An iconic Manchester hotel is being turned into a TREEHOUSE hotel
From a brutalist icon to a green oasis complete with a 'secret forest' treehouse canopy and new top floor restaurant and bar, there's an exciting new development coming to Deansgate
It’s all change for the long-standing Deansgate hotel the Renaissance, as London developer Starwood Capital Investments reveals it is taking over the building and turning it into a new treehouse hotel complete with a ‘secret forest’ treehouse canopy.
Suffice to say that the brutalist icon is set to be completely transformed at the hands of London design company 93ft – and the plans sound pretty magical to us.
Designers will be working within the existing structure to create a new, green oasis, adding in some sustainable design features like a kitchen garden that will harvest its own rainwater and a rooftop apiary that will produce the hotel’s own honey.
Plans for the first phase of development include a new top-floor restaurant and bar, with another ‘crowning’ rooftop venue offering striking views across the city centre from the location at the end of Deansgate.
And fun features like stepping stones in the lift lobbies and a unique ‘living wooden art piece’ guest book – which you’re actually encouraged to carve your name into – will introduce some childlike wonder to the redevelopment.
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Elsewhere, alongside 216 smart new guest rooms, the hotel will also boast a communal gym complete with bespoke space hoppers designed especially for the Treehouse brand.
The site will be the second Treehouse Hotel to open in the UK, following the flagship boutique hotel in Marylebone, London.
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The existing Renaissance site, originally built as an office in 1972, is being redeveloped by Starwood Capital Investments (part of the vast IHG Group) in partnership with Property Alliance Group.
It’s not the first hotel Starwood Capital Investments has developed in Manchester, either. The company previously renovated the Principal Hotel in 2017, now known as the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel.
Speaking on the new development, Starwood Capital Group chairman and chief executive Barry Sternlicht said:
“I’m really excited to launch our second Treehouse Hotel in the UK. Manchester is as much a destination for travellers as a gathering place for its energetic local community.
“Our Treehouse will introduce a new execution of fun and witty, and provide an imaginative hospitality experience. As a sustainable brand, we will reuse and repurpose the existing building. We are thrilled to set roots in the city of Manchester.”
Alex Russell, managing director of Property Alliance Group, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to be bringing Treehouse, one of the most exciting global hotel brands, to Manchester which will be their second UK location after London. The brand will inject much-needed life and personality into this prominent landmark site, changing the perception of the building and driving footfall and activity to the area.”
The new Treehouse hotel is expected to open in 2023.
Feature image – Starwood Capital Group / 93ft .
News
Police are searching for a missing bride-to-be, with CCTV from the day she vanished released
Daisy Jackson
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright, releasing CCTV of her on the day she vanished.
Eren has been missing since 27 October, when she left her home address in Lytham St Annes.
Since then, her desperate fiancé has shared that her phone was last detected in Birkdale Southport at around 5.30pm that same day, and her bank accounts are empty.
He said last week in a post on Facebook: “Myself and the pets are freaking out not knowing where she is and if she is ok, she has been missing for nearly 12 hours.”
Eren was last seen just after 10am leaving her home on St David’s Road South.
She is described as white, 5’7″, slim, and with blonde hair. She also has tattoos of vines and a tree on her hand and arms.
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright. Credit: Fylde Police
Eren was last seen wearing a light olive green hoodie with a painting on the front, beige/cream wide leg pants, and worn white trainers.
Police have now shared the new CCTV image of Eren in the hopes that someone might know where she is, or have seen her.
Fylde Police also said they were ‘worried’ about her.
If you see Eren or know where she might be, call 999 quoting log 1309 of October 27th.
Leigh drug dealer jailed after being ‘caught red-handed’ by police
Emily Sergeant
A drug dealer known around the Leigh area has been jailed last week after police caught him ‘red-handed’.
Dawid Bialek, of no fixed abode, has been jailed after pleading guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine), and handling stolen goods.
It comes after, on Monday 11 May 2026, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who were patrolling on a canal towpath, near Quayside in Leigh, spotted 30-year-old Bialek attempting to discard a package in the water.
The package was subsequently recovered, and according to GMP, was found to contain multiple wraps of suspected Class A drugs.
Further enquiries then led police to an address in Leigh, where additional evidence linked to drug dealing was recovered – including suspected drugs, scales, empty wraps, and mobile phones.
Bialek was later bailed as police conducted further enquiries, but while that work was continuing, on Friday 19 June, officers carrying out plain-clothes patrols in the town centre saw Bialek in an alley just off the canal tow path, handing out wraps of heroin and crack cocaine to others.
He was once again stopped, searched, and found to be in possession of drugs and cash.
This time he was charged and able to be remanded. He appeared at court over the summer and plead not guilty to the charges brought against him, but as the investigation continued, examination of seized mobile phones uncovered further evidence of drug dealing activity – including messages, videos and notes consistent with the supply of Class A drugs.
Due to the quantity of evidence gathered and submitted to the CPS, Bialek changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court last week.
He has been jailed for a total of four years and nine months.
Following the sentencing, a spokesperson for GMP’s Leigh Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “The supply of Class A drugs causes significant harm within our communities and often exploits vulnerable people who are struggling with addiction.
“This result demonstrates our commitment to targeting those responsible for bringing drugs into Leigh and disrupting the criminality associated with them.”
Georgina Pellant -
1st September 2021 
