I decided to make a new thread for that.

So, as I'm right now looking at booking com there are two options:

Hatters:

And something called Ashton House:

Or I'm dumb and there's something else, write your suggestions here.

That's Friday to Monday, right?

Booking.com now says there aren't any 6 bed dorms available at Hatters, while the official Hatters site doesn't clarify. Although 8 bed dorms are available according to all the sites I've checked. Ashton House does have a 6 bed "private room" free and is considerably cheaper overall, but you do get surcharged for some necessities and isn't quite as near to the centre or the venue (haven't checked public transport going to and from there yet either).

Individual costs should be easy enough to cover at either hostel regardless.

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One person books the number of beds the group needs (with prices per bed). If it's 5 people in a dorm with 6 beds, then we'd probably end up having one random stranger bunking with us. I'm also guessing we're going for mixed standard dorms here?

EDIT: One crucial thing that's put me off Ashton House is that they don't do refunds. Normally when I look into accommodation, I straight-up book a place well in advance that do refunds so I'm guaranteed a room. Then if somewhere more ideal pops up, I change the booking ASAP.

By the looks of things, I'd say Hatter is the only real option.

There are two Hatters hostels. One on Newton Street and one on Hilton Street (Hilton Chambers). As well as Ashton House, there is also the YHA at Potato Wharf.

http://ukofequestria.co.uk/threads/accommodation-info.16825/

4827379 Well, yeah, but Hatters on Hilton street is more expensive and YHA doesn't have rooms available for us, so looks like we're stuck with Hatters at Newton Street. The info about bus tickets is helpful, though. Thanks.

So i finally secured my flight ticket. I think we should reserve at Hatters soon. This? And I think someone in the UK should do it. Anyone's up for it? There's free cancellation up to one day before arrival and no deposit needed.

Glad you got your flights sorted.

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I would get on that right now, but I'm in the midst of some wage issues this month and I'm still waiting for my November payment to go through. Hopefully that shouldn't take more than a week from today to sort out. Though if anyone else in the UK wants to take charge of booking the accommodation in the meantime, then feel free.

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So Hatters is already full and I've only just received enough cash to foot the bill for three nights. Boo.

There is still the option of sharing a larger dorm at Ashton House for a good price. But I'd have to be sure of who wants to band together as far as accommodation is concerned before I book, as they don't do refunds.

4956542 Sorry for not getting back with you quicker but I wanted to be 100% sure I'd be able to make it before committing. Everything looks good on my end, I've got the passport paperwork filed and all that's left to do is book the flight.

I can't really help out with the planning or accommodations but if there's anything I can do financially please feel free to ask, I wouldn't mind helping foot the bill if enough people are still interested.

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I've been checking Hatters on Newton Street over the weekend and there were some standard dorms made available. So I could potentially book 5 beds now and alter arrangements if anyone has to bow out. Though if 4817154 has to leave Sunday (considering it's an alleged inset day on the Monday, I doubt she would), we'd be paying for an empty bed on the last night.

All I'd ask is for each person to pay me what they owe once they're 100% sure, either through Paypal at any time or in-person over the BUCK weekend. That's £78 per person in a 10 bed mixed dorm (since that's the cheapest).

4956542 I know it was my idea and all, but I'll let you know after my birthday. I kinda came out not-quite-as-expected financially after Christmas and New Years Eve despite my best efforts. I'll know more after this weekend.

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No probs. I'm still kinda hesitant to drop £400~ for a place to crash right now, though I would have plenty left over before I'm in the red. Even with the assurance of free cancellation (aside from the 5% Hatters keeps), I'd rather be sure that everyone's in first.

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So I was poking around after I completely forgot about this. If Hatters falls through I found that if we don't mind slumming it a bit or a half hour journey to the event, the Amblehurst has twin and triple rooms that work out to £90/£70 per person for the 3 days respectively.

There are (potentially) 5 of us. I'm sure we can find somebody else on the UKofE forums who would be willing to chip in too for the third bed in the second room.

Thoughts?

4981803 It's a nice proposition. Ashton House is still available; 28-bed dormitory.
There's also this:

Link here

4975349 So, odd thought from me. I just checked train prices, and I'm actually WAAAAY cheaper buying a Saturday morning ticket to travel down to Manchester. If Ladyhart does indeed have to leave Sunday, is there any way to somehow book it as 4/5/4 for cheaper?

If there isn't I dont mind paying for the night I won't be there anyway.

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Never considered it. Sounds like one would need to make three separate bookings for each night (unless there's a workaround I don't know about), which would require some extra faffing about.

If there's any money to be saved in doing so, I'll certainly give a try. Though if Ladyhart is a student then it's virtually guaranteed that she'll have the inset day/Monday off, and hopefully make it a 4/5/5. In which case I'll book five beds for three nights.

Just waiting on 4975302 to give us his post-birthday update. Then I'll check which places are still available.

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4996778 So if the worse case scenario comes to pass with 4982463 and 4827104 dropping out would we still go through with this or would you guys rather call the whole thing off? I've been trying to hold off on buying my plane ticket until we're 100% sure everybody is on board but I'm afraid if I wait too much longer prices are going to start to spike.

