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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
“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
A horror film festival screening sun-soaked slashers is coming to Manchester this summer
Emily Sergeant
A horror film festival screening sun-soaked slashers is coming to Manchester this summer.
Popular Manchester indie cinema Cultplex is turning up the temperature with Summerween: Hot Summer Frights this month.
Taking place on the last weekend of July, while horror films may make you think of the colder months at first, the festivalwill be swapping frosty scares for sun-soaked slashers – with movies guaranteed to make audiences sweat.
Opening the weekend is Tobe Hooper’s landmark masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a film that famously transformed the sweltering Texas landscape into one of cinema’s most terrifying settings, with its relentless atmosphere and raw brutality continuing to leave audiences shaken.
The programme then shifts to Guillermo del Toro’s haunting gothic ghost story, The Devil’s Backbone, set during the final days of the Spanish Civil War, before Saturday evening brings a change of pace with Joel Schumacher’s beloved 80s cult classic, The Lost Boys, where California sunshine meets stylish vampire thrills.
The weekend continues with Kim Jee-woon’s acclaimed psychological horror, A Tale of Two Sisters, a beautifully unsettling tale of grief, family trauma, and supernatural terror.
And what better way to close out the festival than with a modern-day summer horror classic? Ari Aster’s Midsommar is a modern folk horror epic that transforms perpetual daylight into a source of overwhelming dread.
Summerween: Hot Summer Frights is taking over Cultplex on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, and tickets are on sale now here.
Featured Image – A24 (via Netflix)
City Centre
JD to host exclusive Josh Baker set at massive World Cup watch party in Manchester
Danny Jones
JD x JB: The well-known British and Manchester-founded sports fashion brand is teaming up with local artist Josh Baker for an exclusive pop-up set at a massive World Cup screening in the city centre tonight.
The two Manchester icons are teaming up at an otherwise sold-out Castlefield Bowl, getting the matchday vibes going ahead of the England vs Argentina game this evening.
With all eyes on the semi-final, keeping nerves steady will be a tall task, but Baker will be helping play his part in getting the energy up ahead of kick-off.
No matter what happens with the scoreline, it’s set to be a proper party atmosphere beforehand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Da0FDI3tp3I/?hl=en
Fresh off the plane from his White Isle residency over in Ibiza, the 30-year-old Manc musician will be taking to the stage from 6:15pm at none other than Castlefield Bowl, where nearly 9,000 people will be watching the big game.
In case you missed it, after wrapping up Sounds of the City ’26, the Bowl is now being taken over for Road to Victory’s outdoor fan zone.
Doors will be open from 5:30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off, and you’ll want to get down there with plenty of time to make sure you get a good view of the action – and by that, we mean both the game and Josh’s exciting set.
Better still, not only are those at the venue in for a night of amazing music and incredible vibes, but they’ll be cheering on Thomas Tuchel’s men straight after, in a crucial clash that could see England reach a second consecutive final in the last two major tournaments.
There’ll be plenty of entertainment before, during and after the breaks.
We will, of course, be keeping our fingers crossed for you and the boys tonight; the only thing we’re certain of is that the man himself will deliver on the night.
We had the honour of chatting with JB ahead of the BRITs back in February, and he’s only looking to bigger and better things this year.
For those looking to go along for this special one-off, once again, tickets to the event are already sold out, so your only chance is to sign up for the waiting list HERE. Fingers crossed for you and a result at full-time!
Last but not least, keep your eyes peeled on the JD Sports Instagram page and their other socials for all other updates ahead of the huge night. We can feel it: it’s coming home…
Georgina Pellant -
17th May 2021 
