Another new hotel has opened its doors in Manchester city centre, as The Alan transforms the old Princess Street Hotel.
The new hotel has stripped the six-storey building back to expose and celebrate its original features.
The Grade II-listed building now has 137 bedrooms, each with high ceilings and warm textures.
The Alan also has an open-plan kitchen and restaurant, a bar, and a pop-up space.
One of The Midi rooms at The Alan hotel in Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Its design is inspired by Manchester’s industrial heritage – guests will be greeted by a lobby floor made from a collage of discarded marble, and exposed brick walls.
Interior design agency Red Deer, which worked on the project, said it wants to ‘counter-act the wastefulness of the construction industry, creating intriguing touchpoints that celebrate the inherent value found in old materials that may be classed by some as ‘defective’ or ‘broken’’.
As for the name – the team wanted something that was personable, welcoming and unpretentious.
The restaurant and bar spaces at The Alan. Credit: Supplied
The rooms in The Alan range in size from The Standard to the Alan Suites, which take on a corner position and give guests views of the city.
Every room comes with an Emperor-sized bed, 200 thread Egyptian cotton bedding, 50″ Samsung Smart TVs with Google Chromecast, fast WiFi and Audio Pro Bluetooth speakers.
It’s also one of only four hotels in the UK to offer Google Nest smart concierge in all its rooms.
Details in the bedrooms at The Alan. Credit: Supplied
Previously, the guest rooms in the hotel featured lowered ceilings and boxed-in features – these have been opened up to create taller rooms and expose heritage details.
The Alan will champion local businesses, with Ancoats Coffee Co and Bohea Teas stocked in the rooms and Pomona Island and Cloudwater beers stocked in the bar.
Its new restaurant and bar space will be serving an all-day seasonal menu, headed up by Iain Thomas, formerly of the Edinburgh Castle.
Iain has worked in kitchens since he was 16 and will use some ingredients from his own allotment in his menu, which features dishes like Cheshire beef tartare with confit egg yolk, salt-baked celeriac, and lamb fat cabbage.
The Butcher’s Quarter will provide the meat for the larger plates, from grass-fed sirloin steaks to free-range pork and Gatehouse Farm lamb chops.
Manchester Fashion Week is returning for 2025 this autumn after a decade-long hiatus
Emily Sergeant
It’s been a long time coming… but this autumn, Manchester Fashion Week is back.
Returning with a ‘bold blueprint’ for the future of fashion after what has been a decade-long absence, it has been announced this week that Manchester Fashion Week will be back this September at what is a pivotal moment for the city’s £12 billion fashion industry.
Due to the unprecedented challenges the industry faces around sustainability, technology, and cultural relevance, Manchester Fashion Week 2025 will be rooted in the textile heritage of the city but rebooted by technological advancements and innovation to make fashion future-proof.
Running from 9-11 September, and taking over the vibrant St. John’s area of the city, with its official hub set in the newly-refurbished Campfield – one of Manchester’s most exciting new cultural venues – organisers say the event will unite emerging designers and established brands on a platform that bridges Manchester‘s industrial heritage with cutting-edge innovation.
Manchester Fashion Week is returning for 2025 after a decade-long hiatus / Credit: Yogendra Singh (via Unsplash)
The event is aiming to trace a path from historic Mancunian mills to contemporary catwalks, honouring textile traditions along the way, all while accelerating toward fashion’s future.
Manchester Fashion Week’s 2025 return is seen to be yet another factor in the city fast becoming the culture capital of Britain, and comes not long after it was announced that The BRIT Awards would be hosted here next year – which is the first time outside of London in its 48-year history.
The three-day event will serve as a platform for ‘honest dialogue, visionary thinking, and radical collaboration’ by activating spaces across the city and inviting brands, creators, and communities to participate.
“Manchester has always led,” said Gemma Gratton, who is the Executive Producer of Manchester Fashion Week, ahead of the event’s return this autumn. “In music, in manufacturing, in movements. And now, it’s time to lead again by future-proofing fashion from the ground up.
“Manchester Fashion Week is not just a celebration of style, but a cultural catalyst for people, purpose, and progress.
“This isn’t just Manchester’s moment. It’s Manchester fashion’s reset.”
Manchester Fashion Week returns for 2025 from 9-11 September, and you can find out more information and event updates online here.
Featured Image – Raden Prasetya (via Unsplash)
City Centre
You can win tickets to sold-out Lewis Capaldi gigs at Greggs
Thomas Melia
Nationwide bakery chain Greggs has partnered with singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi for a chance to win tickets for his sold-out UK tour.
Now, if there’s one thing we love more than sausage rolls, it’s watching Glasgow solo star Lewis Capaldi perform his smash hit singles to crowds of roaring fans –and Glastonbury proved that.
The ‘Hold Me While You Wait’ singer recently announced his latest UK tour, and to no one’s surprise, it sold out within minutes, with extra dates added in each city.
Leave it to Greggs, one of the UK’s favourite savoury pick-me-up companies, and its new campaign with Capaldi, which offers lucky fans the chance to win tickets to one of these sold-out UK tour dates – How ‘Grace'(ful).
This new campaign, titled ‘Someone you look like?’ – inspired by the chart-topping anthem ‘Someone You Loved’ – encourages fans of the Scottish Beyoncé to dress up in an outrageous outfit inspired by one of Lewis’ many stylish looks.
Greggs and Lewis Capaldi are offering fans the chance to win tickets to his sellout tour across five of the bakery chain’s sites, including London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and right here in Manchester.
The bond between Greggs and Capaldi isn’t new either, as the ‘Bruises’ penman worked a shift for the savoury suppliers back in 2019, having a blue plaque erected at this very Middlesbrough site professing his love for a tuna crunch butty.
This isn’t the only competition that UK bakery chain Greggs is currently running; it’s also teamed up with package holiday brand Jet2 to give away a holiday at the same price as their iconic sausage rolls.
Whilst you’re at it…
Greggs and Lewis Capaldi have 25 pairs of tickets to win per restaurant location and the nearest bakery spot running this promotion is theSalford site located at Media City, M50 2HF on Tuesday, 22 July 2025. All information can be found HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
8th February 2022 
