Grosvenor Casino Didsbury Review 2024

Throughout my journey across the UK, I’ve been calling in at some of the best-rated British casinos in the land. As I head to the North, I make a visit to a casino brand I’d not long since called in at back in London. In this review, I discuss the Grosvenor Casino in Didsbury Manchester. The Grosvenor is a very well-established gambling company, and I was keen to see if Grosvenor Casinos have much in the way of differences between the South and the North. Most likely not, but who knows, if I’m lucky the drinks will be a little cheaper at their Manchester casinos.

My review of the Grosvenor Didsbury Casino will cast light on all you need to know, including where it is, how to get there, and what awaits when you arrive. I’ll share with you all the details of my experience, tell you what tables are available, and reveal what benefits players can enjoy when stepping inside this Grosvenor Casino of the North. 

For those less familiar with Manchester, Didsbury is an area that is closer to outer-lying Stockport than it is to the city centre. This casino is very much in the well-heeled southern suburbs of Manchester’s urban area and so there’ll be an additional journey if you’re heading into or staying at the heart of the city. But transport options are decent and car, bus, tram, and rail from Manchester City Centre will land you in the vicinity of Grosvenor Didsbury.

Grosvenor Casino Didsbury sits within the huge Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre off the A34 Kingsway. Those choosing to drive will be pleased to learn that there is free car parking here. If like me you could make a whole day of it, the complex’s ten-pin bowling, cinema, Nando’s, Five Guys, and Travelodge hotel may be of interest.

The Parrs Wood Entertainment complex was completed in 2001 and it’s an example of your generic out-of-town kind of venue. I think every place has its own kind of Parrs Wood, with the same chain restaurants and cinemas. Though a Grosvenor Casino is a less common feature of these kind of places, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. A quality casino in the suburbs? Perhaps this casino pilgrimage will lead me to one.

The casino is undoubtedly small, but you still get the selection of games you would want and hope to see. Beyond the reception area you’ll first see the slot machines, which then lead you into one of the main table areas. Here you can enjoy a selection of roulette games, along with blackjack and baccarat. All the classics. 

If you are not accustomed to playing table games, the slot cabinets here provide plenty of entertainment. These games function just as they do when played at online slot sites. They are even run with the same RTP ratings. Many of the cabinets come from some of the best developers in the business, Blueprint Gaming being one of them here. 

To the back of the venue on the ground floor you’ll see the bar, where you can enjoy a variety of beverages. The lighting for me was a bit too bright, but as the hours passed, some areas of the casino were lit only by table light or from the glow of a slot machine. This darkened mood is what I prefer. 

Poker and Electronic Roulette

A common feature I’m finding at Grosvenor casinos is a poker room, and the Didsbury Manchester venue keeps up the trend. Quite right too, with poker being the very definition of a casino classic. The room here has seats for 100 players at any one time, a level of busy it’s hard to picture on my midweek afternoon visit, but I’ve no doubt it’s the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. Either way, it’s a great feature.

Another cool area of the casino is where you can play electronic roulette. This comes with four screen monitors showing you the wheel that is central to the setup, with roughly 15 spaces around this for players to sit and play.

Packages

As mentioned before, the casino provides a variety of experience packages, because not every player walking through their doors is going to have played all the games before. The casino has four different gaming packages, All In, Game On, Fan Zone, and Poker Hand. You will be delegated a professional dealer to help you and any friends with the rules, and you’ll also be given a free bet and drink.

VIP Area

For the connoisseurs of gambling, you might be interested in the casino’s VIP Gold Room. This comes with higher stake tables. It’s also an area that plays host to poker tournaments and VIP events. I’m even told the room can be hired as an 80-person capacity event space if you’ve an occasion in mind.

There is no on-site accommodation, as is the norm with Gorsvenor Casinos. The location isn't great for hotels either, but the transport links are at least pretty decent. 

The casino's size demands a huge number of staff, with roughly 700 staff in employment here. I’m told that since I was last at the casino, there has been an increase of 400 additional trained staff to help meet the demand of new and existing clients. Mightily impressive.

In fact, there’s still a demand for new croupiers to host tables and electronic games. From what I witnessed on my return here, and though it took place outside of peak business time, the venue was busy. As I often do, I spent a few moments at the blackjack tables before later moving onto the three-card poker tables. Throughout this time, the staff were impeccable, knowledgeable, and happy to engage in conversation when it came to one-on-one game time. 

For the players who like to engage in a cigarette break, the Aspers Casino does provide terrace spaces which are the only designated smoking areas. 

Smoking: Those with a desire to smoke whilst playing are directed to the spacious smoking area that comes with full views of the Parrs Wood car park. Yes, folks, it’s called outside the front of the building. There are no dedicated areas, which is a shame. 

Venue size: Inside the Didsbury casino does seem a smaller venue than that of London. The staff were welcoming, perhaps a little surprised that someone turned up so early in the day. Not all tables were manned, which tells me that the company knows when they are going to be quiet and when they’ll be busy. 

Customer service: Now, I’m fully aware of bad reviews circulating online regarding this place when it comes to customer service. I would call it out if it happened to me. However, at the time I was there, nothing went wrong with the service I received. It was all pretty great. 

Food and drink: Players that carry a Grosvenor One card will receive free cold or hot drinks while playing. Drinks will be brought to you at games and tables by the casino’s valet service. Food is served at the casino. As soon as I knew there was a Nando’s round the corner, the Grosvenor chef could have offered me a free meal and I would have still declined. But if you do come with an empty stomach, the Grosvenor Casino restaurant provides an excellent menu that just about covers every kind of meal you could want. 

