Travel review: Wilmslow

Looking for a hotel close to Manchester Airport? Or perhaps one with easy access to Manchester city centre? Then the newly refurbished Best Western Plus Pinewood on Wilmslow might just be for you.

While not actually in Wilmslow itself, the hotel is situated a short drive away in the small town of Handforth, just a 10-minute drive from the airport, or a 10-minute walk from a train station with regular services to Manchester Piccadilly.

An ideal location if you are travelling or looking to explore the area.

The hotel has recently completed a £2 million development project, adding 19 contemporary bedrooms and making dramatic design improvements, both internally and externally, to an existing 1970s hotel extension.

The additional en-suite bedrooms all come with new walk-in showers and 10 of the rooms offer exceptional views of the extensive gardens.

The main entrance of the hotel has also undergone a facelift along with aesthetic and environmental improvements to the existing 1970s addition to the property.

The room we stayed in was basic, but nice – complete with everything you would want and expect for a stay.

The hotel also offers free wi-fi, which has to be said was one of the quickest internet connections I have ever had during a stay.

With the refurbishment the hotel also launched a new restaurant, One Eighty.

The restaurant's prime position at '180 Wilmslow Road' and the stunning 180-degree view of the hotel's beautiful gardens inspired the name.

Hotel general manager John Scott said: "In the design we wanted to maximise on the views of the hotel gardens, where guests can now dine al fresco on warmer evenings. It's such a lovely place to dine out that we decided to capture the unique setting in the name."

At the heart of this AA rosette awarded restaurant is its use of local suppliers, most located within 40 miles of the chef's table, and a passion by head chef Colin Starkey to create traditional dishes presented in a fun and contemporary style.

Colin says: "I owe much of my inspiration to my mother and grandmother's passion for food and many of their wonderful dishes have found their way onto my menus. I have learned that simplicity in cooking is the best policy. The key for me is quality, fresh ingredients creatively combined to bring out the best flavours."

The One Eighty six-course tasting menu therefore changes regularly to accommodate seasonal variation in availability of produce, and an a la Carte menu also offers excellent grill dishes, Sunday roasts, sharing platters and the 'old meets new' range of traditional desserts.

Do not expect ordinary hotel food here, the courses we had were exemplary and can not be praised enough.

However, do be prepared to pay a £60 per person for a six course tasting menu – although the rest of the menu was more moderately priced.

The buffet Cheshire breakfast is also worth adding to the stay. So much better than the usual mass produced food you get at hotels, everything seemed fresh and well cooked.

Guests at the hotel also get passes to a nearby gym and spa which is a nice little extra if you are not bothered about the short drive to get there and having to take your own towels out the room.

In all, this hotel will give you a comfortable stay, and you will feel you can relax while being close to the nearby action if that is your thing.

By Nathan Rowden