The Divine Comedy at Hard Rock Cafe Manchester

Ever popular with Stags and Hens for its food, atmosphere, friendly staff and convenient Printworks location, the biggest Hard Rock Cafe in the UK (there are unbelievably only 4!) was the venue last night for a Q Music sponsored gig by The Divine Comedy. Neil Hannon has been producing brilliant music since the early 90’s and his latest album “Bang goes the Knighthood” continues this trend.

Stag and Hen Manchester decided to go for a quick meal at Tampopo just across exchange square on the outside lower floor of the Triangle shopping centre beforehand. For Manchester Stags and Hens that don’t fancy any food at the Hard Rock Cafe Manchester and fancy instead just a Manchester cocktail masterclass with a spot of far eastern cuisine afterwards it is an ideal and relatively cheap option ahead of a good stag or hen night out.

As it happened though as we had been invited there was the wide ranging buffet that Hard Rock Cafe put on with their brill Manchester cocktail masterclasses to have before The Divine Comedy came on stage. So chicken strips, mini burgers, stuffed potato skins and warm brownies later the team were more than stuffed! We then hit the bar with avengeance – Sorry guilty as charged but we don’t get many Monday nights out and got a smidge Giddy! J

When The Divine Comedy hit the stage Neil Hannon was on good form and played a real mixture or back catalogue classics and new music from his latest album and had the crowd of 650 competition winners and mad keen fans eating out of his hands from the stage. He played for a full hour before shooting off to another appearance that Stag and Hen Manchester believe was on the radio (not confirmed and we can’t be sure

For a taster of the man himself and the fab venue that is the Hard Rock Cafe Manchester check out our Facebook and Youtube channels for pictures and videos from the Gig.

So remember stags and hens if you are in Manchester on a Friday night head to the Hard Rock Cafe at the Printworks for live music, good food, tasty cocktails and an atmosphere for food that struggles to be beaten.

Stag, Hen and Sten/Hag Hard Rock Activities

Platinum Menu = £25 per person

Cocktail Masterclass = £20 per person

Cocktail Masterclass with buffet = £35 per person

Until the next time Stag and Hen Manchester signing out

Manchester Go Karting

Long known as a nation of speed demons the United Kingdom and its stags and hens have for a long while seen a spot of Stag or Hen Karting as an ideal Stag Weekend or Hen Weekend activity. Allowing you to safely speed around a course of long straights and sharp challenging turns whilst racing your fellow stags and hens it is great fun and with the lap times the true F1 champion of the group can be crowned.

Stag and Hen Manchester caters for those wanting to a spot of Manchester Go Karting with two tracks one in East Manchester and one in Trafford Park Salford close to where Manchester United play their football. One has slightly more modern facilities but a smaller track and the other has slightly less modern facilities but a bigger track. Stag and Hen Manchester always try to send those stags and hens that fancy a spot of Manchester Karting to the longer track where possible as at the end of the day you are there for the hi-octane action and not to admire the additional facilities.

With either track please do be aware that neither are within walking distance of the town centre and therefore when you are quoted for their use on your Manchester Stag Party or Manchester Hen Party you will need to factor in getting a large amount of people from the city centre to the track into your timings and costings. Stag and Hen Manchester always will tell you this but unscrupulous others might not!

What about the format of your stag karting or hen karting in Manchester? Well put simply at both tracks your session will go as follows:-

1. Arrival and Sign in – Making sure everyone is there that needs to be and that you sign the necessary disclaimers. (both tracks have full Public Liability Insurance)

2. Safety Session – Not a long lecture but a necessity to make sure you know the rules of the track, how to safely operate the cars and the signals of the stewards

3. Practice Laps – Five or Six drivers at a time will be allowed to take the karts out to make sure they know what the accelerator and what the brake is!

4. Heats – This is where you sort the Wheat from the Chaff, The Men from the Boys, The Women from the girls. Winners go through to semi finals, losers face humiliation and sitting out to watch the finals.

5. Semi finals – Narrows the field down further to form the final line up

6. Finals – Typically there will be a B Final and then the A final

7. Presentations and Applause

As most Saturdays in Manchester will see stag groups, hen groups and Mancunians packing the track on Saturdays both the tracks run open sessions where anything up to 40 drivers take part. Don’t get too concerned with this though- Stag and Hen Manchester have found this to be enjoyed by stags and hens alike as it really adds to the competition and fun.

Should you however want a private session the track in East Manchester will allow groups of 12 drivers or more to book private sessions on Friday and Sunday which follow exactly the same format as the open sessions on Saturday but simply allow you the track to yourselves. The cost even remains the same.

If you have those that don’t fancy the drive then don’t worry as both tracks have large viewing areas to stand on and watch and with a cafe and TV at both there is enough to keep the none drivers amused whilst you pit your wits to be the next Lewis Hamilton!

