Manchester Airport Premier Inn to central Manchester?

[outwest]

On 4th December son needs to go to interview at Manchester University.

Will drive to the Manchester Airport Premier Inn where have booked rooms, but plan to leave car there rather than attempt to drive into centre (not used to city driving any more, parking is expensive, Premier Inn is cheap). Need to be at university by around 11:30am.

Then around 4pm need to get back from city centre to Premier Inn, and drive home from there. Can some kind person advise how best to do this?

You can get the Tram or book a Taxi/Uber

Tram from the airport but premier inn is offsite so you’ll either have to get an Uber (2-3 miles) or there may be a shuttle bus

Thanks, there is a shuttle bus to airport but apparently only until around 10:30am! Would prefer to avoid taxi due to lack of certainty about times.

Given the usual price of airport parking you may find it easier and cheaper to drive closer to town and park. It's not that bad.

So if he gets a place at Manchester Uni, OP, you don't plan to drive him over and help him to move in?
Staying at the airport is an awful lot of faff, and it's a fair way outside of the city. Driving in Manchester is not that difficult - just book a room near the university.
Or, ideally, send him on his own on the train - the same way we all did our uni interviews.

The tram from the airport takes 10,000 hours to get to the city centre.

take the train to / from the airport or just get an Uber.

Put your end point into Google maps, ask it for directions and add your starting point, set it to public transport & tell it when you want to arrive. It will tell you what bus/train etc is quickest and how much walking is involved.

The airport is nowhere near the city centre and it will take ages to get there on public transport.

I would get a Premier inn in the city centre tbh

If its affordable I would taxi to and from Manchester City Centre.
I drive into and around Manchester pretty often and its slowgoing but manageable, parking is another matter though. I have been in situations when I have struggled to find a space and I know the city pretty well!
I do try and avoid the City Centre in December though as it gets even busier due to the Christmas markets etc.
Good luck to your DS, its a fantastic City

Have you looked at premier inns in the city centre? I would do that. Plenty of cheap accommodation for people staying overnight for gigs etc

A bit strange to stay at the airport. It's in the next county! But anyway.

Get the airport train to Piccadilly, 20 minutes. Then get around the city centre by tram mainly. But actually the tram doesn't go that near the university if you're going down to All Saints. It's a bit of a pain. If you're on a deadline and not confident navigating around a big city, I'd get an Uber from Piccadilly and then walk back and tour the centre. There are some good things between All Saints and the station and it's not too far to walk

Go up Oxford Road, go by the People's History, do St Peter's Square: Central Library, Manchester Art Gallery, walk through Library walk to Town Hall. Town hall is still all wrapped up but go to John Rylands by there. Then tram it to the station, train to the airport.

Never get the "free buses around the city centre" in Manchester - they take literally hours to go a 15 minute walk. Just tram or walk.

I would book a taxi, it is around 22 minutes according to Google maps. We stay at that particular Premier Inn when we fly from Manchester. I understand why you have chosen not to drive into the city but this particular Prem is far out.

I would have looked at the train lines and chosen a hotel with free parking near to a train station that would give you lots of trains into Manchester, so Oxford Road or Piccadilly stations.

Thank you everybody for advice. Have lived in some of the largest cities in the world and took my driving test in one, but that was long ago and want to avoid potentially aggressive big city driving, as well as slow traffic as per PP comments. If boy ends up going there then will have to get used to driving in Manc, but will avoid until required.

Don't have tight deadline in morning or evening, can take as long as we need. Looking like shuttle bus in morning then train then walk. Evening maybe taxi. Google not conclusive about buses to/from Runger Lane, Wilmslow Road M90 5DL, but for return leg is suggesting X5 Warrington from airport to Hasty Lane, then walking to hotel. Looks okay.

Agree with comments about booking hotels closer to train stations but no free lunches - those seem to cost significantly more/be closer in. But will probably do better job of selection next time, if there is next time.

Main issue was that did not realize shuttle bus from hotel only ran in morning! Never seen that before, and used to fly between airports on different continents many times a year. But guess rules for local airports are different.

Thanks especially to poster who gave ideas for what to do during day. Will have time to spare, so that is helpful.

Sobering to think that when seventeen I travelled solo well over 200 miles to London and back by National Express. Mother and father seemed fine with that. Apparently am much more of helicopter parent than I thought.

Its not necessarily helicoptering OP.
I went to all DDS open Days for Uni (no interviews) as well as her offer holder days at her request. We had some lovely days out in unfamiliar cities- I don't think I fully appreciated that in the not too distant future she was going to leave home and live in one!
If he goes to Manchester he may not live in the City centre, students tend to be quite spread out so you may not have to brave Manchester driving for a long time if ever

>We had some lovely days out in unfamiliar cities

True, London/Oxford were unfamiliar for him, was enjoyable to spend time there with inquisitive teen.

If you can cancel or switch your premier inn then @TheRibbonsMary is right, work backwards to towns
with decent train links. Stockport is 10 mins max and trains are really frequent.

Is it the Runger lane or Heald Green premier inn? There’s 3 called “Manchester airport”. Heald Green would be best as it’s right by the train station.

The premier inn shuttle bus runs all the time- we’ve got it at 4am before

Where are you driving from, that you've chosen to stay at a PI at the Airport? We may be able to recommend somewhere else on the outskirts that has much better transport links.

What was the reasoning for the airport hotel, where are you driving from?

I’d swap hotels to one nearer a tram, if you stayed in Sale/Altrincham or near Old Trafford (assuming it’s not a match day) or even Salford Quays you could walk to the tram and get into Manchester really easy.

That hotel looks to be in a bit of an awkward place tbh, I’m not sure you’ll gain much by staying there unless you get a taxi which is a bit unnecessary when you could be closer to the tram.

Appreciate the comments. Staying at the Runger Lane PI. Thing is, we have 4/5-hour drive from southwest Wales to get to Manchester, arriving late evening. Don't want to be navigating a strange city after that, especially in the dark. Runger Lane is awkward for public transport, easy for driving.

Can you change it?

Non flex 😬

If you could swop Premier Inn West Didsbury is close to tram which ep would take you in to Manchester. It's £83.
Heald Green £63, very close to HG railway station.
Stockport South - on the A6, the legendary 192 would take you into Manchester (it's about 40mins I think) - more expensive , £95
If you're committed to the Airport Prem Inn as you say shuttle bus then train to Piccadilly
I only know South Manchester, where are you coming from?

>I only know South Manchester, where are you coming from?

Pembrokeshire, after school.