Hitting 2010 Running

Manchester – Transport facilities for the New Decade

Manchester’s popular and very successful Metrolink service will hit the ground running in 2010 (excuse the pun) as a major 6 month project to renew all of the city centre track with high quality street finishes and to completely redevelop the St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens stops has finished on time.

This has given two of the most popular stops on the networks a sparkling new finish including top of the range touch screen ticket machines that accept notes, coins, debit cards and credit cards to make buying the value for money tickets even easier. The revamped Piccadilly Gardens stop will be particularly important for those Hen Parties in Manchester that are going to make full use of all the shopping Manchester has to offer and for those Manchester Stag Weekends that are looking to explore all the bars and pubs throughout every quarter of the city.

Remember though that although we recommend the tram system as the best way around the city during the day and early evening, trams do stop before last orders at 11p.m!!

Remember to check our guide for city centre transport options or just contact us to ask

A very happy 2010 to you all!

Keeping an Eye on Manchester's Busy Schedule

As we enter into another busy year in Manchester in 2010 Stag and Hen Manchester wanted to warn prospective stags and hens about checking what’s happening in Manchester the weekend of your prospective Manchester Stag Weekends or Hen Parties in Manchester.

You will be surprised as to the influence something as simple as Manchester United playing at home will have. Availability of rooms will become scarce which means higher prices and less chance of your group being together in the hotel of your choice. You also will see an influx of the vast majority of the 75,000 person crowd into the city centre after the game finishes. So Hens if you don’t fancy meeting a fair few merry football fans then pick another weekend or Stags if you hate United fans these aren’t the weekends for you! We don’t want to put you off your Manchester Stag Nights though or hens if the date can’t be moved we will ensure minimal impact on the enjoyment of your hen night. Manchester does have over 500 nightlife venues after all!!!!

We have also recently encountered a few occasions where large events at the MEN Arena do have a small impact on the availability and price of accommodation in the city centre. (A recent example being next years Peter Kay tour.) If you are planning to make an MEN arena event part of your Manchester Stag Night or hen weekend in Manchester then make sure you book well in advance to book the best possible, convenient accommodation. And of course if you aren’t it is still worthwhile being aware what is on the weekend you are going.

Keep tabs on the Manchester Guide section of our website where we endeavour to keep you up to date or ask us on enquiry and we will source the information for you.

Happy New Year from the Stag and Hen Manchester Team- We wish you a prosperous and happy 2010 and of course fun and unforgettable Manchester Stag Weekends and Hen parties in Manchester.

Silks Gentlemen's Lounge Grand Opening

SPECIAL OFFER - stretch hummer pick up from city centre location and club entry for only £10 per person. Call 0161223 0417 or email info@stagandhenmanchester.co.uk.

Stag and Hen Manchester has this week had the pleasure of visiting the latest Gentlemen’s Club to hit the streets of Manchester at its grand opening last Thursday night. Silk’s Gentlemens Lounge is on Lloyd Street by the town hall half way between the Printworks and Deansgate Locks this is a must for any Manchester stag night.

Its luxurious interior starts with the modern and elegant ground floor with a large well stocked bar, widescreen tv’s showing sport and stage with floor to ceiling mirrors where its stunning girls perform regularly throughout the evening. We were greeted with a free glass of champagne and very quickly were enjoying ourselves in what we view as a necessity on any good Manchester stag weekend.

As the evening progressed we enjoyed everything from a public stage show with a member of the team selflessly allowing himself to be the recipient of a public stageshow from the lovely Brooke,a dance perfect for any groom to be, to a visit to one of the many private booths for a sensuous dance which at £10 a time lasting one song are safely the cheapest in Manchester and essential for any Manchester Stag Weekends.

We also have a new VIP area to look forward to that will be finished shortly and can provide some additional privacy where required. Silks have also thoughfully laid on stretch hummers filled with girls to pick you up in town and deliver you directly to the club and come early in the new year we are looking forward to providing as a stag activity for Stag parties in Manchester a trip in a mobile strip club that will be housed in a double decker executive coach that can take you anywhere you wish to go with booze and women a plenty.

Remember Hens can visit aswell so if you want to arrange such a trip for your Hen parties in Manchester Please let us know and we can arrange matters accordingly.

Manchester stag nights will never be the same again so please feel free to talk about the best gentlemens club options available to your group on booking as certain conditions can apply so we will talk you through the best ones to suit you.

Seasons Greetings from Stag and Hen Manchester

A Christmas Wonderland for Hen Parties in Manchester

Every Hen weekend should have a bit of sparkle and Manchester is definitely the place to go for Christmas sparkle.

The Christmas trees are lit and the street decorations shine through the November gloom to lighten everyone's spirits and make them feel festive.

The Christmas market is in full swing with cabins manned from all parts of Europe offering all sorts of delights from hot roast chestnuts to fantastic warming gluhwein.

Now can you think of a better place to spend your hen weekend than here with us in Manchester?

From the moment you step into the foyer of your hen friendly hotel all decorated for Christmas you'll throw off your winter blues and feel ready to party the weekend away. So get your gladrags on and let's get ready to hit those hen party venues.

