Housekeeping faces a meltdown when the boiler breaks, while the sous-chef shares some radical ideas to transform the traditional silver services. These dramas form the opening scenes of a four part Channel 5 documentary recording an  'insightful behind-the-scenes look at day-to-day life' inside the Midland Hotel in central Manchester.

Granted full access by the Midland Hotel, this series from Channel 5 entitled 'Inside Manchester’s Midland Hotel: Keeping Up Appearances' follows the operation of the hotel through the men and women who work there.

‘Many have been there for years and some are following in previous generations’ footsteps. From the visible front-of-house staff, receptionists and waiters to those who work predominantly behind the scenes such as the chefs, laundry girls, maintenance teams, kitchen staff and maids, the staff have seen things that would make many of us blush. Fortunately, the walls of the Midland cannot talk…' claim Channel 5.

The weekly series starts Monday 1st June at 9.00pm.

Details: www.channel5.com

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Published: 29 May 2015

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‘Loaf’ is a local Birmingham-based company which arranges cookery courses. They will develop a bespoke bread making or cookery course for a maximum of ten people at their cookery school in Birmingham.

They are also a group of urban adventurers with cooking skills who enjoy foraging in the city looking for food for free and then cooking it.  Loaf will take a small group for an evening wandering the wilds of South Birmingham in search of edible treats, wild flowers and plants before returning to their HQ to cook them up. The walk takes in side streets, parks, riversides and the canal bank and it lasts around an hour.

Loaf’s bespoke bread making and cookery courses take place at their high street cookery school in Stirchley, South Birmingham - but in the words of Loaf it is ‘more of a food hub than just a cookery school.’ They have a dining / conference room that can seat up to ten people adjacent to the cookery school kitchen, so delegates can multi-task combining meeting and cooking.

Details:   www.loafonline.co.uk

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Published: 22 May 2015

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St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London is one of the few hotels which not only allows dogs but positively welcomes them. Their ‘St Pancras Pooch Package’ is the ultimate city break for dogs and their owners.

The Pooch Packages are available in the hotel’s Chambers Suites on the first floor, and overlooking the Euston Road. A ‘Woof Box’ is in the suite which includes a doggy toy, organic dog treats, breath freshening doggy chews and a poo bag dispenser. The dog can also snuggle up in its own designer bed and blanket.

Finally the dogs are treated to a two hour one-to-one training session with an expert urban dog trainer.

Dogs are not allowed in the restaurant at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, however they can accompany their owners in the Hansom Lounge which occupies the main entrance hall to the hotel.

A suite in a five star hotel with a Pooch Package is not going to come cheap but for a small supplement to the standard rate a dog can stay in one of the St Pancras Renaissance standard rooms – but without the Pooch Package.

St Pancras Renaissance Hotel is located alongside Kings Cross / St Pancras stations and was originally the Grade-1 listed Grand Midland Hotel, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and restored by the Marriott Group to its current incarnation.

Details: www.styletails.com

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Published: 22 May 2015

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First impressions:  INNSIDE Manchester is a bright, open, spacious hotel with massive windows, loads of natural daylight and a muted décor. For me INNSIDE Manchester ticks all the boxes.

INNSIDE Manchester is located on Manchester’s First Street development just off Whitworth Street between Oxford Road and Deansgate stations. It sits alongside HOME, the new theatre, cinema and exhibition space and overlooks a small pedestrian square.

All the action takes place on the ground floor of the hotel. It is an open plan area which includes reception, a lounge, a restaurant and bar.  A subtle change of lighting every day changes the mood.

This is the first hotel I have visited which has a DJ playing at breakfast on a couple of mornings during the week. The playlist, I was assured, is designed for early morning listening rather than late night action.

The meeting rooms are self-contained and private on the first floor. There are five rooms in total. Two combine to form the main Chadwick Suite; seating up to 220 delegates theatre style. All the rooms have loads of natural daylight plus blackout facilities, high ceilings, the latest technology in-built and free wi-fi throughout. There is a refreshment area on the same floor which can also be used for mini-exhibitions. The hotel fitness room, sauna and steam rooms are also on the first floor.

The bedrooms are stylish with a clean no-nonsense décor, plenty of daylight, furnished with everything you would expect to find in a four-star hotel bedroom - and easy-to-use with light switches where you would expect to find them. There are no hidden plug sockets behind the furniture - in fact they are on the side of the bed's headboard.

The bedrooms are open-plan with wet room/bathroom combined. (INNSIDE is a brand developed in Germany for the German market and then imported and ‘fine-tuned’ for the UK market by Melia. Hence the showers in the UK will have frosted glass as opposed to the plain glass of the German model – in case you are sharing a room with someone you don’t know too well). Now you wouldn’t have known that if we hadn’t visited and asked searching questions.

Greater internal security appears to have risen up the list of requirements in new-build hotels. A key card is required to operate the lifts at INNSIDE Manchester. 

INNSIDE Manchester will need to ‘hit the floor running’. It faces formidably strong competition in the centre of Manchester with at least a dozen good standard hotels within a ten minute walk. It has made a good start and we wish it well.

Details: www.melia.com

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Published: 21 May 2015

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