A Surprise Night Away At ibis Styles Manchester

It’s been a month since Josh and I got engaged. And since then it’s been kinda crazy. Crazy seeing family and friends and answering the same questions – ‘When’s the big day?’ and ‘Tell me all about the proposal!’. Crazy attempting to put together a guest list. Crazy doing wedding research and almost crying at the costs involved.

I mean it’s all good things, it’s an exciting new adventure and all. But it’s also been kinda hectic.

So when the babes at AccorHotels asked me if I wanted to whisk Josh off on a surprise night away, I jumped at the chance. Let’s escape the madness!

Y’see they’ve got this thing where they’re encouraging their staff to add personal touches for their guests. It’s all about those lovely little things that you remember about a hotel, when the staff go above and beyond.

So this lil getaway was to give me a taste of how good it feels to do something for someone else! And I worked with AccorHotels to give Josh a relaxing Friday night away.

I told him we were getting the train to Manchester after work to stay for the night, but surprised him that we were staying at the ibis Styles Manchester. It’s somewhere we loved staying last summer, which I think is really nice when you want a break. You already know where the breakfast buffet is. Very important.

The check in was as lovely as ever with super friendly staff. And then we were totally wowed by our room.

They knew I was surprising Josh to celebrate our engagement, so they did up the room with maximum levels of romance. There were rose petals, a bottle of prosecco, a big bouquet of flowers, a board of cheese and olives and lovely handwritten cards congratulating us!

How bloody amazing is that?! Definitely the kind of customer service you don’t forget!

We then had a table reserved at the adjoining restaurant Jamboree Foodfest & Bar with a bottle of wine and our pick of the menu. It’s predominantly a burger joint so Josh had the spicy Raging Bull burger and I went for the veggie halloumi delight that is the The Spartan burger. Both v nice, y’all. I mean, just look at Josh’s face in the photo below – ha!

And obviously I had to try the hazelnut brownie with toffee ice cream. And oh my gosh it was the biggest brownie everrrrr. Would recommend.

They even reserved us a table at the breakfast buffet the next day with a sign for ‘The Happy Couple’. So. Much. Cuteness.

It was such a lovely night, with some really cute, heartfelt moments that made the whole stay feel so personal. And surprising Josh with food is always a good idea! We’re both massive foodies so he loved the mezze board and burger and wine!

It was also such a nice night to be able to have a moment to ourselves. After dinner, instead of looking for some cool bars (something we normally do when on a city break), we decided to retire to our room for prosecco, snacks and Gogglebox! Basically a sleepover.

(Can we all take a second to appreciate these Pringles PJs from Primark?!)

Our little stay was definitely relaxing and we spent the next day shopping at the vintage shops of Afflecks (yes I may have purchased a skirt or two) and just having a nice wander. I really like Manchester so the destination was perfect and I couldn’t have been happier with our stay at ibis Styles Manchester.

I think with budget hotels, you don’t expect that level of customer service, y’know? It felt like a luxury retreat being spoiled so much! And lots of staff members came over to say congratulations, which made it feel like a taster of what a honeymoon is like!

Thanks so much to AccorHotels and the ibis Styles Manchester for a memorable stay! I’d recommend it to anyone for such fantastic service, quirky design and lovely rooms. And y’know, all on a budget. Pretty rad.

Have you ever stayed at an ibis Styles hotel? Let me know in the comments below, tweet me or find me over on Instagram!

Total Blogger Transparency: This post was sponsored by AccorHotels and my stay at ibis Styles Manchester was complimentary. But all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn’t play you like that, shorty.