Get your Manchester hen party started with a free VIP entry to one of the clubs down in Deansgate Locks to catch up on all the girly gossip and spy out the local talent....

Then on Saturday after a leisurely breakfast have a browse through the Christmas market before heading for the classy shops in St Anns Square and King Street to see where the best bargains are on offer. Or head to the Arndale Centre for all your high street names and bag a new outfit for the big hen night ahead.

Feeling peckish? Well how about combining some nibbles with an afternoon cocktail masterclass to get yourselves into a party mood. Have a Christmas cocktail competition to see who can make the best one - it could be the start of a whole new craze!

Now it's time to turn to the important matter of getting ready for that night you've all been looking forward to - the hen party! It's you last night of freedom so why not indulge in a manicure or facial at your hotel before you have that first drink of the evening while you make yourselves irresistible with those new dresses that are going to turn more than a few heads tonight in all those Manchester bars and clubs........

Got the Idea? Manchester's a great place to have a perfect hen weekend. We've got loads of ideas so why not have a look at our website or get in touch with us by emailing info@stagandhenmanchester.co.uk so we can plan your Manchester hen party to remember.

Stags play at St Andrews

I this week had the pleasure of playing the Old Course at St Andrews but instead of enduring the shoddy weather this week has brought to the whole of the UK including the course on the East coast of Scotland I was able to enjoy the unique surroundings of the Golftorium in Manchester close to Piccadilly train station.

The largest indoor golf centre in Europe and perfect for stags it gives you the chance to play such historic courses in the dry with beer served to you at your own table infront of the simulator.

After a brief introduction to how to work the simulator we were given our golf bag to share full of top notch Cobra clubs and away we went. As we had never played golf indoors before we opted for a few practice swings first and then we started the round off. First we picked the course, then how windy it was, whether we wanted a crowd, mulligans, gimmies, speed of the greens the options of personalising your round are endless. Then as organiser and director at Stag and Hen Manchester I was given the honour and I didn't disgrace myself with a drive of 214 yards off the first tee.

We ordered a few drinks from the bar as we hit the third and they were promptly delivered to the table just in front of the simulator playing area and we continued. Now I had better tell you I am not a professional golfer and in fact don't have a handicap but this was easy to pick up and tremendous fun even as the bogey's began to mount up. You have three different surfaces from which to hit the ball the fairway, the rough and the sand and we used these and got bemused faces when we asked which one we needed to use for the water!!

After three hours which is roughly what it should take for four people on one simulator we had finished all 18 holes and had our scores collected and printed for us. They didn't make pretty reading!

Depending on what time of the day you book prices start from £25 per simulator per hour but when you divide that by the number playing it certainly doesn't break the bank. We also make sure that wherever possible we split larger groups of stags across simulators so you can maximise your time and still play against one another.

For more information please visit our website where you can build your own stag weekend to incorporate the Golftorium or choose one of our packages which includes a visit to the Golftorium. The choice is yours!!

For general enquiries please email info@stagandhenmanchester.co.uk and I welcome comments to this blog that you can add below.

Manchester v Los Angeles

Following news of Manchester signing a formal friendship agreement with the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles declaring Manchester as “one of the greatest cities in the world” independent research has ranked Manchester as England’s leading city. So it would naturally follow that the place to be at the moment for UK Stag and Hen parties is Manchester.

The Economic Intelligence Unit’s annual “liveability” survey ranked Manchester 46th out of 140 cities ranked worldwide with London only coming 51st. The news that there were over 6.5 million overnight stays in our city also points towards continuing upward trends in the popularity of Manchester with investments not only in leading venues Stags and Hens use like the Chill Factor and Golftorium but in leading festivals such as the Manchester International Festival, the Manchester Comedy Festival and the Manchester Food and Drink Festival.

As Stag and Hen Manchester’s venues for Stags and Hens continue to expand and events and gigs continue to be announced in Manchester we make a promise to all Stags and Hens now that we will continue to be at the forefront of giving you the best of what a Premier League city has to offer!

Manchester Comedy Festival

Following closely on the heels of the very successful Food and Drink festival the Manchester Comedy Festival is yet another big hitter in the festival line up Manchester consistently manages to deliver for all its residents and visiting Stags and Hens.

For the last ten days there have been shows at theatres, clubs, bars and even the odd pub to enjoy from big name comedians like Michael Mcintyre, Rhod Gilbert or the always funny Jimmy Carr. A good smattering of local up and coming comedians always makes for a good festival as well and this year didn’t disappoint with local comedians Justin Moorhouse and Jason Cook.

Stags up for a bit of controversial humour would have enjoyed Tim Jeffries at the Royal Exchange theatre with Hens wanting a bit of dry humour would have enjoyed Jimmy Carr at the Manchester Apollo. Then of course there was the man of the moment - Michael Mcintyre and like him or loath him Stag and Hen Manchester can testify that you will always walk away with a smile on your face having had a good evening seeing him live at the MEN Arena.

