A brand-new gym and spa has opened inside one of the most luxurious hotels in Manchester city centre today.
King Street Townhouse’s new purpose-built gym and spa facilities are tucked away inside the four-star hotel’s historic Grade-II listed Italian Renaissance building as part of the upper King Street conservation area, and they’re set to bring an “elevated fitness and wellbeing experience” to the heart of the city centre.
Having officially opened its doors to the public today, the new King Street Townhouse Gym & Spa has its sights set on being a destination for “unforgettable” spa experiences.
Designed by EPR Architects, the spa is decked-out in a soothing palette of calming neutrals and natural materials like timber, marble, and stone to “evoke a sense of deep relaxation and calm”, and designers say each area has been crafted with luxurious wellness in mind.
The new Gym and Spa Salt Cave / Credit: King Street Townhouse
The spa includes four treatment rooms, a thermal suite, a eucalyptus steam room, and an ice fountain, as well as heated loungers, a relaxed dining room in the calming spa lounge, and also boasts a full treatment menu.
ADVERTISEMENT
The “unrivalled” treatment offering includes bespoke treatments that are exclusive to the hotel from leading skincare and wellness brands ESPA and Perricone MD.
And one of the stand-out new features has to be the immune-boosting Himalayan salt cave.
ADVERTISEMENT
The new Spa Lounge / Credit: King Street Townhouse
One of the exclusive new spa treatment options is the ESPA Rebalance & Restore Ritual – which is said to be an uplifting massage featuring salt stones, a rose quartz facial, scalp massage and salt inhalation to leave the body, skin, and mind feeling “re-balanced and radiant”.
As mentioned, King Street Townhouse has partnered with Perricone MD to create a range of bespoke specialist spa treatments in a UK-exclusive.
This means that hotel guests will be the first in the country to get the chance to experience the brand’s targeted and results-driven facials, advanced techniques, and holistic approach to skin health like never before.
ADVERTISEMENT
The new Spa Sauna / Credit: King Street Townhouse
The hotel’s new state-of-the-art gym facility has also been designed to help guests enhance their physical and mental wellbeing.
There’s four specially-designed workout zones for cardio, functional, strength, and free weights to give guests a choice of fitness equipment to suit all strengths and abilities, so no matter whether you fancy doing a quick 10-minutes on the treadmill, or a full HIIT workout and weights session, there’s facilities for everyone’s needs.
King Street Townhouse says its wants its new Gym & Spa to provide a “distinctive experience” to suit people of all lifestyles and wellness routines.
The relaxing Spa Lounge also offers a balanced menu of both light and nutritious food and drinks all day-long, as well as plenty of indulgent treats to tuck into – with a range of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options too.
The new Gym / Credit: King Street Townhouse
“We are delighted to announce the opening of the new King Street Townhouse Gym & Spa,” said Viki Tahmasebi – CEO at THG Experience.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The carefully-curated space touches upon all aspects of wellbeing to offer a place to unwind, recharge and fully escape from the stress of the everyday.
“Not only does the new expansion offer an elevated wellness destination in the heart of the city, but it also enhances our ‘home away from home’ experience for our hotel guests.”
The new King Street Townhouse Gym & Spa is now open.
Spa facilities are open to both residents and guests, and while gym facilities are exclusively open for hotel residents for a limited time, membership options are launching later in 2022.
Featured Image – King Street Townhouse
Trending
The UK’s fastest rising unisex baby names have been revealed
Emily Sergeant
Some names never go out of style, and have remained firmly near the top of the popularity charts for hundreds of years.
On the flip side of that, others fall out of favour as just quickly as they enter the conversation.
But while you can probably still expect to be hearing little ones given the names Oliver, Noah, Olivia, and Isla for the foreseeable future, there’s a good chance it won’t be long before the top 10 looks quite different – with a whole host of new names and trends taking over.
One of the new trends that seems to be a hot topic of conservation for prospective parents at the moment is unisex and gender-neutral baby names.
