One of the most hotly-anticipated new hotel openings in Manchester, Treehouse Hotel, has finally confirmed its launch date.
The major new opening has been slowly transforming the brutalist tower at the end of Deansgate, formerly long-standing hotel the Renaissance, into a ‘whimsical, forest-inspired’ accommodation.
Once it opens, Treehouse Hotel will bring 224 guest rooms, including nine suites and three accessible rooms, to Manchester.
Also opening on the ground floor of the huge building will be Pip, by acclaimed local chef Mary-Ellen McTague, showcasing a low-waste cooking approach with seasonally sourced ingredients.
Just announced too as part of Treehouse Hotel Manchester is Sister Moon by Sam Grainger, a 14th-floor Southeast Asian dining destination set to open later in 2025.
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Work has been ongoing at the site for several years now, with an initial launch date pencilled in for summer 2023.
But things are finally coming together and Treehouse Hotel Manchester has now announced it will open the doors to its ‘playful and free-spirited’ hotel on Wednesday 19 March.
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This ‘one-of-a-kind’ addition to Manchester’s thriving hotel scene follows SH Hotels & Resorts (soon to be Starwood Hotels) launch of its first Treehouse property in London in 2019.
A glimpse inside the rooms at Treehouse Hotel Manchester. Credit: Brad Matthews
The new hotel aims to provide a ‘unique retreat for visitors seeking both comfort and an element of adventure’.
Its interiors will blend the enchanting charm of a forest with the hotel’s signature ‘perfectly imperfect’ design ethos.
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And they’ve called upon some of the North West’s most celebrated culinary names to craft the dining and drinking options, Pip and the newly-announced Sister Moon.
Also up on the 14th floor will be The Nest in Treehouse, a space with sweeping city views and a lively atmosphere.
Pip Restaurant will open at the new Treehouse Hotel. Credit: Supplied
And up on the top of the hotel will be The Hideout, an intimate rooftop lounge and terrace, with Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford leading a series of events across the hotel.
Treehouse Hotel Manchester will have on-site facilities that include a 43-seat Flix screening room, a state-of-the-art Playground gym, and meeting rooms named after trees.
There’s nothing like a bit of shrubbery to break up the grey-scale skyscraper landscape of Manchester and this next new opening has taken it to the next level.
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Stays at Treehouse Hotel Manchester start from £199 per night, with bookings now open HERE.
12 underrated beaches you can fly to from Manchester for as little as £28
Daisy Jackson
Our run of unseasonably dry and sunny weather is coming to an end (I know, just in time for the bank holiday, how rude), and if you’re desperate for more of it, it might be time to escape our lovely Manchester.
Travel experts at Manchester Airport have put together 12 underrated but beautiful beaches you can jet off to from here.
And with flights starting from just £28 return, there’s plenty to tempt you away from town and into Tunisia (or a number of other destinations).
The list includes far-flung trips to Mexico and the USA as well as some little-known beaches that are much closer to home.
Manchester Airport is predicting that more than a million passengers will travel through Manchester over half term, with popular beach resorts in Europe expected to be packed with sun-seekers.
So these less popular locations might give you the chance of having a bit of peace and quiet while you sun yourself on the shores.
Playa de Las Catedrales, Galicia
The best beaches you can fly to from Manchester. Credit: Supplied / Wolfgang Miller, Wikimedia Commons
Let’s start with the proper bargain – you can jet off to Spain’s underrated north-west coast, the Galicia region, for less than £30 this summer.
The most famous beach here is Playa de Las Catedrales, or ‘Beach of the Cathedrals’, where natural rock arches tower over smooth white sands.
You’ll need to hire a car and commit to around a three-hour drive to make it here from Santander, but it’ll be worth it.
Fly from Manchester to Santander with Ryanair from £28pp return
Dune du Pilat, Arcachon
Credit: Rundvaldccby, Wikimedia Commons
Fancy spending your day relaxing on the highest sand dune in Europe, before spending an evening in a town that’s famous for its seafood? This is the one.
Arcachon is around an hour from Bordeaux, and the Dune du Pilat towers at almost 350ft high and a mile in length.
It means it’s never too crowded and you’ll always get a spot to take in a sunset.
Fly from Manchester to Bordeaux with easyJet from £84pp return
Golden Horn Beach, Croatia
Golden Horn Beach, Croatia. Credit: Pixabay
When a lot of us think of summer beach adventure, we think of Croatia – and you can whizz off to Split from just over £100 per person.
On the island of Brac, you’ll find Golden Horn Beach, surrounded by a pine forest and shimmering aquamarine waters.
From windsurfing to swimming it’s a popular spot, and only a 20 minute stroll from the town of Bol.
Fly from Manchester to Split with easyJet from £105pp return
Elafonisi, Crete
Credit: Pixabay
Fancy a little holiday to Greece? Look no further than Crete, the largest of the country’s 6000 islands and home to one of the world’s most famous beaches – because it’s pink.
Elafonisi Beach is a narrow strip of sand wrapped around a shallow lagoon, with crystal clear emerald waters.
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It’s picked up this mesmerising pink hue thanks to all the shells scattered along the shoreline.
Fly from Manchester to Chania with Ryanair from £92pp return
Holbox, Mexico
Credit: Pixabay
Let’s go a little further afield now – all the way to sunny Mexico.
Pass beyond the party hotspot of Cancun, with its year-round flights and all-inclusive holidays, and head out to the island of Holbox.
It’s about 40 miles north and a total tropical paradise – expect white sands, laid-back vibes, local beach bars and restaurants.
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You can even swim with whale sharks in summer, and may see flocks of wild flamingos and pelicans.
Fly from Manchester to Cancun from £290pp return
Cala Goritze, Sardinia
Credit: Pixabay
Ciao bella, it’s time for a trip over to one of Italy’s much less touristic destinations – the island of Sardinia.
Beaches here are unspoiled and uncrowded, like Cala Goritze on the east coast, which is only accessible by boat from Santa Maria Navarrese, or a three-mile hike.
Once you get here, you’ll be rewarded with a white sand cove and limestone cliffs.
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Fly from Manchester to Olbia with TUI from £90pp return
Legzira Beach, Morocco
Credit: Pixabay
If you think of souks and riads when you think of Morocco, think again – it’s also got some of the world’s best beaches, like those that pepper the coast around Agadir.
If you head a couple of hours south of this popular city, you’ll find the sleepy town of Legzira, said to look almost Martian with its red sands, dunes and cliffs thanks to the sands blown over from the Sahara desert.
A centrepiece is the Arch of Legzira, which splits the beach in two with just a narrow walkway that’s cut off at high tide.
Fly from Manchester to Agadir with TUI from £94pp return
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Praia de Porto Santo, Madeira
Credit: Unsplash, Marco Pireson
Madeira is rocketing in popularity these days, but there are still undiscovered gems to find for yourself.
Take the two-hour ferry to the neighbouring island of Porto Santo, where the beach has a five-mile stretch of golden sand, family-run restaurants, and a golf course.
Flights to Funchal – Madeira’s capital – are a bargain too.
Fly from Manchester to Funchal with Ryanair from £56pp return
Scala dei Turchi, Sicily
Credit: Pixabay
Italy pops up a few times on this list for good reason – affordable flights from Manchester, great food, and gorgeous quiet beaches. Just like this one.
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The Scala dei Turchi, or ‘Turkish Steps’, are hugely popular with locals but seem to fly under the radar for international tourists.
They’re white cliffs that descend to the sea in a series of jagged, sloping platforms like a staircase, ending in golden sands and gentle blue waters.
The area was apparently a haven for Turkish pirates in previous centuries, hence the name.
Fly from Manchester to Catania with Jet2.com from £188pp return
Plage de Sidi Mahrez, Tunisia
Credit: Unsplash, Aleksandra Lion
On Africa’s north coast is the popular holiday destination of Tunisia, but swerve the busy Hammamet-Sousse region near Tunis and instead go to the island of Djerba.
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You can fly here direct from Manchester for a holiday filled with gorgeous beaches.
One of the best is Plage de Sidi Mahrez, a 10-mile stretch of white sand with a laid back atmosphere where you can enjoy water sports and camel rides.
Fly from Manchester to Djerba with easyJet from £157pp return
Shell Beach, Herm
Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Christian Pinatel de Salvator
Did you know the British Isles could do beaches this well, and with such a short flight from Manchester?
Over on the tiny Channel Island of Herm is Shell Beach, made up of millions of multi-coloured shell fragments washed in from the Atlantic ocean.
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There’s almost a mile of golden shores to explore, with a much nicer climate than the mainland, and you can reach Herm with a 20-minute ferry from St Peter Port in Guernsey.
Herm is also a car-free island, but it’s only a 15 minute walk from the ferry terminal to the beach.
Fly from Manchester to Guernsey with Aurigny from £130pp return
Smith Point County Park, Long Island (NY)
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
If you ever fly to the Big Apple but find yourself thinking ‘Actually, that’s a bit too much Big Apple now’, turn yourself around and head to nearby Long Island.
In summer, it has a climate similar to the Mediterranean and loads of beaches, like the legendary Coney Island Beach with thrill rides, a boardwalk and family attractions.
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A quieter spot is Smith Point Country Park, popular with families for camping and wildlife watching – you’ve got a good chance of spotting dolphins here.
Fly from Manchester to New York JFK with AerLingus from £350pp return
Travel warning issued as 18 million road journeys are expected this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Travel warnings have been issued as millions of people prepare to journey across the UK this bank holiday weekend.
With the three-day weekend upon us, and people nationwide preparing to make the journey to visit family or friends on their extra day off work or school, the RAC has now issued one of its annual travel warnings – anticipating that 18 million people could be hitting the roads from this Friday evening onwards.
It’s all according to a new study of drivers’ late May bank holiday getaway plans carried out by the RAC and traffic analytics specialists INRIX.
There’s warnings of a potential ‘double dose of delays’ on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 May when the highest number of leisure trips are projected to be made by car – a total of 3.4 million on both days, respectively.
That figure drops slightly to 2.7 million on Sunday 25, before 3 million hit the roads on bank holiday Monday (26 May) for the start of half term.
18 million people are expected to hit the roads over the bank holiday weekend / Credit: Geograph | Pxfuel
To make matters even worse, an additional 5.4 million getaway journeys may take place at some point throughout the bank holiday weekend too, but at this point, drivers planning these trips are still unsure exactly when they’ll travel.
With most getaway trips due to begin before lunchtime, the research suggests the best times to hit the road will either be very early in the morning or later into the evening – with the majority (68%) of drivers saying they’ll be heading off at some point between 5am and 12pm, 14% planning to leave between 5am and 8am, nearly a third (30%) intending to travel mid-morning between 8am and 10am, and a further quarter (24%) setting off later between 10am and 12pm.
Traffic is expected to ease off rather significantly later in the day though, so if you are in a position to leave your journeys until the evening, then the RAC is advising that you take that option, as apparently on 3% of motorists say they are planning to do that so far.
“Our research shows it really is best to leave as early or late as possible this bank holiday weekend, as the majority of motorists are planning to set off in the morning,” commented RAC Mobile Mechanic, Aaron Bryan, ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
Daisy Jackson -
11th February 2025 
