Feature

The boutique Manchester hotel quietly boasting the most serene spa in the city

It’s the ultimate sanctuary in the heart of town

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 11th April 2025

King Street Townhouse is widely considered to be one of Manchester’s very best hotels, famed for its elegant interiors and bespoke, boutique feel. 

It’s also home to one of the city’s best spas, which offers a serene sanctuary right in the heart of the city centre.

King Street Townhouse’s ESPA Spa offers everything you need to unwind, from deeply relaxing massages to skin-reviving facials. 

These exclusive ESPA treatments have been designed to ‘melt away stress and restore your glow’. 

And you don’t have to carve out an entire day to enjoy this relaxation haven either – there are several different packages to choose from, starting from a Sunset Escape geared towards corporate guests or just an after-work recharge. 

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Imagine leaving your desk and heading straight to the beautiful King Street Townhouse spa, ready to slip away from the day and unwind.

Or booking yourself a full day away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, including de-stressing in the thermal suites. 

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There are also hotel and spa packages, for those who want to plan a full overnight escape in the hotel’s luxurious accommodation. 

The beautiful spa and gym at King Street Townhouse hotel in Manchester. Credit: Supplied
The beautiful spa and gym at King Street Townhouse hotel in Manchester. Credit: Supplied
The beautiful spa at King Street Townhouse hotel in Manchester. Credit: Supplied

Advanced and cutting-edge treatments at the King Street Townhouse spa include HydraFacials, LED Light Salon, and the Natural Facelift Facial. 

Inside the spa, which is open daily from 7am until 7pm, you’ll find thermal facilities like a Himalayan salt cave, eucalyptus steam room, rainfall shower, ice fountain, heated loungers and a sauna.

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And for those who want to bring this level of luxury relaxation to their everyday lives, there are even memberships available. 

With limited numbers, you’ll be able to enjoy the King Street Townhouse’s incredible facilities without ever feeling crowded. 

These exclusive memberships come with loads of special perks, like complimentary spa treatments, PT sessions, discounts across the hotel, unlimited access to the gym, birthday gifts, guest passes and plenty more. 

The beautiful spa and gym at King Street Townhouse hotel in Manchester. Credit: Supplied
The boutique gym at King Street Townhouse in Manchester. Credit: Supplied

Elsewhere in the hotel, there’s a stunning, boutique gym equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and machines. 

The King Street Townhouse gym and spa will look after your body, mind and soul. 

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It’s all ready and waiting at King Street Townhouse – head HERE to book your relaxation today. 

Memberships at King Street Townhouse

  • Fitness membership – unlimited gym and classes, in addition to a complimentary 60-minute PT session, member-pricing on the spa, and complimentary access to in-house events (e.g. Yoga & Brunch on the Terrace)
  • Gym & Spa Membership – includes all the above, plus unlimited use of spa thermal facilities, four complimentary guest passes, and complimentary room upgrades in the hotel.
  • Signature Membership – includes all the above, plus a complimentary 60-minute spa treatment, eight complimentary guest passes, complimentary hire of the hotel’s private cinema, and more.

Read more: The best, biggest and boujiest hotels in Manchester city centre

Featured image: Supplied

Feature

Gig review | Lionel Richie leaves Manchester dancing on the ceiling after Co-op Live debut

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

American multi-hyphenate Lionel Richie paid Manchester a visit last night and gave the 23,500 fans in the crowd all of his ‘Endless Love’.

Richie needs no explanation, being a household name, this artist had the crowd in the palm of his hands as soon as he stepped foot onto the stage, just like he has been doing since he burst onto the music scene over 50 years ago. 

When you’re about to watch a legend strut his stuff in various tailcoats ‘All Night Long (All Night)’, you know you’re in for a mini workout.

We tried out Co-op Live’s Backstage Club before the show to fuel up with a pizza and grab a drink to ensure that we could dance ‘All Night Long (All Night) as much as the main man himself. 

Drinks at the Co-op Live Backstage Club, Manchester.
‘Breezy like a Sunday Morning’.
Co-op Live Backstage Club, offers the perfect pre-gig experience.
Soaking up the fun at Co-op Live’s Backstage Club.
Co-op Live Backstage Club, offers the perfect pre-gig experience.
You really do get the VIP treatment.
Credit: Audio North

As well as boasting an intimate area with music history covering all four walls, this location had a photobooth, pool table, its own merchandise vendor and a live band.

