6-4 Great Ancoats St, Manchester
It’s midnight and it’s a cool, wet Manchester night. A girl in a skin tight, white mini dress follows us as we search for the City Warehouse Apartment Hotel in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. She teeters precariously on killer heels that have clearly become more difficult to walk in after a few drinks.
We scan the deserted street for a hotel type entrance as she passes us and presses a buzzer on an anonymous door. A smart dressed bloke in black opens the door and she enters. He looks at us and smiles.
“Are you my late check-in?”
He ushers us in and directs us to the lift. “There’s a Beyonce concert in Manchester tonight and there will probably be a post show party going on so I’ve stuck you on the top floor.”
With that he leaves us to find our room, wondering whether we’re going to get any sleep. As we open the door to our room/apartment, any concerns are swept away by a ‘well I didn’t expect that’ wave of chic, sleek and super sexy, urban interior design that might just be about the coolest apartment we’ve ever stayed in.
It’s after midnight, most places are shut except a Spar about 10 minutes walk away. The view of the night city outside a wall of floor to ceiling windows is irresistibly seductive. The smoked glass table beside the window looks like it wants our company.
“I guess I’m popping back out for a bottle of wine then,” I say to Andy before turning on my heel and heading back to the city’s streets on a late night quest. Although we’ve got an early train to catch, the apartment is far too nice for just sleeping in.
Buzz Trips View
It’s smack bang in Manchester’s creative Northern Quarter (jazzy sounds from inviting bars accompany you as you find your way there after dark), five minutes from Piccadilly Gardens and about a 15 minute walk to Piccadilly Train Station. All of these make it a great city centre option.But City Warehouse Apartment Hotel’s big attraction is that the apartments are gorgeous. They are so good that I felt I could quite easily live there, enjoying the vibrancy of one of Britain’s great northern cities from a suitably stylish urban pad.
Apartments
Bedrooms have a tastefully minimalist design with very comfortable beds. Our apartment had two bedrooms, one en suite, and a handy second bathroom.
A large, open living area includes a smart, fully equipped kitchen which would be ideal for dinner parties (not a crazy notion as there might be a temptation not to go out). A smoked glass dining table seats six people and has views out over the city, whilst two long leather sofas set either side of a huge flat screen TV seem perfect for reclining with something long and cool. What that something long and cool consists off depends on your individual situation I suppose. The rooms also have fast wifi so no problem with posting pictures on facebook or Instagram to show your friends how über cool you are.
One of my favourite touches was a small balcony with just enough space for a bleary eyed couple to nurse a warming morning coffee whilst watching the creative part of the city come to life below.
Since staying there we’ve praised it to the high heavens to friends who live in the north west of England. Anyone looking for a base to enjoy a night or two in Manchester would be certifiable if they went anywhere else.
Prices at the City Warehouse Apartment Hotel start from around £55 which is exactly what we paid. It is simply unbelievable value, especially if there are four of you.
Jack is co-owner, writer and photographer for BuzzTrips and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a contributor to lots of other places. Follow Jack on Google+
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