Cheap, but nice hotels in Manchester?

I am HOPING to visit my bf in Manchester March 1st -March 8th.  I dont have a lot of money, and really need to SKIMP, and Ive been looking up flights + hotels on expedia and last minute deals.com but the cheapest I can find is $1051.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on cheap hotels that are nice that we can both stay in during my visit, and/or other websites that will maybe offer better deals on the plane/hotel?

Unfortunately Im not going to have a lot of money to go site seeing/having fun, but at least I get to see my bf!!!  Its been a long 3 months without him. 

Its still up in the air if I can go but Im crossing fingers.

I haven't stayed in Manchester, but I've stayed in a couple of Thistle hotels in other cities, and always been very happy with them.  I'm sure they have a hotel in Manchester.

They're affordable, and they've been doing a lot of renovation of their properties lately, so everything's been very modern and comfortable.  I've been able to find good deals such as free upgrades, etc. on sites like Hotels.com and Orbitz.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=38524.msg523057#msg523057

If you look on Lastminute.com you might be able to get some good deals, how close to the city centre do you want/need to be? You might be able to get some good deals in some nice hotels if you try a website like that.

Not sure if you are still looking but www.laterooms.com is a good site too. My future sis-in-law works there

Good luck!