If when you approach the building you think to yourself this cannot possibly be a hotel and exhibition centre - you are probably in the right place. Walk up the steps to the loading bay and just above a small door is the sign: Victoria Warehouse Hotel. You have arrived and you are about to witness one of Manchester’s most unusual hotels. Victoria Warehouse is a cavernous, old industrial warehouse straddling the Manchester Ship Canal and the rail line running through Salford Quays. It comprises two buildings separated by what could politely be called a courtyard.

Internally the main warehouse has been stripped back to bare brickwork with concrete and cast iron pillars and concrete floors. Industrial chic on this scale does not spare the blushes. Everything is on view including all the heating pipework and ducting and the lighting cables. The ground floor includes a reception area, a lounge, a library, a curtained-off theatre to seat 20 people plus a bistro restaurant and bar. Beautiful but disturbing human- sized models constructed from old iron and metal scraps by a local homeless Salford-based sculptor decorate the ground floor and the former loading bay.

There are just 35 bedrooms at Victoria Warehouse Hotel all on one level. If the floors above were converted to bedrooms there would be around 700 in total which gives an indication of the size of the warehouse. The bedrooms are basic, simple and spotless. Soft furnishings have been totally banished apart from sheets and blankets on the bed. Old metal window shutters replace curtains.  Furniture consists of the rack for clothes and an old school desk and chair as workspace. The en-suite bathrooms have also been pared back to the bare essentials but they do include a power-shower. Some rooms have views across a canal to its famous neighbour – Old Trafford Football Stadium.

Across the courtyard – which incidentally is available for private hire for outdoor events or barbeques - is the main exhibition space. The ground floor space will accommodate up to 4500 people standing, 800 delegates for a cabaret style meeting or 600 delegates with staging. A glass-fronted mezzanine has been added along one side. The room has full vehicle access and is sufficiently well kitted-out AV-wise to accommodate most exhibitions, trade shows and product launches.

Full capacity details are listed on the website.

Victoria Warehouse Hotel is the total antidote to modern, luxurious four and five star hotels which dominate every city in the UK. The owners of Victoria Warehouse believe in growing the venue organically, seeing what works and developing new ideas and new directions for the building as they go along. I liked it. I liked its quirkiness, its history, its basic decor – everything about it appealed to me.

Look out of the bedroom window and you might just catch sight of the new so-called Football Hotel currently under construction opposite Old Trafford Stadium.

Delegates and guests are spoiled for choice hotel-wise in Salford Quays but in terms of value for money I suspect Victoria Warehouse Hotel will be a 'no-brainer'. I urge you to go and take a look. Hop on the Manchester tram bound for either Eccles or Media CityUK get off at Exchange Quay. Victoria Warehouse Hotel is barely a five minute walk away.

Details:  www.victoriawarehouse.com/hotel

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Published: 23 June 2014

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Bermondsey Square Hotel, a stone’s throw from London Bridge station, has partnered with South London fashion house and tailors - Earl of Bedlam – to ‘honour the tradition of an in-house tailoring service being available to guests of the finest establishments’.
In the hotel’s Bedlam Suite, guest will be able to chose from a comprehensive selection of British fabrics for their made-to-measure twin or three piece suit and arrange dates for future fittings. Bedlam Salon is also offering a bespoke shirt service to complement its suits.
Appointments with the Bermondsey Square Hotel 'Tailor in Residence' can be made on the last Friday of every month.

Details: www.bermondseysquarehotel.co.uk

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Published: 09 June 2014

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The 64 bedroom Etrop Grange Hotel at Manchester Airport is currently undergoing a total refurbishment by its new owners, Squire Hotels. The first nine bedrooms will be available from mid-June 2014 – new room pictured alongside. The balance will be coming on stream in the coming months. Updates to follow
Squire Hotels also own the Samlesbury Hotel further north in Preston – just off the M6 at junction 31

 

Details: www.etrophotel.co.uk

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Published: 09 June 2014

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The Accor hotel group is introducing a new guest-welcoming procedure which will be rolled out across all its hotel brands. It will be available to loyalty-programme members, subscription card holders and guests that book directly at the hotel.
Under the procedure a guest can check-in online two days prior to their arrival. On arrival day the guest will receive a welcoming text message confirming their guestroom and offering practical information such as parking details, travel to the hotel and any access codes which may be required.

When a guest arrives their key will already have been prepared and is handed over immediately without the usual administrative formalities.  On the departure day the guest simply hands in their key and an  invoice is sent to them by email.
This new system has been tested in twenty hotels across Europe. Accor plan to roll it out to around 1,000 hotels, or close to 30% of their network, by the end of 2014.

Details: www.accor.com

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Published: 30 April 2014

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