 24 hours and there'll be somewhere to sit, but probably not all that comfy.

Never, never do this! The station feels perfectly safe and pleasantly lively during the day when all the shops and eateries are open - it is entirely different at night, peopled with drug dealers/takers and aggressive professional harassers of one kind or another. The police spend all night breaking up altercations and escorting people from the premises. It’s also freezing at night.

(I don’t want to give the impression that Manchester is generally scary, it’s a place I love visiting, but not somewhere to be out alone after midnight.)

IhaveALooBrush · 14/08/2019 09:30

Trains run pretty much through the night to leeds.... plenty of cheap hotels there.

Original poster
ReanimatedSGB · 14/08/2019 09:30

Thank you all - I may well try somewhere further out of the centre.
I'm going next weekend, and the reason everything is booked is because it's Manchester Pride. I'm running a bookstall during the Saturday night event and then another bookstall somewhere else on the Sunday.

OP posts:
NoMrsLevinson · 14/08/2019 09:49

Oh yeah, it is going to be rammed on Pride weekend. Your best bet might well be somewhere residential on a good train or tram route. Both of which go quite far out of town. I have mixed feelings about Air b and B, but there are dozens of options in Manchester still available for that date, on a cursory search.

QuaterMiss · 14/08/2019 09:50

www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-manchester/manchester/manchester-bury.html

Try Bury? 25 mins on tram. Seems to have rooms available.