Be careful not to mix partying and driving though as if you are perceived to be drunk or over the limit to operate the go karts on arrival then you will be barred from taking part and will lose not only your chance for a bit of fun but your money to. So either get it booked for early in the morning or just after breakfast so your day of drinking isn’t eaten into too much.

Stag Karting Manchester and Hen Karting Manchester at £45pp is a value for money activity that lasts three hours and will be well received by all. Check out our YouTube and Facebook channels for some images and videos to give you a flavour of Manchester Go karting.

Let us know if you have any questions or you want to book and we would be delighted to help you.

Kind Regards

The Stag and Hen Manchester team

Manchester Stag Weekend Activities - OLD v NEW? Who Wins?

OLD V NEW ??? WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE?

The team at Stag and Hen Manchester has realised with shock and horror :-() that we have been focussing a little too much on the girlier side of things and need to readdress the balance with a few blogs about Manchester stags on a good ole fashioned Manchester Stag Night!

Now since January you stags that have got in touch have been bluff old traditionalists and have plumbed for enquiring about some good old fashioned activities like Manchester Paintballing, Manchester Karting, Stag Nightlife Passes and Stag Lapdancing for your last night of freedom all of which are a good shout but of those who actually went ahead and had their Manchester Stag Weekend with us went for the more unique options like Manchester Luging, Indoor Golf and a Manchester Comedy Evening for stags.

So we found ourselves asking whether the traditional era of the popular stag afternoon activities is over generally?, or whether it is just Manchester’s source of unique activity options that have you leaving your driving gloves and paintball guns at home – Why not let us know?

Our local knowledge and base allows us to continually search for those ideal activities others don’t know about and we feel its healthier to give you a mix of both the old and the new as after all its your event , your choice! With our unique and easy to use “Build Your Own” page you can even combine the old and the new on your Stag Parties in Manchester should you want.

We have made sure that from the traditional to the more modern and unique, every activity supplier is tried and tested to make sure its value for money, close to your accommodation and Damn good fun into the bargain. Lets face it better to tell stories of your activities during the day than at night!

Keep track of the blog and our website http://www.stagandhenmanchester.co.uk for more Stag focussed updates and activities that are added.

Regards

The Stag and Hen Manchester Team

Manchester Sten and Hag Weekends - Worth Thinking About.

Now we at Stag and Hen Manchester have all come to love the traditional Manchester Stag Weekend and Manchester Hen Weekend but more and more recently we are being approached by couples wanting to break the normal traditions and have a Manchester Sten weekend or Hag party in Manchester.

Now for those of you asking what on earth is a Sten or a Hag do/party/weekend is – Put simply it is a stag do with hens allowed to come to “Sten” or a Hen do with lads brought along “Hag” do. For all of you non-believers yelling “There’s obviously no trust in that relationship” we say for shame it is simply all to do with getting everyone together before the wedding to make sure your special day is special for everyone and a lot of the time these joint do’s end up being more fun than single ones!!

So how does it all work? Well you all have the same sten/hag accommodation, split during the day for separate sten/hag activities or depending on your wishes have guys against the girls at one activity then meet up for a meal and night out in Manchester together afterwards. As with the normal stag and hen do what is most important to Stag and Hen Manchester is that you end up with a fantastic and memorable event that is value for money and we will help you throughout to achieve this.

As an example we have a group of 9 booked with us “6 hens and 3 stags” where they are all booked in to the same luxurious 4* hotel across a variety of different room types - doubles for couples and twins for those that are friends of the bride and groom and in this case a triple to accommodate the odd numbers.

After check in the three stags are heading down to an indoor snow centre to try their hand a spot of Manchester luging and mixed snowboarding whilst back in the city centre the remaining 6 hens are going to enjoy two hours of cheerleading with our expert, fun and friendly tutors.

Following that they all meet back up for a Manchester comedy evening which includes some food before heading out to enjoy the Printworks area of nightlife with some complimentary nightlife passes to Tiger Tiger.

So when considering your options don't let other people dictate what you should do, despite all the other things that you have to consider, its your party and you should get to have it how you want. Bride's mention all your girlfriends the best man hasn't seen before are coming and vice versa groom and bridesmaid. You watch they will come round to the idea!

A Sten/Hag party in Manchester – original, modern, sensible and still huge fun!!

Henry J Beans Manchester - Hen and Stag Dining at the Printworks

Last Friday saw me head into Henry J Beans in the Printworks in the selfless gesture to make sure that the high quality of the food offered to Hens and Stags coming to Manchester was as good as ever. I can happily say that it most definitely is!!

