Archive for March 16, 2008

I have traveled pretty thoroughly throughout England–from Cornwall and Devon through York, plus Scotland and Wales–but I’d never been to Manchester. I made up for that on my recent trip, even though I spent most of my time in London.

I flew BMI into Manchester–it’s their hub–and spent a bit more than a day on either end in that city before doing some business in London. Reviews of my flights (which were fine, thank you) will be in upcoming editions of Global Traveler and of eFlyer, and this week eFlyer will have a review of the Radisson Edwardian Manchester, which I loved. (Their restaurant, Opus One, was terrific too, so it will get its own review in a couple of weeks).

But what I loved most about Manchester was the people. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an Anglophile anyway (and yes, I do pick up the accent way too readily, sorry about that), but Northerners are the friendliest breed of Brits that I’ve found. When you’re a typical chatty American–striking up conversations with strangers in a train compartment, for example–well-bred southern English will be patient but bemused, for the most part. Northerners, on the other hand, will not only jump right into the conversation, but will instigate it if you don’t.

I know I’m painting with too broad a brush–not everyone in any culture is friendly and outgoing–but Mancunians, as I think they’re called, are just particularly nice in general. Most of my taxi drivers were as chatty as the classic New York cabbie, and the hotel staff treated me practically as if I were long-lost family–not overly familiar, just you could swear they were generally glad to see me, and by the time I returned from London every single person I’d met before, from the bellman to the front desk to the concierge to the restaurant staff to management–treated me as if I’d just come home. (Instead of fatted calf, I had lamb.)

Anyway, if you’re going to be doing business in Manchester for the first time, fear not: You can leave your stiff upper lip at home. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the hotel.

–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer