A new aparthotel is opening in Manchester city centre, with enormous penthouse ‘super suites’.
The new luxury development from CitySuites has opened just next door to its first, at Embankment West.
The brand new building contains 142 apartments ranging from compact studios to three-bedroom giants, right on the border of Manchester city centre and Salford.
Its facilities include an 18-metre swimming pool, spa pool, steam room and state-of-the-art 24-hour gym.
The pool at CitySuites II. Credit: Louis Cannell
Every single room has been designed to blend ‘the luxury touches of a hotel with the space, privacy and comfort of home’.
Guests will sleep on Mattison beds and make use of bespoke bathrooms, as well as having access to their own fully-fitted kitchen (with washing machine, dishwasher, oven, Nespresso coffee machine and fridge-freezer), ultrafast broadband, and GHD hairdryers.
CitySuites II‘s crowning glory is its five high-end penthouse apartments, which have views of the nearby Manchester Cathedral and city skyline.
CitySuites II in Manchester. Credit: Supplied
The largest of the penthouses spans 265 sq metres across the 16th and 17th floor of the building, and comes with a wrap-around balcony overlooking the city.
All of them have floor-to-ceiling windows, SieMatic kitchens, BORA ovens, Lutron electric blinds, home theatre systems and walk-in steam shower rooms.
The CitySuites II apartments can be booked for anything from a one-night stay up to a year-long visit.
There’s a 24-hour concierge on site, laundry and dry-cleaning services, and residents-only co-working spaces.
Inside CitySuites II. Credit: Louis Cannell
Inside CitySuites II. Credit: Louis Cannell
The arrival of the new aparthotel also comes with new food offerings for the city.
Both its in-house brasserie and bar Embankment Kitchen and its coffee shop the Embankment Cafe are open for business.
Gavin Bailey, operations director of CitySuites, said: “CitySuites II is an evolvement of CitySuites as you know it in Manchester, everything we already are and more.
“The perfect combination of comfort and luxury remains at the core of our design and approach, but with additional facilities, community areas and services we are going a step further in being able to really tailor and personalise experiences for each and every one of our guests.
“The Super Suites will offer a hotel experience currently unparalleled in the city.
“Manchester is the fasting growing city in the UK and the level of hospitality needs to rise alongside this.
“For guests who want beautiful accommodation that is spacious, high-quality yet functional, with all the amenities and services of a 5-star hotel at hand if required, then CitySuites II will be the place for you.”
Featured image: Supplied
City Centre
Manchester dessert and sandwich stars Gooey are set to open another city centre site
Danny Jones
0161’s world-famous dessert stars, Gooey, are set to open another city centre site – their third in Greater Manchester and soon-to-be fifth overall.
Known for their incredible cookies, doughnuts, brunch, legendary French toast and plenty more, Gooey made their first foray out of their hometown with a Liverpool location last year, and are now set to consolidate their Manc base even further.
Set to open in a prime piece of real estate, the latest Manchester Gooey store will be opening in a sizeable empty unit over on Circle Square, right next to the Asda Express and in the heart of the student living and leisure complex.
Benefitting from being easily seen from along the bustling Oxford Road Corridor, you can expect this place to be packed to the rafters from the off on day one.
The signs are already in the window.That unreal French toast dripping in syrup.Credit: The Manc Eats
There are few details on what the new arrival might have in-store beyond all the brand favourites at this early stage, but each Gooey store shop does have its own charm.
From their original bakery and cafe over in the Northern Quarter, to the three kiosks in Ducie Street Warehouse, The Trafford Centre Selfridges and over on Merseyside’s iconic Bold Street, they all offer something a little different.
As for any hints at the launch plans, fans are yet to be given an official opening date, but you best believe you’ll be the first to know the second we do.
In case you’ve never tried or even come across the indulgent and fast-growing independent business before, another popular part of their menu is the bits between bread.
Touching on the upcoming addition, Charlotte Wild, Head of Retail & Leisure at Bruntwood SciTech – the team behind Circle Square’s ever-expanding offerings – said: “Gooey is an incredible local brand who are continuing to grow, evolve and innovate, with ever more exciting desserts.
“They will make a fantastic addition to the Circle Square community, and we look forward to seeing the impact they make in the coming months.”
In case you wonder how much we love this place and just how excited you should be about another one landing here in the city centre, sometimes we just put together random appreciation posts for that one, aforementioned butty alone.
Local foodies will also be buzzing to hear that they’re not the only calorific cult favourites that are bringing more to our mouths in 2025.
First, it was Brewski, followed by American Pies; then it was Foldies, and now the beloved culinary brand is launching yet another new concept here in Manchester.
There’s a ‘not snobby’ cheese tasting evening coming to Manchester this autumn
Thomas Melia
An evening dedicated to celebrating all things cheese is coming to a Manchester city centre pub this autumn.
Leeds-based cheese company Homage2Fromage launched its cheese-focused company back in 2011 as a monthly service highlighting all the delicious dairy offerings.
Since this, Homage2Fromage has gone on to host incredible events and activities, including an all-you-can-eat cheese festival right here in Manchester back in 2023.
Now, the cheese fanatics return with a brand-new event titled ‘Extreme Cheese’, where it’s bringing lots of creamy and crumbly varieties to local Manchester city centre pub, The Wayfarer.
You can expect to sample eight dairy delights, with some expected to be ‘very strong’, as the company adds ‘fromage not for the faint-hearted’, so if you like your cheese strong, then this one’s for you.
Homage2Fromage host cheese tasting experiences across the country including Manchester / Credit: Supplied
This cheese provider offers tasting experiences up and down the country, including prime spots in the north like Halifax, Harrogate, Leeds, and Sheffield.
The newest cheese-inspired event is set to be no different, with an itinerary packed regarding all things cheese.
You can grab a drink on arrival, and as soon as you hear ‘CHEESE’ the tasting begins, followed by scoring and, most importantly, an informative chat where you learn all about this dreamy delicacy.
For those who are cheese aficionados, the company even lets you host your own cheese event and provides everything you could ever need – including that golden flavour-packed good stuff.
If you’d rather put your hosting skills to one side though, and just simply tuck into some of the best cheddar varieties there is, then you can do just that at this upcoming cheese testing evening this autumn.
Homage2Fromage is bringing an exclusive cheese tasting evening, ‘Extreme Cheese’, to Manchester city centre at The Wayfarer on 24 September, and you can find tickets HERE.
Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
19th January 2022 