It’s been a familiar concept for several decades now, with names like Alex, Morgan, Taylor, Ashley, Jamie, Lesley, and Jordan being just some of the names given to babies of either gender over the years, and then more-recently, hearing newborns called Riley, Charlie, River, Frankie, and Sage also becoming a regular occurrence.
The UK’s fastest rising unisex baby names have been revealed / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | Unsplash
Within the last year, however, the trend seems to have taken off even more than ever before, as parents become less and less worried about typical gendered names.
According to recent data, the number of unisex names has increased by 56% here in England and Wales, with a sharp rise in usage in 2022 and 2023 in particular, and high-profile celebrity couples like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively leading the way by naming their first daughter James, and influencers Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury choosing Bambi for their baby girl, many parents are being prompted to take the plunge.
So, what are the fastest-rising unisex baby names being used for both genders then? And what monikers should parents be on the look-out for in the future?
The fastest-rising unisex names in England and Wales
Girls
Marlowe – Up 266 spots from 2020-21
Oakley – Up 249 spots
Blair – New to the Top 1000
Ronnie – New to the Top 1000
Noa – Up 190 spots
Boys
Noa – New to the Top 1000
Marlow – New to the Top 1000
Ren – New to the Top 1000
Ocean – New to the Top 1000
Sunny – Up 195 spots
Marlow / Marlowe is now considered to be a top choice for both genders in the UK, along with Blair, Ronnie, Sonny / Sunny, and Noa – many of which were names that previously weren’t in the top 1000, but has since make their way in.
Sophie Kihm, who is an expert at leading name inspiration platform, Nameberry, has put this rise in unisex name usage down to the flexibility they offer.
She explained to the Metro: “Gender neutral names are rising, both because they give children flexibility should they not identify with their birth gender, but also because gender neutral names are modern choices with contemporary style.”
Featured Image – Pinterest
Trending
Lee Rigby’s son is raising tens of thousands for charity in honour of his dad
Danny Jones
Jack Rigby, the son of soldier Lee Rigby, is raising an absolutely huge amount of money for charity in memory of his father.
Rigby, a former Royal Fusilier who served in Afghanistan for three years, was tragically murdered by extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale outside the Woolwich Barracks in May 2013 and now, over a decade after his death, his son is hoping to raise as much as possible in his honour.
His dad was 25 when he was killed and Jack himself was only two-years-old at the time. Now 13, the inspiring young man set out on his fundraising journey earlier this year, completing a marathon on behalf of Scotty’s Little Soldiers back in May, a military bereavement charity.
Setting himself the goal of reaching the ‘Scotty’s March’ £10k target — i.e. hoping to raise a £1,000 for each year since his passing — Jack and his family have been blown after the fundraiser has already amassed over £55k in donations.
Thank you to @DailyMirror for helping Scotty Member Jack Rigby to boost his fundraising for other bereaved military children just like him. https://t.co/qNnMgcCF9a
With the goalposts now being moved to £60,000 after Jack and his mum Rebecca’s efforts have led to nearly £55k in contributions to the specialised bereavement organisation to support grieving military children and young people up to the age of 25.
Writing in his post when the fundraiser was first set up, Jack said, “This year marked the 10-year anniversary, it’s never easy but this year felt even harder for some reason. To help me through this year I have been concentrating on raising funds and awareness for Scotty’s Little Soldiers…
“This [has] really helped me to concentrate on something positive at a very difficult time while helping this amazing charity“, an intitiave he has been a part ever since he was a young child, adding that he named his dog Scotty in tribute to their important work for military families across the UK.
It was only earlier this year that the teenager spoke out about his father for the first time having already smashed his fundraising target before he had even run his marathon.
Speaking in an exclusive with the Mirror, who have decided to double his total donations to £100,000 as part of a Pride of Britain GoFundMe campaign, Jack says that the “It helps to know [he’s] not the only one in [his] situation and that there’s people [he] can reach out and talk to”.
As for mum, she said: “Jack was so excited to see the amount grow and seeing how much each donation made him smile meant the world to me. He and I read all the messages of support and were thankful for them all. We honestly couldn’t believe how kind and generous people were being.”
Emily Sergeant -
11th July 2022 
