My family arrives in Manchester airport, mid morning (July 8th), and depart early the next morning. We are looking to stay in a hotel close to the airport. The best bargain I have found so far is the Travelodge Airport hotel. The reviews look pretty qood but I'm wondering is there anything to do near this area. We d'ont plan to rent a car and will have to take a taxi. Is there any town nearby to pass some time. One review I read someone mentioned a pub near by to eat (The Ropper Inn) but when I checked on Google map it was about 14 miles away from this hotel. Is this correct?
My other option is to try priceline and hope to get a hotel with a pool to keep the kids entertained. If I did that, would public transport from the airport bring us to any nearby small towns. We feel going into the city might be too much hassle with 3 kids.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi There--Which Manchester are you referring to--ENGLAND OR NEW HAMPSHIRE.
There is an airport called Manchester MHT in New Hampshire--newly named Manchester/Boston. You had better make that very clear when booking a hotel, etc. or you will go to the wrong COUNTRY!!!--Happy Vacation

I presume you are talking about Manchester, England as you are posting this on the Europe board. I am going to be staying at Bewley's Hotel on an upcoming trip, but don't really know whether I can recommend it yet.

I've done a little research on the area.
There is public transport (train) to the city of Manchester itself. Is there a reason you don't want to go there? You probably have time to hire a car (why not rent one?) and drive the hour or so to Chatsworth House, near Bakewell, Derbyshire. Or else just visit the town of Bakewell, which looks very nice, or go hiking on any of the many trails nearby. Nearby is the Peaks District, reportedly one of England's most beautiful areas. Hope this helps.

Oops. Just noticed you said why you don't want to go into Manchester. I think any of the other options I propose would be more fun anyway.

Thank you for your replies....Yes it was Manchester Airport, UK.

GUY18 - Initally we were not planning to rent a car but on looking at the Peaks District it may be something we will consider. Is driving around this area pretty straight forward. This area looks real nice and it would be a way to pass a few hours that afternoon and evening.

I was in Manchester last week and stayed at the Airport Hilton, which is pricey, but its very easy to get into the city from the airport hotels. The train stop is at the airport (maybe a 2 minute walk from the Hilton, Bewley's, Ramada) and takes 20 minutes or so to get to Manchester Piccadily, which is in the city center. I would recommend going into the city than trying to find anything near the airport hotels (the price of the taxi would exceed the price of five train tickets -- the roundtrip was less than 2 pounds after 7:30 and less than 3 pounds before 7:30).

Like I said, this will be my first time to the area. But I imagine the driving should be straightforward. What is good is that the airport is on the south side of Manchester, and you won't need to go through the city to get to the peaks district. Still, I imagine there will be a good deal of congestion until you get away from the airport. Unlike me, you'll have someone to help navigate. Make sure you use mapquest or a similar site to get exact directions to wherever you're going.

Go into the city. As said above, getting the train is no hassle at all. And there's plenty of options for things to do with the kids then.

I think Bewleys is fine for an airport hotel and one of the reasons is that it is cheap (£69) but of good standard . However I'm almost sure it doesn't have leisure facilities. There is nothing within a couple of miles of the airport. I don't agree you will face congestion on leaving there
Depending on the age of your children, and sex, you can do a trip to Man. Utd Football club. This is a dream come true for a lot of little boys ( and big ones too). I agree with what is said about the train to the airport. Manchester also has a tram system which goes quite a long way out of the centre for example to Sale- not that that helps you much.
By the way the food in Bewleys is good.
Without knowing more about the age of your children I'd say your best option would be to go into the city.Chester is also fairly accessible by train but you will have to change either in Crewe or Manchester Picadilly. Chester is a beautiful city - very scenic but won't immediately appeal to Tinies

Old Trafford? If you want real Manchester, that's not the right stadium