YHA Manchester

This hostel comes highly recommended. Rather than writing one big paragraph on my experience (which I've done already in my travelogue), I'll give a laundry list of plusses and minuses. I've tried to be as descriptive as possible so I do hope it's useful for those independent travellers and backpackers planning on visiting Manchester.

PLUSSES:
1. Great staff: they're all surprisingly English and very well seasoned, and know the city well unlike London hostels which employ Europeans that themselves arrived in the UK a few weeks/months ago and don't know the area very well to recommend sightseeing spots or pubs.
2. Helpful staff: I had problems with the shower in my room. They said they'd take a look at it "in a few minutes" and guess what? They did! It's another thing that there was a problem and I was moved to another room.
3. Clean rooms with bedlights, max I  believe is 4 beds per room.
4. Ensuite bathrooms
5. Excellent UNLIMITED breakfast. This includes choice of cheese, bread, bangers, scrambled eggs, toast + jam, baked beans, three types of cereal, yoghurt, fruit juice and coffee.
6. Lovely breakfast area that doubles up as a quiet room to eat your own stuff or just sit and read a book
7. Lifts! Unlike other hostels where I've had to carry my luggage up a narrow bit of stairs
8. Excellent security: card controlled entry for rooms, and 24 hour vigilant staff
9. Dinner available too! For a good price you can get non-veg and veg entrees, you just have to order before 8pm
10. Variety of wines on sale @ the reception, as long as you don't drink in your room

MINUSES:
1. Dirty kitchen: The fridge doesn't work. Something was wrong with the door in that it wasn't closing properly, so they had a stool blocking the fridge so that the door doesn't come out. Fridge was also dirty. Dirty and lack of utensils, dirty microwave, it's not a hostel made for those planning on cooking a feast. It's ideal just to warm up things in the micro.
2. The crowd: most were school kids when I was there. And the others were continental Europeans that didn't know English. Unlike London hostels, this isn't a place I'd come back to to have a conversation with anyone. I was pretty much on my own.
3. The location: even though it's in the heart of the city (Castlefield) you get the feeling it's a bit desolate. Probably has to do with the fact that it's not in a commercial area with stores or pubs. It's next to a stream and seems far away from civilisation. Whilst I'm told the area was safe, I'd prefer getting into the hostel before sunset (which thankfully was before 10pm). Also I'm one of those types that gets influenced by media and I had heard about racist attacks slightly higher in Manchester compared to the rest of the UK so I didn't want to push it (me being Indian) by wandering on my own late at night. Let's also not forget that I'd always have my passport, iPod and digi camera with me all the time.
4. Shopping location: Fairly close to the railway station and the shopping strip (Deansgate). But for some reason, even closer seemed far here compared to other hostels I've stayed in.