Hotel Review: Portland Thistle Hotel

I feel sometimes that I should apologise a little bit. So often conversations with friends, or things that have happened while I’ve been with friends often get popped into blog posts. And again with this one.

So, er , sorry.

A friend was asking if I thought it ‘too much’ if he were to surprise his lady love with dinner and then a night in a hotel in Manchester, when they lived in the suburbs.

My answer was and will always be, no.

Why? Simple. It takes you out of the same old, same old of home. Takes you away from distractions – the PC in the corner, the telly, the cat – and the mundane – the washing up that you left this morning, the pile of ironing that’s begging to be done – and gives you both time to just be you. Every relationship needs that.

Myself and Mr GFB try to have a date night a month. With no blogging, no photographs, no interruptions, phones off and tucked away. Just us.

We’ve stayed in hotels ourselves when we’ve wanted time away from home. Time without me reaching for the laptop so I can get some emails sent and without Mr GFB reaching to switch on the PS4 or one of us flicking through Netflix.

And when we were invited to The Portland Thistle Hotel, for a little night away from home, I admit I was curious. The last time I stayed there was rather a long, long time ago when there was a hen do with a silly AM finish. To be honest, this was probably a very overdue apology for a very drunken me. My mum always said you could only ever take me somewhere twice – the second time to apologise.

The hotel reception is what you’d expect for a good city centre hotel. Clean, classy and well maintained. The staff on reception are lovely – check in was smooth and simple. So far so good.

The room was a reasonable size, plenty of room for us not to trip over each other despite our bit of luggage and Mr GFB’s Brompton.

Brownie comfort points for the robe and slippers – especially as I’d been in high wedge heels all day and my poor feet were screaming at me.

The bathroom was clean and neat, with both a shower and a bath and the view, for a city centre hotel, wasn’t too bad at all. It was nice to see they’d made an effort to perk up a plain space with planters and flowers.

I have to admit though, there were a few things about the room that disappointed me. There was a distinct crack in the picture above the bed, the veneer on the cupboard that held the tea and coffee was chipped. The taps in the bathroom had seen better days and the clear sealant around them needed repair.

Just your usual signs of wear and tear and use, but given it was known by the reservation staff (though admittedly later as you’ll read, not the restaurant staff) that we were in to review, it begged the question – was this one of the best rooms on offer?

Away from the grumbles, it was time for dinner.

I’ve had very mixed meals in hotel restaurants and both myself and Mr GFB wondered at the brand collaboration listed on the menus. We’re very much people who will pick local produce over brands – though of course, we understand that often brands can be seen as a guarantee of consistency. It’s reassuring sometimes when staying at a hotel in a new place. seeing those names, makes you feel more at ease – especially when travelling for business. The last thing you want when your head is filled with work related issues, is a worry over meal times.

There were some lovely little touches though. The ‘bin end’ wine offers were very good – giving you the option of something a little different and were great value for money. The menu is nice and varied and then there is a ‘Market Menu’ offering two courses for £17.50 and three courses for £20. Again, rather good value.

We selected from the main menu, my choice being the ham hock terrine with red onion compote. The terrine was firm and meaty, with great flavour and the compote was great – not overly sweet which is often the case.

Mr GFB had opted for the goat’s cheese and asparagus. Huge crisp spears of fresh asparagus adorned the plate, and the goat’s cheese was baked until soft, the contrast absolutely delicious. Delightfully simple.

For main, Mr GFB picked the sea bass paella. Thick fillets of sea bass sat atop a creamy risotto filled with seafood and chorizo. I was thrilled to note that it was perfectly done – the rice was creamy without being stodgy and just al dente.

The Portland was really starting to impress us.

My main was the chicken gremolata. I love puy lentils – I find them a real test of a restaurant too. There’s nothing more disappointing than them being over or under done, or the flavour being bland and dull.

This was so good Mr GFB had to almost physically remove the plate from my sight to stop me eating them. The portion was huge and I was feeling incredibly full, but they were just so moreish. Rich stock, earthy lentils, lightened with red pepper and the chicken atop them was tender full of flavour too.

Dessert beckoned. Probably mistakenly if only for it’s volume, I picked the cheese board. Four cheeses rather than the usual three, again good sized portions and that red onion compote again to accompany. Stilton, a good squidgy brie, and two cheddars – mild and mature sat on the slate, with butter and a variety of crackers. Admittedly, I did have to ask Mr GFB for help to finish it off.

Mr GFB went for the dessert of the day, a lemon tart served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry and passionfruit coulis. The tart was a great balance of creaminess and citrus, though the pastry could probably have done with 5 more minutes as it was a little soft on the base.

The service during the evening had been fantastic – attentive, but not pushy and we’d also seen the wait staff deal with a lovely couple of older ladies next to us visiting from Wales. One had mistakenly ordered a Sticky Toffee Sundae, and the issue was dealt with beautifully, no fuss and a replacement dessert brought.

Was this for our benefit? No. As became apparent when we went to leave and were asked about payment, the wait staff had no idea we were there to review and that our meal was complimentary. The staff are quite simply lovely and very good at their jobs.

The next morning brought breakfast time and another challenge. We stayed at the Midland Hotel last year and though the room, the staff and the hotel itself were fantastic, breakfast let it down badly.

The Thistle too has a buffet style breakfast – given the size of the hotel, not unexpected.

I can, however, happily say that the breakfast is better than we’d experienced at the Midland. Both the sausages and bacon alone were an improvement – both being both well cooked and full of flavour. I’d possibly suggest the price is a little high at nearly £15 – even though it’s effectively an ‘all you can eat’ set up.

All in all, The Portland surprised us both. We expected good staff and good service – at £90 for a comparative room for two with breakfast, you’d expect that. The room, admittedly was a little tired, but that’s very easy to fix.

For us, the food surprised us the most. We expected good. We got excellent.

I see a proper date night in the offing.

We were invited to stay at the Portland Hotel and try the menu for both dinner and breakfast. The hotel covered the cost of our meal and drinks.

As ever, the review is honest and though we were very impressed by the menu on offer, we feel that there are some niggles in the room (I cannot comment on any room other than our own).