And remember Stag and Hen Manchester offer the best of Manchester’s comedy scene all year round from as little as £30 per person to include entry into a top Manchester comedy club and a pizza and drink for each stag or hen in the group. It always starts off any stag or hen party in the right mood to split your sides laughing for a few hours before you hit the town and Manchester is certainly no different! Visit www.stagandhenmanchester.co.uk and look for Comedy Evening in the activities section for further details or get in touch with us now on 0161 223 0417.

Manchester Food and Drink for Stags and Hens

As the 2009 Manchester Food and Drink festival comes to a close it occurs to me that Manchester truly is a great choice for Stags and Hens when it comes to getting some top notch food and drink at whatever prices you can afford. No longer is Manchester a place for just meat pies and gravy!

This twelve day festival has been graced by the cream (no pun intended) of the region’s top chefs including, as featured on BBC 2’s Great British Menu, Michael Caines - head chef at the Michael Caines Restaurant and Champagne Bar and Paul Heathcote - head chef at the hugely popular Grado near to Spinningfields. Other celebrity chefs included Clarissa Dickson Wright, one half of Two Fat Ladies and the youngest chef ever to get a Michellin star - Aiden Byrne.

There were numerous other Manchester City Centre restaurants represented with chefs providing cookery demonstrations from The River Restaurant, Shilma Pinks, Room, Tampopo, Wings, Sapporo Teppanyaki, Opus Bar and the Soup kitchen to name but a few. All are very much within a Stag and Hen Party’s budget and conveniently located - for example Opus Bar is situated in the Printworks a prime Stag and Hen Nightlife hotspot.

St Ann’s Square in front of Manchester Town hall and close to Deansgate has for the last twelve days been the beating heart of the festival with a host of local producers and culinary traders descending on the food village. It is well worth taking your time to go along and talk to the traders and sample what they have to offer.

Then there has been of course this past weekend the Stag favourite of Oktoberfest and many have enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes of Bavaria brought to St Ann’s Square. Not forgetting as well the other Stag favourite the 2^nd Greater Manchester Ale Festival in Albert Square where the Greater Manchester People’s Pint and best beer brewed in Manchester are chosen.

Stag and Hen Manchester will be the first to let you know when the 2010 event dates are finalised and in the meantime should you have any queries about the best places to eat and for what budget do let us know and we will tell you what we think are the best stag and hen friendly Manchester restaurants to visit. Always remember to book in advance for large parties to avoid disappointment.

A couple of additional helpful websites to be aware of:-

http://www.tasteofmanchester.com

http://www.foodloversbritain.com/

Stag and Hen Manchester Ltd

Hi and welcome to the first ever Stag and Hen Manchester blog also available at www.stagandhenmanchester.co.uk. We have decided to start a blog to tell you about Manchester, what is on offer and our take on current trends in the world of all things Stag and Hen. So look out for restaurant reviews, activity reviews, updates on what's happening in Manchester whilst you are here and much much more!

Firstly a little about the blog's author - My name is Mike Ferguson and I am one of the directors of the business. I am a staunch Mancunian through and through and love everything about living in Manchester itself. I have spent time working not only in Manchester hotels but also at Manchester City Football Club and as such have a slight leaning to the blue side of the footballing divide!

I have been going out in Manchester for a number of years and enjoying the extensive nightlife and the good natured antics of the stag parties and hen parties I see, particularly around the Printworks. And hey if you want to invite me I'll happily join you for a drink on yours! (Hens - I am single and good looking if I don't say so myself)

If going wild isn't your thing I also like to think of myself as well versed in the finer things in life. I thoroughly enjoy such venues as the Living Room and Cloud 23 even if my bank balance doesn't and hey I'm not ashamed to admit I've visited a health club or two for a relaxing massage - so Stags don't miss out.

Right on to important matters. What does Manchester have to offer and why use us? Quite simply we offer a uniqueness of experience. Being based in Manchester as we are, we know we have the largest indoor golf centre in the European Union for Stags to enjoy, we know we have one of the country's premier indoor snow centres with Skiing, Luging, Snowboarding and Tubing for Stags and Hens to try. We also react to new developments to keep our packages as up to date as possible. For example we are told an indoor sky diving centre should be ready before Christmas.

We don't stop there either as we have spoken to each supplier in great depth about what will make your day the best possible. With no hidden costs or hassles we can offer you more options for your Manchester Stag weekend and Manchester Hen weekend than others can. Why, for example, take Paintballing packages with only 100 paintballs when in a 3 hour session you're likely to shoot between 500 and 700?

Then finally the most important thing you need to know is that the choice is up to you. It's your big day you're celebrating so why can't it be your Stag weekend or Hen weekend. We allow you to pick your accommodation rating and activities and we will then liaise with you on the best itinerary and costs to fit your budget. We are even available in Manchester should you ever need help whilst you are here!

So on behalf of Stag and Hen Manchester Ltd we look forward to welcoming you to Manchester and its fine northern hospitality!

If you have any comments on this blog feel free to add them below or email them to info@stagandhenmanchester.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at any time.