Spotlight on new hotel and meeting room developments in Manchester.
Malmaison Manchester Deansgate is a new hotel opening in central Manchester on 1st February. It will have 70 bedrooms and suites, a Malmaison Bar and Grill, a rooftop bar and restaurant looking across to Manchester Town Hall plus private events space for up to 12 delegates.
Mollie’s: the motel, bar and diner concept is set to open its third site in Manchester this year. It will open in Manchester’s old Granada Television Studios in Quay Street, central Manchester. Mollie’s Manchester will have 130 bedrooms, a restaurant, cocktail bar and private events space. The top three floors of the seven-storey building will house an outpost of Soho House – the private members club and the first to open outside London. It will feature an outdoor rooftop pool plus a gym. Summer 2024 is the anticipated opening date.
Kew Green Hotels has acquired the Hotel Brooklyn Manchester (plus Hotel Brooklyn Leicester). It plans to convert both properties into voco hotels by mid-2024. Hotel Brooklyn Manchester currently has 189 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar plus top-floor events and banqueting space with three flexible meeting and events suites for up to 180 guests. It is located on Portland Street in central Manchester.
Treehouse Hotels, part of SH Hotels & Resorts group is planning to open - Treehouse Hotel Manchester - this year. It will join Treehouse Hotel London. as its second hotel in their UK portfolio. It will open in Deansgate on the site of the former Renaissance Hotel Manchester. It will include 224 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, a ‘play area’ plus first floor events space for up to 400 guests. It was expected to open in 2022 and then 2023 but sometime in 2024 is now anticipated.
Marriott Hotels group will launch The Reach at Piccadilly in central Manchester in 2024. It will have 215 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and fitness suite. The Reach will form part of the group’s Tribute Portfolio. It will be located at the junction of the Rochdale and Ashton Canals, a short walk from Manchester’s Piccadilly station. A definite opening date awaits publication.
Plans for a new ‘zero carbon’ boutique eco-aparthotel in the heart of Manchester have been revealed. room2 Manchester will be the UK’s ‘first net zero tower’ when it finally opens in Piccadilly in 2027. It will have 185 bedrooms across 31 floors. Each room will have its own kitchenette plus a host of sustainable measures.
Plans to open a Zedwell brand hotel in Manchester have been approved – it will be the brand’s first outside of London. Zedwell Manchester will have 187 bedrooms and will be located in the Royal Buildings next to Piccadilly Gardens in the city. Zedwell Manchester will focus on promoting quality sleep, positive health and holistic wellbeing – a concept promoted by the four Zedwell-branded hotels in London. Development work has started on site and an early 2026 opening is anticipated.
The Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester has launched an extension of its Hilton Garden Inn hotel. The hotel now has 250 bedrooms, including a new top floor with seven suites. The hotel includes two outdoor terraces, a restaurant plus events space - ‘The Edge’ – seating up to 140 delegates for an event or dinner. It joins The Point at the stadium which has a conference and exhibition capacity of 1,200 delegates. The top floor features seven premium suites overlooking the cricket ground.
W Hotels - a Marriott International brand - will operate the luxury hotel at Gary Neville's £400m St Michael's development in central Manchester. The hotel will have 162 bedrooms, two restaurants, a spa and a fitness centre. Construction began on-site last summer and early 2027 is the anticipated opening date.
Other new developments in the North-West include:
Liverpool: The Philharmonic Hotel is a new Grade-II listed 17-bedroom hotel which has just opened in Hope Street in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter. Some of the rooms have Jacuzzi baths and a kitchen. The site is also home to Thai Fusion Pianos restaurant.
Southport: Work is about to start on the demolition of Southport Theatre and Convention Centre. Taking its place will be a new £73million complex - The Marine Lakes Event Centre - with a 1,200-seat theatre, 2,400-capacity conference space plus meeting rooms, restaurants and production facilities. Spring 2026 opening is anticipated for the new venture.
Chester: The plans are set to be submitted to Chester City Council this month to create a new 142-bedroom hotel on a prime city centre site – the home of the former Mecca Bingo Hall in Chester. We will monitor developments.