The Medlock, the new 401-room hotel beside the Etihad Stadium, has officially opened its doors this week.
The landmark new hotel is part of the Medlock Square entertainment hub, also home to the Brickworks market hall, a roof walk and zipline experience, and an all-new Manchester City museum experience.
Set just steps from both the Etihad Stadium and the Co-op Live, The Medlock by Radisson Blu is a modern new hotel with affordable rooms, striking design details, and state-of-the-art technology.
It’s also set to be the largest hotel in central Manchester, with a mixture of room sizes and suites.
There’s also the ‘crown jewel’ of the hotel, its penthouse suite, a two-storey, two-bedroom suite designed for high-profile stays, private dinners, and VIP celebrations.
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And still to come will be 10 bedrooms with pitch views across the Etihad Stadium.
The design of the hotel pays homage to the 19th-century gasworks, local green spaces, and historic waterways that once defined the site, and its name comes from the river that flows beneath it.
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You’ll see details like textured grey walls and cages around the pillars as a nod to the historic Bradford Colliery that once stood on this land.
Inside the two-storey suiteKitchen-diner in the suiteThe private terrace
From the lobby, guests are greeted with an overhead digital reflective feature that syncs with match days and event nights, plus digital check-in pods, low-lounge banquettes, and a statement staircase.
The 401 guest rooms start from £120 a night, decorated in soft tones, warm timber, and ambient lighting, with music-inspired design features like rug patterns inspired by retro audio equipment and bathroom tiles reminiscent of recording studio acoustic walls.
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Every room includes GRIND coffee machines and pods, Vimto bonbons, signature Medlock mattresses created in partnership with Silentnight, and bespoke artwork by local artists (Paul Crudgington, a fine art photographer; James Cochrane, a Manchester street photographer framing light, shadow, and human presence since 2016; and Steve Longbottom, a Manchester exhibiting artist exploring how people connect with place).
Elsewhere in The Medlock, there’s a 24-hour Technogym fitness centre with cutting-edge equipment and virtual personal training options.
The entrance to The Medlock hotelBlend at Medlock SquareThe hotel’s gym
There are two food and drink offerings inside The Medlock, too – Blend, a cafe by day and wine bar by night; and Three Rivers Brasserie and Bar, a sophisticated all-day dining experience focused on British produce and warm, polished service.
Richard Pearson, general manager of The Medlock, Radisson Blu Hotel, said: “We’re incredibly proud to officially open the doors to The Medlock, as it takes centre stage as the beginning of the story of Medlock Square.
“We’ve created a hotel that feels uniquely Manchester, right at the heart of one of the UK’s most exciting destinations. Whether guests are visiting for football, music, business, or to experience the city, we want The Medlock to be more than somewhere to stay – we want it to be the place where every Manchester experience begins with a brilliant welcome.
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“I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved. They’ve shown real grit to bring The Medlock to life, backed each other every step of the way, and poured their heart and energy into creating something special.
A bedroom at The MedlockThe entrance to The Medlock hotelThree Rivers restaurant
“This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to welcome our first guests and share the warmth, spirit, and sense of community that makes The Medlock feel like home. This is a milestone day for the evolution of Manchester as we continue to shape its next go-to destination.”
Joep Peeters, Chief Operating Officer Franchise EMEA at Radisson Hotel Group, said: “The opening of this flagship hotel represents a defining moment for both Manchester and the team behind it. Whether visitors are here for a football match, a concert, a conference, or just to explore Manchester, both the hotel and its location offer guests an experience unlike anywhere else in the UK.
“The property reflects the city’s character: welcoming, energetic and proudly authentic, and we are thrilled to welcome it into the Radisson Blu portfolio.”
EasyJet is paying for passports for newborns to help families take their first holidays
Daisy Jackson
EasyJet has announced a new scheme where the airline will cover the cost of a baby’s first passport, allowing young families to take those memorable first holidays.
The company has announced that it will pay for a child’s passport (£66.50) when parents book an EasyJet holiday, making it a little easier to start those travel adventures sooner.
Research conducted by the airline and easyJet Holidays has found that 75% of parents agree the move would make a holiday with a baby feel a bit more affordable.
Their surveys also found that four in five parents believe a baby’s first holiday is a landmark family moment, and more than half called it one of their proudest parenting milestones.
But parents also said that they needed an average of four attempts to get an approved passport photo of their baby (have you tried making a newborn follow instructions…?).
easyJet holidays has reported – even this early in the year – a 10% increase in infants travelling this year compared to 2025.
And now, the thought of a holiday with your newborn is more tempting than ever, with the offer to get a free passport for your baby from easyJet.
To claim it, and save £66.50, you can use the code FIRSTPASSPORT until 26 November – find out more HERE.
easyJet Captain Kate West, said: “We carry millions of families across Europe every year, and we know that travelling with a baby brings a whole series of exciting firsts.
“We want to make travel as easy and accessible as possible for everyone, including young families, so they can enjoy all the experiences and memories that travel can bring.
“We hope that covering the cost of a baby’s first passport goes a small way towards making that first family adventure a little easier and gives our youngest travellers a warm welcome to the world.”
Stuart Wright, Customer Director at easyJet holidays, said: “Travel has a unique way of bringing families together, and a baby’s very first holiday is often one of those moments parents remember for years to come.
“By covering the cost of a baby’s first passport, we’re helping more families start making those memories that little bit sooner.”
Chester Zoo welcomes The Traitors stars Claudia and Alan – but it’s not what you think
Lydia Mastrolonardo
No, Chester Zoo isn’t keeping actual Claudia Winkleman and Alan Carr in enclosures – everybody stand down.
The zoo is in fact welcoming its first pair of hooded vultures, to hopefully boost the critically endangered species, and they just so happen to be named after some of our favourite celebrities from The Traitors.
As famous as Alan Carr and Claudia Winkleman are, these two give them a run for their money, as the first of their kind to ever come to Chester Zoo – making them pretty big celebs in the animal kingdom.
The pair of vultures are currently nestling in to their new home, alongside their new white-headed vulture roommates, at the Heart of Africa aviary. It is here that conservationists are hoping the newly bonded pair will start a family, as part of a Europe-wide breeding programme, to help safeguard their species from extinction – no pressure or anything.
Bird Keeper Heather-Anne Pedley said: “Alan and Claudia came to us from the Horstmann Trust, a conservation breeding centre for vultures, where they are an established breeding pair. We named them after Traitors stars Alan Carr and Claudia Winkelman, because what better way to reflect how funny and engaging they are, than to name them after two national treasures?
“Nobody prepared me for how much I would fall in love with them, their antics and characters. They look like they’ve just put a hood up, and they have this beautiful blue ring around their eyes, like natural eyeliner.”
Alan and Claudia, Chester Zoo’s new vultures. Credit: Chester Zoo
Hooded vultures are distinctive with dark brown feathers, a buff ‘hood’ and a bald face and throat, with wingspans of up to 180cm. They are native to west, central and southern Africa, where they typically pick up their lunch by soaring over the land, looking for carcasses to feed upon as part of ‘nature’s clean-up crew.’
It’s not all gore though, they are very active, clever and interested in their environment. The couples are monogamous, will preen each other, gently touch each other’s bills and co-build nests – quite the romantics.
Heather-Anne added: “This pair are real love birds, and we are hopeful they’ll go on to breed. Any youngsters they go on to have will become part of a European conservation breeding programme, helping to create an insurance population for this incredibly rare species.
“In the wild, vultures help prevent zoonotic diseases – illnesses that can spread between species – because their stomach acid is so strong they can eat decaying meat that other animals would not be able to digest. This helps prevent the spread of diseases like anthrax and botulism into the soil.”
Despite their crucial role across various ecosystems, vulture numbers are declining and they are now sadly classified as critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
This decline is driven by mid-air collisions or accidental electrocution by scanning the ground for prey whilst perched on uninsulated power lines. These birds are also at risk of being poisoned or even hunted to facilitate an unsustainable demand for vulture body parts and eggs to be used in traditional medicine and rituals, while there is no scientific evidence to support this use.
We are really rooting these two and hope that they settle into their new home.
Daisy Jackson -
10th September 2026 