For tonight’s show, it was only right that the band soundtracking Co-op Live’s Backstage Club were aptly named The Pennies and the signature drinks were equally fitting, ‘Say You, Say G&T’ and a cocktail offering labelled, ‘Breezy like a Sunday Morning’. 

Glasgow solo star Brooke Combe – a favourite of ours from past Neighbourhood Festivals – gave the crowd our first taste of music for the night, playing highlights of her debut album ‘Dancing at the Edge of the World’, which only dropped back in January.

Her songs ooze soul, from the infectious ‘Shaken by the Wind’ to the instantly catchy ‘The Last Time’ and fan favourite, ‘Are You With Me?’. Combe’s stage presence was nothing short of contagious.

It’s no surprise, really, considering she’s already practised and perfected her craft at Glastonbury back in 2022 among countless other massive slots. Make sure you catch her the next time she’s in Manchester.

The legendary performer knew he had to kick things off in true Lionel Richie style, it’s only obligatory that he opened the show with his greeting-titled hit ‘Hello’.

Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Lionel welcoming fans with ‘Hello’ and being greeted with equally impressive roars from the crowd.
Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Richie slowing it down for a moment, performing Commodores classic, ‘Easy’.
Credit: The Manc Group

As the chorus approached, the American superstar hailed “Hello” and the audience immediately exclaimed in synch, “Is it me you’re looking for?”.  

Social media might’ve been non-existent when the performer first reached our ears, but this didn’t stop Lionel Richie from inadvertently turning last night into a mini ‘Throwback Thursday’ playing his 1977 Commodores swooner ‘Easy’.

If you had told me that Lionel Richie would directly address me and my brother mid-performance, I would’ve laughed in your face, but last night the star adopted the both of us. Life complete.

The American singer came up the catwalk, soaking up all the cheers and love from the Co-op Live crowd, and then pointed directly at me and my brother and gave us a little shoutout.

Before playing the anthem that is ‘We are the World’, Mr. Richie expressed, “Alright, I’ll just tell ‘em” before admitting to the whole arena, “These are my cousins right here”.

I guess when we sang “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” earlier in the show, it really was me (and my brother) he was looking for.

Just like his opening track, the final slot also has its fixed placement in Richie’s setlist; of course, that song is none other than the essential party number, ‘All Night Long (All Night)’.

Richie recites the line, “We’re going to party, Karamu, fiesta, forever”, and the crowd understood the assignment as by the time he sang, “Come on and sing along / All night long”, everyone was up.

This tune is nothing less than cathartic, and for the five minutes it played, everyone was side-stepping, swaying, singing, dancing, not a single inhibition in sight. 

Lionel Richie might know his way around writing smash hits and commanding a crowd, but it’s the audience’s joy for the music that made this concert such a special night.

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Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Did we tell you? Lionel Richie called us his cousins.
Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Richie amidst a flurry of flashlights from the Manc crowd.
Credit: The Manc

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – The Manc Group  

Feature

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | May 2025

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Manchester bands and artists May 2025

Oh, hey, didn’t see you there. Come looking for more top Manc tunage, have we? You’re in luck, because Greater Manchester just keeps pumping out top bands and artists all the time, hence why we do this.

If you’re new around these parts, first of all, welcome and secondly, the whole thing is very simple: every month, we round up some of the best talents coming out of 0161 and talk about why we like them. I know, groundbreaking stuff, right?

They don’t have to be born and bred in Manchester, but they do need to have made this their music home – the first the correct career decision they made, the second being working their way into our ears.

So, now all the housekeeping is done and dusted, let’s dive into some delightful new Manchester music, shall we?

Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently

1. IST IST

This month we’re starting off with one of those Manchester bands that may not be new but still crop up for us at regular intervals to remind us of two things: first of all, that they’re brilliant and secondly, that they should have featured on our regular round-up of artists a long time ago.

