As usual with Holiday Inn Express, a clean, functional, well run hotel, with friendly well trained staff. It is not a traditional hotel for the Ladies to use so the guests will be mostly business people, tourists and theatre goers but the staff are used to seeing trans so you do not need to worry about that.

It is about a 5 minute walk from the hotel in sensible heels to get to Canal Street. I would not recommend this walk if you like to wear heels which are more about appearance than function as the pavements on the walk are unforgiving and like to eat heels.

To get to Canal Street either; turn left out of the hotel, walk up Oxford Street until you get to the traffic lights then turn right into Whitworth Street until you get to the next set of lights and then turn left and you will see the New Union Hotel just a short distance up Princess Street to your right.

or; go straight out of the hotel across Oxford Street into Charles Street, follow that until you get to the traffic lights and then go left up Princess Street for a few minutes until the you the New Union Hotel on your right.

You do not have to go through reception to enter and leave the hotel so that is good for nervous or inexperienced girls but the 5 minute walk once you leave the hotel might be challenging as Oxford Street can be busy, mostly with students though who really are very chilled about diversity.

If you are coming back to the hotel after midnight and you are walking alone then I suggest walking back by going down Princess Street, turn right into Whitworth Street then left onto Oxford Road purely because Charles Street can be quiet and not very well lit after midnight.