The best hotels in the UK have been revealed – and one is in Manchester.
It’s official, Manchester is now home to one of the UK’s top 25 hotels. Luxury home-from-home Dakota Manchester has been named as one of the Top 25 Hotels in the UK & Channel Islands at the Travellers Choice Best of The Best Awards.
Perfectly situated on Piccadilly Basin between Ancoats and the Northern Quarter, we like to think it looks a bit like the MIB headquarters in all its imposing, burnished glory.
With a purpose-built cigar terrace and champagne room, it’s certainly unlike anywhere else you can stay in the city. Dakota even has its own dedicated humidor from which to select the perfect Cuban to compliment your brandy.
It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the hotel has ranked among the top one percent on TripAdvisor after being voted one of the highest-rated stays around the world by its guests.
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Making us even prouder, it is also the only hotel in the North West to make Trip Advisor’s top 25 list – recognised alongside 24 other hotels, such as 5* luxury London boutique The Hari and Claridge’s in Mayfair.
As well as its snazzy cigar garden and champagne room, Dakota Manchester also boasts a destination cocktail and wine bar, a vibrant brasserie serving rich, seasonal dishes, and its latest addition, The Dakota Terrace, which offers light bites, sharing plates and brunch in style.
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The Grand Deluxe Suite at Dakota Hotel
Matt Townley, General Manager at Dakota Manchester said: “To say we are proud is an understatement. “Dakota has established itself over the past two years as one of Manchester’s leading hotels. We opened the hotel early in 2019 with the intent to deliver the finest hospitality in the city. Our team have delivered this with style and should be extremely proud of themselves.
“Manchester is a vibrant city with an endless offering of great bars, restaurants and hotels, so to be ranked as Trip Advisor’s top 25 in the UK and included in the top 1% worldwide, is an achievement which we are all extremely proud of.”
Townley added: “We are excited to be reopening our doors once again to welcome leisure guests back to this fantastic city and to Dakota Manchester.
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“The return of Dakota Grill is one we’ve all been looking forward to. We cannot wait to welcome guests both new and old and provide the 5-star service we are recognised for.”
Feature image – Dakota Hotel.
City Centre
Popular night-time indie shopping market returns to Manchester tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
A unique indie shopping market is returning to Manchester, and you’ll be able to shop from 50 local small businesses all under one roof.
In case you hadn’t heard, the hugely-popular Night Market UK is back by popular demand, and it will be stopping off in our city centre for one night only tomorrow as part of the current leg of its tour across the country.
Returning to Manchester, but this time at a new location down at Fairfield Social Club in the Green Quarter, the unique night-time shopping experience will be showcasing more than 50 local small businesses – with everything from bespoke fashion items and beautifully-crafted homeware, to candles, artwork, silverware, and more on offer.
Brutal Fashion, Lost in Music, Urban Botany, and Dapper Alice are just a handful of the indie traders you’ll be able to shop from.
With event organisers promising there’ll be “a stall for everyone” to browse on the night, some of the other traders in attendance, include artisan producers, artists and bakers, as well as Fairfield Social Club’s resident street food purveyors Isit Kitchen, and pizza pros Killa Carbs.
DJ Clara B will also be taking over the club’s sound system too, and will be blasting tunes to set the scene all night long.
From bespoke fashion items and silverware courtesy of Brutal Fashion, to dazzling musical art prints from Lost in Music, and sculptural candles from Urban Botany to beautifully crafted homeware by Dapper Alice, there will be a stall for everyone on the night.
A popular night-time indie shopping market is returning to Manchester tomorrow / Credit: The Night Market UK | Kunal Mahesh Tewari (via The Night Market UK on Facebook)
The Night Market UK will open at Fairfield Social Club from 6pm tomorrow (Friday 26 July), and will run right through until 11pm.
Tickets are now on sale from just £4 each, and can be purchased in hourly entry timeslots – which organisers say “keeps the atmosphere just right” and ensures there’s enough space for everyone to be able to stay as little or as long as they’d like.
You can buy on the door or grab your tickets in advance here.
Featured Image – Supplied
City Centre
Beloved Manc butty shop Bada Bing set for a sensational return to the city centre
Danny Jones
Sandwich lovers rejoice because one of the finest butty shops to ever grace Manchester is returning: that’s right, Bada Bing is bada-back!
The Sopranos-inspired deli and sandwich shop that took its name from one of the central locations featured in the iconic US drama (yes, the strip club), was a huge success when it first opened in Manchester a few short years ago, so it was a huge blow when it closed in February 2022.
Starting out by serving sandwiches out of a window at The B Lounge pub on Paton Street near Piccadilly, before moving to a small kitchen on Radium Street and eventually setting up their stall inside Ancoats General Store, they would regularly have lines around the block every lunchtime.
These Italian-American sarnies were so popular you’d often struggle to get your claws on one – and believe us, they really are a two-handed task – as they’d sell out on what felt like most days. But now, whether you were a regular or someone who missed out, there is hope once again:
Announcing their sensational return to a new site over in the Northern Quarter, which will now mark the fourth premises they’ve popped up at, Bada Bing is back with a bang and, as you can, they dropped the news with one of the best reveal videos we’ve ever seen.
If you know, you know…
Set to take over 125 Oldham Street, owners Sam Gormally and Meg Lingenfelter haven’t yet graced us with an opening date but the new unit should hopefully be open sooner rather than later.
The duo, who previously worked at fellow NQ favourite Another Heart to Feed, came up with the concept during lockdown and it didn’t take long for the idea to take off, nor for them to earn their spot amongst the very best sandwich places in Manchester.
Seriously, these things were so big and unwieldy (in the best way possible) that they even used to come with eating instructions: both hands and the trademark Tony Soprano hunch recommended, though the slightly stained wife-beater, boxer shorts and open dressing gown look is optional.
From slices of provolone cheese, all the thinly sliced Italian meats you could think of and the closest thing to actual ‘gabagool‘ as you’ll find in Greater Manchester, the menu was fitting of being served up to the iconic characters that once sat outside Satriale’s and a big approving grin from the man himself.
Simply put, we cannot wait and we will certainly keep you posted when we find out exactly when Bada Bing confirms their official reopening date.