Manchester is quickly becoming one of the prime business locations in the UK, with the arrival of MediaCityUK and the eagerly anticipated Airport City development attracting small and large businesses alike from sectors such as technology, media and finance. This has seen a rise in demand for hotel rooms, driven by both business travel and tourism alike.
Manchester is a prime business location thanks to developments including MediaCityUK
In order to cope with this spike in demand, two hotel development projects have been announced this week which will provide good access to the city centre and also to Manchester’s variety of transport links.
The first project will see the former Midland Bank headquarters at 100 King Street transformed into a 60 room boutique hotel which will occupy the top six floors of the building. In collaboration with Marshall Construction Group, which owns the property, the Bespoke Hotel Group has expressed a desire to create “the sexiest hotel in Europe” in a bid to place the redevelopment at the top of the Manchester market.
Based on Japanese guesthouses and Tuscan villas, the project dubbed “Hotel Gotham” will also include a restaurant, private members bar and roof garden to attract guests seeking the highest levels of luxury Manchester has to offer. As the ground and basement floors of the property are already home to Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant, it is fair to assume that owners will be keen to capitalise on tourists seeking a gastronomic experience.
Chairman of the Bespoke Hotel Group, Robin Sheppard, believes the combination of the property and the stylised interior plans are ideal concepts to attract high levels of custom.
He says; “We think there is definitely a gap in the market for an upmarket hotel and venue and this wonderful Lutyens building provides the perfect backdrop.
“We have chosen to call it Gotham because it is such a magnificent building which very much reminds us of New York and the sweeping architectural style.”
The second large project unveiled this week will see revolutionary hotel group Yotel build a 20 storey skyscraper on a 0.07 hectare site in the Piccadilly area of Manchester city centre. Once completed, the 72 metre high hotel will boast 258 bedrooms, with a lounge bar, kitchen, conference room, office, gym and public toilets to be located in the adjoining Grade II listed Union Bank building which will also be refurbished as part of the scheme.
This project is particularly exciting as Yotel, which bases its hotel designs around a cabin-style concept, does not currently own any hotels in the UK which are not related to an airport. In fact, the only international city which hosts a Yotel in the city centre is New York – making the Manchester development relatively unique.
While Yotel has as yet declined to comment on the announcement, industry experts believe that the development will bring a large number of benefits to the city centre. Around 129 jobs are expected to be created both during construction and once the property is complete, while £17 million is forecast to be added to Manchester’s economy.
