A better, more flexible and cost-effective way of spending a stay of a week or more would be in one of the city's many new serviced apartments. Manchester's hotels are often in extremely high demand thanks to its burgeoning popularity as a destination for general meetings, business expo's and conferences. Plus if you're staying for longer than a day, they are often extremely expensive due to the lack of facilities.

If you stay in a short term serviced apartment then you get the benefits of a hotel - someone will tidy up for you - and you also get to make some great savings. In particular, if your stay is for leisure purposes, a serviced apartment lets you save your money for visiting clubs such as Sankeys or gigs at the MEN, rather than wasting it on eating out every single day. By staying in one of these apartments you'll be able to get a real sense of life in one of the country's fastest growing cities.

Over the past decade or so there has been a huge increase in the number of short term serviced apartments in Manchester. The redevelopment of the city centre since 1990's has taken many of the city's defunct warehouses and factories and transformed them into some of the country's best examples of the convenience and style of modern life.

These apartments offer a great way of visiting the 'Capital of the North' if you're going to stay for longer than a week. Many of the old buildings in the city's trendy Northern quarter have been refurbished into spacious, modern apartments that are available for short stay leases. A stay in one of these will put you within walking distance of the city centre and right above some of the area's best nightclubs, restaurants and bars.