Wheelchair access is catered for throughout, including disabled toilets. 

Grosvenor Casino is an empire, with over 50 casinos located throughout the country. Now, whilst there is no required membership to access the casino, the option of joining their elite service is available. You have the Grosvenor Casino Online Wallet that allows you to manage funds between the Didsbury site and the online Grosvenor Casino. And if you're looking for a solid and reputable place to play on your devices - and one of the best payout UK casinos no less - their online offering is a great pick. 

Online, all new members can collect a very special and limited welcome bonus. Even by playing online only, you can access some of the real dealer tables which are streamed live. If you’re heading out to a Grosvenor venue where you know a table is being streamed, your friends could join you at the same table by playing at home, or vice versa. Your membership would also see you skip the queues via fast track entry.

Membership

If you register for the Grosvenor Casino One Card, you’ll bag a £10 welcome bonus which can be spent inside of the Didsbury casino or online. Beyond this, promotions are more seasonal, but already, the Grosvenor Casino does more than most UK casinos. If you want to take advantage of promotional and bonus offers, you’ll generally be better off joining the Grosvenor Casino online, where you will have more exclusive access to rewards and prizes. From my experience, Grosvenor sit comfortably among the fast withdrawal casino sites in the UK, though there's sometimes still a wait of a day or two to access your winnings. I guess that's one area where land based casinos come out on top - you take your winnings home almost in instant. 

Let me begin by saying it would be highly unfair to make any judgement about the casino based on the atmosphere, given I arrived just 50 minutes after it opened on a cold Wednesday morning. Yes, it was dead, and I didn’t mind that. I could access the games I wanted and could use all the facilities as and when I wanted. If you’re looking for something more raucous, don’t follow in my footsteps and visit on a midweek lunchtime. A few conversations struck up with staff assured me there’s a great atmosphere come weekend evenings. Tournaments and live entertainment would surely attest to that. 

The casino itself was clean and given it was open ‘till 5:00am just a few hours before, it’s some feat of achievement. Especially since they’d shown live football the evening previous.

This is another service they provide - showing live sports. This includes snooker, rugby, and football, among others. In fact, sports betting is supported on the online Grosvenor Casino. So you can place your bets and then watch them unfold on the big screen, whenever you’re not busy with roulette and poker that is. Personally, I didn’t bother.

Some Signs of Wear

Given the casino was very quiet when I attended, I was able to walk throughout the venue and observe areas without people’s legs in the way. Just how neat the area was and what condition the tables and games were in? Sadly, while the venue was clean when it came to the games, you could see that marks and scuffs were visible. I counted three chairs where the seating had been ripped with no attempt to repair. I get wear and tear happens, especially when a business is open for extensive hours. But show the effort to fix any damage.

Peak Hours

I left the casino after spending four hours inside. Business picked up only slightly. But I’m more than confident that this venue peaks much later in the evening, as the bouncers don’t arrive ‘til 5:00pm. They were starting as I was leaving. 

⭐ Standout Moment

On this occasion, I did enjoy having free roam of the place. I took my spot at one of the 15 or so electronic roulette terminals and came way well. I didn’t mind that I was the only person there.

The Didsbury Grosvenor Casino in Manchester is a solid five miles from the city centre, and I just don’t know if it is in the right location. You’re relying heavily on people attending the Parrs Wood Centre to show interest in gambling. Certainly, no tourist visiting Manchester would know it was here, and I doubt they would take the trip by train when the city has casinos right there. Maybe it does a good trade off the locals? It’s been around a while, so I can only assume so.

Whilst the Grosvenor Casino does do a lot for its members, it still raises the same question, why go to the trouble of playing in-house when the Grosvenor Casino can be accessed online? Online offers users more, from game variety to promotions. On the site run by this very same brand, I can access new slots for 2024 and bag a decent bonus while doing it. It is an odd one and I think for the Grosvenor in Didsbury to last, as with all Grosvenor Casinos in the UK, it needs to step up on events, tournaments, and customer engagement. 

Would I return to play at the Grosvenor Casino in Didsbury Manchester? Not particularly. There is nothing encouraging about having to train into Manchester, to then catch another train to Didsbury. I can imagine many people wanting to make the same trek on a regular basis, even if they are more local than I am. Nevertheless, well done to Grosvenor Casino for having some form of reward scheme and for providing good games and friendly, knowledgeable staff.

If you have a car, then the Grosvenor Casino is easy to get to. M20 5PG is the postcode you’ll want, and parking is free. 

For those going by train, services run to Easy Didsbury station from Manchester Piccadilly. The journey takes around ten to fifteen minutes, with most services run by Northern Rail. It’s an onward journey of around five minutes on foot. Just follow the ramp down from the station, take a right and then loop back under the line. Keep going and you’ll soon sport Grosvenor Didsbury over the carriageway. There’s a bridge to help you cross it.

There are also bus services. The 42 and 142 both pull in at Parrs Wood Complex and start out from the city’s Piccadilly Gardens. There’s also the 50 that comes over from Salford Quays. 

Don’t forget Manchester’s Metrolink tram network either. The East Didsbury stop is only a few minutes up the road from Parrs Wood. That said, it takes much longer than the train, so this is better as a backup option. 

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