The Sunday Times refers to it as 'a regional treasure', it’s ‘the most accessible city in Europe for disabled people,’ and then there is all that amazing Roman and Tudor heritage. We're talking about Chester, once the capital of England.
The success of a trip to Chester depends so heavily on the accommodation travellers choose to stay in. Unlike regular hotels or B&Bs, serviced apartments in Chester offer a 'home away from home' experience that allows guests to feel comfortable, secure and independent.
All Situ luxury Chester apartments offer a guaranteed range of facilities and amenities. This includes a fully equipped kitchen, on-site washing facilities an allocated parking space, spacious living rooms, free Wi fi, TVs and a housekeeping service. Other aspects can be requested when enquiring too, such as a garden, en-suite bathrooms or a balcony.
What's more, our range of serviced accommodation can accommodate from one guest to a large family. Due to the number of properties we have, there is a variety of locations corporates can base themselves inside and outside the heart of Chester. Corporates can choose to live and work close to the city centre or on the outskirts, beside the Zoo or the Racecourse, along the canal-side or overlooking the expansive greenery of Grosvenor Park. Ultimately, the options are endless for corporates looking to relocate and live temporarily in the city.
The city of Chester is in the northwest of England. Sitting within the county of Cheshire, it is famous for its Roman history and is one of the best-preserved, city walls in the country. Its origins actually date back as far as 79AD when it was built as a Roman fort.
Tourism is a big draw for Chester and not just because of its Roman heritage. Chester Zoo and Chester Racecourse are also big draws bringing 2 million and 300,000 visitors a year, respectively.
Today the city has a population of 81,570 (2017), 15,000 of whom are students. Manchester is within a 1-hour drive of Chester, Liverpool is 40 minutes away, Crewe 50 minutes and Wrexham is around 25 minutes away. The nearest international airports are in Manchester and Liverpool, which are not a long drive from the many high standard serviced apartments in Chester.
Chester is the county capital town of Cheshire and Warrington, with the area noted to be one of the fastest-growing economies over the past two decades.
Finance industries are a major employer in Chester, with over 15% of all jobs in the city associated with finance and professional Services. Other serviceable sectors include legal, digital and creative. Big national and international companies based in Chester include Jaguar, EA Technology, Moneysupermarket.com, Sykes Holiday Cottages and Knights Solicitors. Major finance businesses Marks and Spencer Money, Bank of America and Virgin Money are all located within the city too.
More than £1bn in rail improvements is planned for the North Wales and Cheshire region by 2035, boosted by the planned extension of HS2 to the north. Analysts say the building of the railway and improved commuting times will bring another 70,000 jobs northwards. Chester is also benefitting from a £23m roll-out of next-generation full-fibre broadband under the CityFibre scheme.
The city has an extensive market that can be tapped into, with around 1,300,000 people living within a 30-minute drive of Chester. Of that figure, a quarter of residents are qualified to at least degree level. The University of Chester has four campuses in and around the city, including a Business School. For whatever reason you are visiting the city, whether it is for a small networking event or to relocate your company, just remember there are many top-quality Chester apartments available that can cater for your corporate travel needs.
It was during Roman times that Chester was the capital of England, and its Roman Wall and amphitheatre is testament to that. The latter is one of the largest in Northern Europe. To live here is to be steeped in history, and not just Roman, a large Tudor presence can be felt in its timbered Tudor Listed housing too. Then there is its splendid Ruskinian Venetian Gothic Town Hall. Chester is, in short, an architectural treasure.
Coming back to modern times, Chester is regarded as ‘affluent.’ Its many upmarket cocktail bars testify to this (Kuckoo being a case in point). So too does impressive independent restaurants such as the Chef's Table and the canal-side Artichoke, based in a former Mill. The Storyhouse Theatre in the heart of the city is the latest impressive building to appear. This multi-award-winning £37 million cultural centre was originally an Art Deco Odeon cinema. Today, the cinema has been restored and two theatres, a library, a restaurant and two bars have been added.
Chester is, of course, famed for its Zoo as well, with 35,000 animals going about their business within 120 acres, it’s a huge hit for families and animal lovers of all ages. Season tickets are popular with those who live in its surroundings. For greenery and picnics, there is the beautiful Victorian-built, Grosvenor Park. If you fancy a river cruise, boats will sail you down the River Dee.
Ultimately, there's plenty to do here, and it is for that reason that we highly recommend an extended stay in a conveniently located serviced apartment in Chester, to make sure you don't miss out on anything that the city has to offer.
Chester Train Station sits on the edge of the city centre at City Road. There are seven platforms, and it is the fourth busiest rail station in the northwest after Manchester, Liverpool and Preston. Train operators are Transport for Wales, Virgin Trains, Merseyrail and Northern.
Trains to London take two hours. It is 50 minutes to Manchester, 40 minutes to Liverpool, 20 minutes to Crewe and Holyhead in Wales is 1 hour and 20 mins away.
Chester Bus Station is based on George Street. Operators in the area include Arriva, National Express, Stagecoach, Avon Buses, Aintree Coachline, Arrowebrook, D J Jones, and Townlynx. A free ‘shopper hopper’ bus runs from here to the Town Hall every 15 minutes from 8 am to 6 pm.
Chester to Manchester by bus is 15 mins, Liverpool is just under two hours, Crewe is 1 hour 20 mins away whilst London by bus takes around 5 to 6 hours. Whether you are travelling to and from the city or in and around it, we have many serviced apartments in Chester near many bus stops to make bus transport as straightforward as possible for corporates.
Manchester Airport and Liverpool Airport are both around a 45 minutes drive away from Chester. Buses from the city centre to Manchester Airport take around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Liverpool airport is 50 minutes away- by train to Liverpool South Parkway and bus to Airport (buses run every 15 mins).
We have many luxury Chester apartments dotted all over the city, and corporates and pick and choose where they want to stay based on which airport, or any other transport facility, they would rather be close to.
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