From a brutalist icon to a green oasis complete with a ‘secret forest’ treehouse canopy and three new restaurants and bars, there’s an exciting new development coming to Deansgate in 2023.
Called Treehouse Hotel, it will completely transform the former Renaissance site with 216 new bedrooms, a magical treehouse canopy, and three brand new dining and drinking experiences – all run by top northern chefs and restauranteurs.
In an announcement made today, the hotel has revealed it is working with local hospitality heavyweights Mary-Ellen McTague, Sam Grainger, Luke Cowdrey (aka Unabomber) and Justin Crawford to bring its food, drink and music offering to life when it opens its doors here in Manchester.
Left to right: Mary Ellen McTague, Luke Cowdrey (aka Unabomber), Sam Grainger and Justin Crwaford. / Image: Supplied
Working with some of the north’s biggest names in hospitality, Treehouse will bring three unique new dining and drinking experiences to the city.
The new luxury hotel will feature a ground-floor eatery with a seasonally-changing all-day menu, a 14th-floor restaurant and bar with uninterrupted views of the skyline, and a crowning rooftop party venue, bar and terrace.
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Mary-Ellen McTague of The Creameries and Eat Well MCR will curate the new ground floor offering, serving a menu based on seasonality, sustainability, and a sense of place.
Image: Treehouse hotel London
Fresh pastries and hot and cold sandwiches will kick start the day here, followed by a regularly-changing all-day menu completed by a carefully-chosen list of low intervention wines.
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Up on the fourteenth floor, meanwhile, Sam Grainger of the critically-acclaimed Liverpool restaurant Belzan, not to mention relative Manchester newcomers Madre and Carnival, will oversee the hotel’s destination restaurant and stand-alone bar.
BBQ lambs heart, salsa verde, black tahini at Belzan Liverppool. Image: gringlepie
Known for his eclectic mix of dishes, diners can expect to find inventive South East Asian dishes here – elevated by the use of Japanese and European ingredients and techniques.
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Sam will also be collaborating with Manchester DJs and hospitality heavyweights Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford on the food and drink side of things, as well as working with them to bring the 14th-floor space to life with Manchester’s most cutting-edge musicians and entertainers.
The pair are known for hosting seminal club nights over the years such as Homoelectric Electric Chair here in Manchester, as well as introducing the city to popular eateries Volta, Electrik and The Refuge.
No strangers to a good time, they will also curate events in the Rooftop bar and the ground floor restaurant at Treehouse.
Evidently, it’s all change for the long-standing Deansgate hotel the Renaissance. Previous announcements also hinted at plans to install a kitchen garden that could harvest its own rainwater and a rooftop apiary that will produce the hotel’s own honey.
Elsewhere, stepping stones in the lift lobbies and a unique ‘living wooden art piece’ guest book – which you’re actually encouraged to carve your name into – will set Treehouse apart from other hotels in the city when it opens its doors here in 2023.
Feature image – Treehouse Hotel
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BBC Radio 6 Music Festival is returning to Greater Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
The BBC Radio 6 Music Festival is coming back to Manchester once again, and they’re bringing yet another phenomenal lineup with them.
National radio station and overall upcoming music connoisseurs, BBC Radio 6, are back with their music festival, and just like years previous, it’s taking place across Manchester.
Over the years, the festival has brought some of music’s biggest names to lots of local venues, putting on an array of brilliant live performances.
Last spring saw the arrival of rock band Gossip and Irish singer CMAT, both taking up residency in O2 Victoria Warehouse, Lily Fontaine of English Teacher at Band On The Wall, while DJ Seinfeld went B2B with Salute in Depot Mayfield.
Leading this glowing roster of performers is Ezra Collective, a Mercury award -winning band known for their brilliant jazz productions, and then from one Mercury-winning band to another, Lily Fontaine won’t be riding solo this year, instead she’s bringing all the crew with her, as English Teacher are set to perform at this huge festival.
Fat Dog, whose debut album is titled ‘Woof’, are joining in on the fun with Scottish band Mogwai also making a feature too.
There’s even a chance for an exclusive first listen too, as Kae Tempest will be debuting new material right here in Manchester.
Ezra Collective are performing at BBC Radio 6 Music Festival.English Teacher make a return to Manchester for this special event.Fat Dog are also playing the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival.
All performances will be taking place at a multitude of venues, like the previously mentioned O2 Victoria Warehouse, Depot Mayfield, and Band On The Wall, as well as loads of other events at entertainment bar, Yes.
Every highlight, alongside live and recorded live performances, will be taking place at MediaCityUK in Salford, in order to keep everything Manchester central.
BBC Radio 6 Music Festival is happening from 26 – 29 March 2025, with tickets going on sale from 6 February at 10am here.
MediaCity’s new £2.5m indoor activity park confirms opening date just in time for half term
Emily Sergeant
A brand new indoor activity park is set to open its doors in Greater Manchester, and the launch date has now been revealed.
In case you missed it, it was announced towards the end of last year that Salford had been chosen by Oxygen Activeplay as the location for its next venture, and will be descending on Quayside MediaCity this month with state-of-the-art equipment and activities to help local families stay active whilst having fun at the same time.
Oxygen will sit above bustling food hall Kargo MKT, taking over the former site of I’m a Celebrity Jungle Challenge.
Following a £2.5 million investment, the new park will feature more than 30 trampolines, a mega-air bag, a high ropes course, a ‘Rollglider’ aerial ride which flies over the facility, and Oxygen’s signature illuminated sensory experience ‘Excite Tunnel’, along with even more “epic” activities.
A series of optional games and dance parties will also be on offer during each play session, and the new Manchester park will also host ‘Peaceful Play’ sessions designed for neurodivergent guests, who prefer a calmer and quieter playing environment, as well as there being a ‘Toddler Venture Zone’.
A cafe serving drinks, snacks, and meals is also set to overlook the park.
But, up until recently, the date when the exciting new venture would be welcoming in the public for the first time remained under lock and key.
A new £2.5m ‘state-of-the-art’ indoor activity park will be opening at MediaCity / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
It’s been a long time coming, but after 6,000 hours of hard work from the construction team, it has now been confirmed that Oxygen at MediaCity will open on Monday 17 February , just in time for half term.
Doors will open at 9am, and pre-booking is advised.
“With Oxygen at MediaCity being our tenth park, we knew we had to do something really special, so we have some really big and exciting plans,” teased Oxygen Activeplay CEO, Stephen Wilson, ahead of the new park opening in a couple of weeks time.
Georgina Pellant -
8th June 2022 