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Sorry guys that it took me so long. I had a ton of school stuff suddenly pile up and I needed to take care of it first. Now I can say that I'm in, for sure.

5011262 No worries, I know how it is when life throws you a curveball like that. I'm glad to hear that you're in.

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We have four yeses minimum, so I'd say it's definitely on now guys.

Basically, I'm looking at completing the hostel booking by the end of this weekend. The Amblehurst 4996435 linked would be the safest in terms of room availability, though if it's four people in two twin rooms, it'll cost a little more per person compared to Hatters.

One thing left that I'd like to know is if 4827104 is definitely in, even if it's for only one or two nights. If so, then perhaps a single room at the Amblehurst would be affordable enough? £50 per night seems reasonable, though two nights would cost a little more than three nights sharing a twin.

The good thing about this place though is that any one of us could book the single room separately if necessary, with the two twins booked beforehand. So there's no mucking about with filling the bed quota,

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Not a problem.

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Yep. Three nights with full weekend tickets. Also don't forget that there's a chance to cut the cost of your ticket in half once you've bought one.

I'll assess the accommodation options tonight.

All that talk about the Amblehurst, and yet I plumped for Hatters Newton Street. Hard not to considering it was the better of the two in terms of cost, location and available transport.

5 beds in a 10 bed mixed dorm comes to £390, but since I only had to pay the £20 deposit now and the rest at check-in, I ask that anyone unsure about paying their share of the accommodation cost between now and April should put it to one side until either the event weekend or afterwards.

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Feel free to sort out travel plans and event tickets whenever's convenient if you haven't already.

Only about a month away now! I'm getting super excited for this.

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Are any of you familiar with the area and know what the best way to get from the Manchester airport to the hostel would be? Hatters' website suggested taking the train to Piccadilly Station but Google Maps is telling me that taking the bus is the quickest option. Is there a significant price difference between the two?

I also won't be staying at the hostel Friday night, it was about $200 cheaper to book a flight that arrives Saturday morning. I don't at all mind still paying for all three nights and it might be worth looking into offering that bed to somebody else for the night if it'll help recoup some of you guys' expenses

5091414 I personally don't,but I'll ask my Manc flatmate when I'm up at uni after the weekend and let you know so keep an eye on this thread

I was planning on giving this thread a poke on the 8th since it's been dead for more than a month. Good to see people still on board!

Minor update: Had to email Hatters earlier in the week because they hadn't given me the booking confirmation and it completely slipped my mind all last month. Managed to clear a few things up and the beds are definitely sorted for the weekend.

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Are any of you familiar with the area and know what the best way to get from the Manchester airport to the hostel would be? Hatters' website suggested taking the train to Piccadilly Station but Google Maps is telling me that taking the bus is the quickest option. Is there a significant price difference between the two?

Never actually been into the city either, but I'm seeing that open return train tickets (valid for a month) are about £10 and trains take anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes minutes each way depending on the operator. They're frequent enough that you probably wouldn't need to wait more than 10 minutes for a direct trip to the city centre.

A National Express coach would probably be slightly cheaper and the bus station isn't far from piccadilly train station. Also takes about 30 min direct from the airport.

The regular bus services take even longer (almost an hour) with so many stops along those routes.

I also won't be staying at the hostel Friday night, it was about $200 cheaper to book a flight that arrives Saturday morning. I don't at all mind still paying for all three nights and it might be worth looking into offering that bed to somebody else for the night if it'll help recoup some of you guys' expenses

I'll ask about offering it to somebody when I'm at the desk. At this rate it'll only be three of us staying on the Friday. If you're still prepared to pay for three nights then it would help take some of the pressure off, but I won't trouble anyone for it so long as they pay for the nights they're staying.

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Thanks for the quick responses everybody. It sounds like taking the train is probably the best option and I wasn't real excited at the prospect of sitting on the bus for an hour immediately after a 12 hour flight.

If you're still prepared to pay for three nights then it would help take some of the pressure off

That'd be completely fine with me. The way I see it I've already saved enough money by booking the later flight to completely cover my lodging expenses for the weekend. If it'll help you all save some money I'd say go for it.

What do you guys think about possibly renting a car? Do you think we'd have any use for one? I normally wouldn't have considered it but expedia has been sending me offers for a compact at $15 per day (about £10). I'd have to look into it further if anyone is interested, that seems a little to cheap to be true.

Also, how does checking in with a group at a hostel work? Is there anything other than my passport and driver's license that I'll need to provide?

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What do you guys think about possibly renting a car? Do you think we'd have any use for one? I normally wouldn't have considered it but expedia has been sending me offers for a compact at $15 per day (about £10). I'd have to look into it further if anyone is interested, that seems a little to cheap to be true.

I'd say there's little point in getting a rental unless we were planning on travelling outside the city. That and we'd probably need more than a compact if we were, plus once you throw in the required insurance and add-ons the cost will go up dramatically.

Most places other than the convention centre should be within walking distance anyway.

Also, how does checking in with a group at a hostel work? Is there anything other than my passport and driver's license that I'll need to provide?

Photo ID should be enough for everyone. I'll just need my debit card on top of that.