Now I didn't push the boat out too much as the Manchester Stag and Hen packages start with sharing platters so I opted to head straight into the main course with "The Classic Burger" and go for the mark of a good restaurant in my and Stag and Hen Manchester's mind a good burger.

After ordering with the friendly bubbly staff my burger arrived in short order and looked stunning on the plate on its toasted bun with plenty of salad, chips and American coleslaw. The burger itself tasted fab and was hand made with what I can say was very good beef. I dolloped a splurge of tomato ketchup my favourite sauce and got stuck in. Now be you a stag or a hen if you can manage to eat the burger properly you can officially award yourself a prize for your big gob as I opted for a knife and fork approach but don't let that stop you trying.

Alongside my main course I opted to go for one of the three cocktails offered to Hens on arrival as part of the Manchester Henry J Beans Hen dining package a "June Bug" as I was off afterwards to drink a fairly large amount of beer (the stag option) with friends so fancied something different with lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of glasses of this as it fulfils one of my good cocktail criteria which is being ridiculously easy to drink.

Now I had serious plans after my burger to get some of Eli's vanilla cheesecake but I had been watching the Wimbledon tennis and dawdling so unfortunately i had to scarper but don't worry I got the following description from a table next door to mine which had opted for it " Heavenly - End of" so hang fire as you see me shamelessly find another excuse to head back all in the name of Stag and Hen Manchester to try it for myself.

In the meantime if you are thinking of a Manchester Stag Party or Manchester Hen Party and need some food for your night out you will find a delicious three course option with starting drinks all for the value for money price of £25. Simply head to the Stag activities page and select Henry J Beans Manchester or head to the Hen activities page and select Henry J Beans Manchester.

Henry J Beans Manchester is located in the popular Printworks area of nightlife and will fit perfectly with nightlife passes or tickets to the Birdcage, Pure or Entourage and a Manchester Stag Comedy Evening or the Manchester Hen Comedy Evening.

Mike says - Give it a try!!

Stag and Hen Manchester

Stag and Hen Manchester Guest Blogs

It has been a little while since the team at Stag and Hen Manchester have written to you stags and hens out there but it is down to the fact that we were delighted to spend a little bit of time using our knowledge about all things Manchester in a guest blog on another travel blog where you can also find cheap flights.

Look out for upcoming blogs about some hen party filming due to happen soon.

All the best for now from Stag and Hen Manchester

June 17th Important Date to Consider for Stag and Hen Parties in Manchester

June 17^th doesn’t seem like it is an important date in the world of stags and hens and Manchester but it actually very much is. Why you ask? Well put simply it heralds the announcement of the fixtures for the next season of the Barclays Premier League and in particular the home fixtures for Manchester United for the next season of the Barclays Premier League .

This impacts on all you stags and hens out there as due to the invasion of 75,000 mad keen Manchester United football fans the city centre hotels ideal for use during a Manchester Stag Party or Manchester Hen Weekend immediately see a large increase in demand for hotel rooms and therefore immediately increase their prices.

This means that Stag and Hen Manchester can no longer pass on the benefit of our cheaper rates at these ideal city centre hotels on these particular weekends to you and your ideal stag or hen party plan will suddenly become more expensive which nobody wants.

Well, how do you avoid such a situation?, I hear you ask. Put simply you do one of two things:-

1. Visit our stag, hen or sten and hag accommodation pages to ascertain when planning your party whether or not your preferred dates fall on any of the weekends in Manchester where city centre hotels are either unavailable or horribly expensive.

Stag Accommodation - Dates to Be Aware Of

Hen Accommodation- Dates to Be Aware Of

Sten and Hag Accommodation- Dates to Be Aware Of

If it does simply change it to a weekend that doesn’t see a Manchester United game or major event.

If you are unable to change it due to your stags or hens commitments then simply move onto our second point.

2. Don’t despair!! Allow us to source you some stag or hen friendly accommodation within the near vicinity of the city centre but not actually in it. We have scoured the nearby areas for accommodation that has rooms on for example weekends where Manchester United play at home and is within easily reach of the town centre.

What do we define as within easy reach of the town centre? - well Stag and Hen Manchester define it as within walking distance of a tram or train stop, on a bus route or within a £15 taxi ride away from the town centre. Its accommodation where you will have to get in and out of town but it is chosen because of how it lessons that irritation of doing that very thing for your group. We have also been known to provide a minibus to a group at a very reasonable cost for use during their Manchester Stag Weekend or Manchester Hen Weekend which helps get to and from activities and the hotel and then the nights out and the hotel.

What is most important to us is you end up with a fantastic and memorable event at the right price and we will work with you every step of the way to achieve that goal. If you are still not sure visit our testimonials pages written by Stags and Hens who have used our company previously as they are the best judges after all!

Stag Testimonials

Hen Testimonials