Accessible hotels near Manchester Airport
It can be hard to find information about hotels with disabled access near Manchester Airport, so we have put together a guide to hotels with accessible facilities. Many of them offer long term parking facilities so you can leave your car there whilst you are away, and most of them also offer a shuttle bus transfer to the airport.
Bewley’s Hotel Manchester Airport
This hotel has blue badge parking spaces outside and the building has wheelchair access. There are accessible bedrooms, some of which have wet rooms. All the public areas of the hotel including the restaurant and bar are fully accessible. Bewley’s has been awarded mobility 2 status by Visit Britain. It is on-site at Manchester Airport, offers long term parking and a free shuttle bus to the terminals.
This is an off-site hotel, about 10 minutes’ drive from the airport. There are disabled parking spaces the front of the hotel. There are ramps and lifts to all floors inside the building, except the very oldest bedrooms. Specially designated accessible guest rooms are available. They have long stay parking packages which include a complimentary taxi to the airport.
Premier Inn Manchester Airport (Wilmslow)
Guide dogs are welcome at this hotel, which has blue badge parking spaces outside. The building has wheelchair access, with ramps and lifts. Adapted guest rooms can be booked. A hearing loop has been installed and reception can provide a vibrating pillow fire alarm. There’s free long term parking here at your own risk, but no shuttle bus to the airport, which is about 3 miles away.
Holiday Inn Manchester Airport
The Holiday Inn is 5 minutes’ drive from the airport. There are disabled parking bays and 2 accessible bedrooms. These are double rooms and can be booked with an interconnecting twin room if necessary. All the hotel’s facilities have disabled access and there is a walk in shower in its leisure club. There are holiday parking packages and a shuttle bus to the airport.
Crowne Plaza Manchester Airport
The Crowne Plaza is on-site at the airport. There are blue badge parking spaces outside the building. It has 2 accessible guest rooms and guide dogs are welcome. You can book long stay parking packages and there’s a free shuttle to all the terminals.
Premier Inn Manchester Airport (Heald Green)
There are 3 accessible rooms at this Premier Inn, which have lower beds and bathroom fittings. The restaurant and bar are accessible and there are vibrating alarms available. It’s less than 5 minutes’ drive from here to the airport.
Premier Inn Manchester Airport
Another Premier Inn near Manchester Airport; this one is 10 to 15 minutes away. The accessible bedrooms have walk-in showers and lower beds. All levels and areas of the hotel are accessible with lifts and there’s blue badge parking outside. There are vibrating pillow alarms for the hard of hearing. The hotel runs a shuttle bus and offers airport parking packages.
Every floor on the Travelodge has 4 accessible bedrooms. All of the hotel’s facilities are accessible for wheelchair users. It’s 10 minutes’ drive from here to the airport passenger terminal. There’s paid parking for up to 4 days and a shuttle bus available.
The Hilton has blue badge parking spaces and 2 accessible bedrooms. These have wider doors and adapted bathrooms. The gym and restaurant are accessible and vibrating alarms are available. There’s a free shuttle bus to the terminal which is 5 minutes away.
Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport
There are blue badge bays in the car park and the hotel is fully accessible via lifts and ramps. The accessible bedrooms have walk-in showers. All the bedrooms have complimentary WiFi connections and long term parking is available. The hotel is on-site at the airport. Terminals 1 and 2 are connected to the hotel with moving walkways and there is a shuttle bus to Terminal 3.
Avoid airports with long city transfers!
Have you ever flown into an airport and found yourself in a totally different city to the one you expected? You could have got on the wrong plane by mistake, but it’s more likely to be the result of a “creative” naming policy that sees airports called after bigger cities which are actually miles and miles away. Here are some of the worst offenders – watch out for them next time you travel!
Frankfurt (Hahn)
At 77 miles (124 km) from central Frankfurt, this is the best example of misleading naming we can find. In fact, Ryanair were told not to advertise it as “Frankfurt” anymore, until the airport officially rebranded itself as Frankfurt Hahn. There is no train, so you have to either drive or catch the bus, which takes an hour and 45 minutes to reach the city in which the airport is supposedly located!
Munich West (Memmingen)
Every year, the streets of Memmingen are filled with bemused passengers who arrive for Oktoberfest, expecting to find themselves in Munich. They ask cab drivers to take them to the Hofbräuhaus, and are puzzled as to the high prices quoted. This is because the airport is actually 71 miles (114 km) from the city of Munich, which takes an hour and a half to reach by train. The airport blames low cost airlines for describing it in this way – it is also known as Allgäu Airport. But the town of Memmingen is now thinking of capitalising on the situation by organising its own mini Oktoberfest.
Oslo (Torp)
This airport is really 68 miles (110 km) or an hour and a half from Oslo. It’s been a popular destination for the low cost airlines, but if you’re going to Oslo you’d be better flying into Rygge which is about 37 miles (60 km) away from the city. Ryanair is now expanding its services to Rygge, a relatively new airport which just opened in 2007.
Stockholm (Skavsta and Västerås)
Both of these airports are a long way from Stockholm – Skavsta about 62 miles (100 km) and Västerås about 75 miles (120 km). A better choice would be Stockholm Arlanda, which is only 26 miles (42 km).
London (Oxford)
If you got on a bus that said it was going to London and you were dropped off in Oxford, you wouldn’t be too pleased, but that’s what happens when passengers catch a plane to this airport, which is 60 miles (97 km) from the centre of the capital. You could argue that for someone coming in from America, an extra 60 miles at the end of the journey wouldn’t seem like too much. But its main business at the moment seems to be charter flights from Jersey, so the time to drive to London after landing might be as long as the actual flight!
We’d like to hear from you!
Have you found an airport that is further than this from the city? What kind of difficulties did it cause?