We’re talking about IST IST, who returned with another live, multiple LP-spanning compilation (plus some extras) this past March, which we’ve had on plenty over the past month. It goes without saying that they sound brilliant live, and we feel bad for only just remembering how good and prolific they’ve been.

You always get plenty of New Order, but also White Lies and Editors; Future Islands, The National and lots of other baritone-driven bands that bring that element of melodrama to layer over the instruments themselves. ‘You’re Mine’ might be their biggest track, but ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Exist’ are also favourites.

2. Robbie Cavanagh

Now, we all know that country music is having a real moment right now and we, for one, couldn’t be happier about it, to be completely frank. Though arguably simplistic at times, it’s soulful, often impressively pared-back, and when something does impress you lyrically or technically, it sticks.

With that in mind, we recently realised that award-winning songwriter Robbie Cavanagh has been on somewhat of a comeback since 2023, and we hadn’t noticed until painfully recently. Returning after a six-year hiatus – bar some little ditties during lockdown – his latest project has some of his best work yet.

Fully tilting from folk into country and folk, the stunning vocalist belatedly blew us away with the bluesy single ‘Helpless’ and a gorgeous new collaboration with solo artist, Abby Gundersen (equally talented sister of Noah), but please still start with his 2016 Mahogany Session, where it arguably all began.

3. Afflecks Palace

Named after Manchester city centre’s famously eclectic indie emporium, Afflecks Palace have never quite blown up in the way they way we thought they would when we first came across them years ago, but there’s still plenty of time and we’ll be damn it if they don’t deserve more regular listeners.

You’ll also be glad to know that, despite the name, they aren’t one of those trite, overly performative bands who wear a stereotypical Manc-ness on their sleeve that we sometimes come across; they’re just good and deserve a lot more recognition for their contribution to the neo-pysch genre.

As for where to start, we’ll admit we prefer their first album; ‘Forever Young’ is noodley and catchy, ‘Everything Is an Attempt to Be Human’ has those shoegazey guitars, but it just doesn’t get better than the incomparable ‘Pink Skies’, which still makes us feel some type of way – we just can’t quite describe.

We just love it. ‘Nu-Madchester’, or whatever you want to call it, its distinct sunniness never fails to tickle a part of our brains.

4. Findlay

Next up is Stockport singer-songwriter Findlay, who released more new music this past February, and has been making indie pop that ropes in plenty of other influences for more than a decade now.

That being said, she’s always experimenting with her sound, as her collabs with Blossoms, Miles Kane, Bill Ryder-Jones, Joris Delacroix have shown, and this latest iteration seems to have her tapping into everything from almost 50s and 60s female soul singers to slow electronic and more.

We love the smooth sexiness and sheer ambition of her latest single, ‘Stay Kinky’ and ‘Waste My Time’ always feels like a late-night chiller fit for music video set in a dingey bar, however, we still have a soft spot for her debut, ‘Your Sister’, with the riff that’s almost reminiscent of ‘Blockbuster’ by Sweet.

@findlaymusic

Its a pleasure music video out now!

♬ original sound – Natalie

5. Alex Spencer

Last but not least, it’s the second time we’re featuring a returning artist and it comes in the form of young Alex Spencer, whose journey from busking around the streets of Greater Manchester to sold-out headlines shows and featuring on the likes EA Sports FC 25 (yes, FIFA) is a truly remarkable one.

The charming and still fresh-faced local lad from Droylsden is nothing short of proof that hard work and determination can pay off, and those ‘Bucket List’ dreams really are within reach. Obvious talent aside, this teenager has grafted his arse off and we couldn’t be more proudof how far he’s come already.

He last featured in this round-up back in April 2024 but even in the time between then, he’s released plenty and developed even further as musician, so much so that we’re not going to suggest which songs to try; instead, you can watch our most recent interview with him and relive his last year or so with us.

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So, the next time you hear someone foolishly complaining that the Greater Manchester music scene ‘isn’t what it once was’, you can go right ahead of show them these bands and artists.

In fact, you could just point them in the direction of this very page and Audio North, in general, as we do this round-up every month and plenty more every week, meaning you’re headphones never dry up.

For instance, you can check out which Manchester bands and artists we were listening to back in April, both new, current and old, down below. We’ll see you again very soon.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Audio North/Press Shots

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