The city centre is set to be home to some brand new boutique accommodation as the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel opens its doors at the start of next month.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants – the leading global boutique luxury brand from IHG – will open its Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Thursday 1st October.
It’s the brand’s fourth and final hotel to open in the UK, joining sites in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is a magnificent, terracotta Grade II listed building, with a history dating back to 1890 when it first opened as The Refuge Assurance Company headquarters. The grand clock tower at the centre of its striking Victorian architecture is an unmistakable landmark on Manchester’s skyline.
All 270 loft-style bedrooms – including 11 suites – were designed to make the most of the stunning, double and triple-height ceilings. Other original, period features – including glazed bricks, tiles and faience, stained glass and carved wooden staircases – meet contemporary fittings and interiors, such as the three-metre-tall bronze horse by artist Sophie Dickens, which sits in the lobby and is a piece that denotes a horse-and-carriage ‘turning circle’ that once stood on the spot.
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Guest rooms offer an homage to Manchester’s iconic music scene, with vinyl records of the city’s most iconic bands – from the Stone Roses and Oasis, to Elbow and Take That – available to play on record players in each room.
Each room borrows design inspiration from the spirited and renowned Manchester party and music scene, with vibrant, bespoke textiles designed by Timorous Beasties, which incorporate the iconic Manchester worker bee and bold contemporary graphic prints adorning the walls.
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Hotel guests will enjoy Kimpton’s signature perks such as in-room yoga mats and the ‘Forgot It? We’ve Got It!’ service offering important guest essentials.
Free tuck boxes of treats in all rooms – as well as fresh milk and mineral water in the fridge – make for a relaxing in-room experience, and guests can also expect the brand’s industry-leading pet-friendly attitude and an approachable luxury experience fuelled by a hotel team who is committed to delivering heartfelt care and personal service in surprising ways.
Those wanting to make human connections can meet fellow visitors across social distanced tables at the nightly Kimpton Social Hour to bond over hosted drinks from 5-6pm at The Winter Garden – an interior glasshouse within The Refuge, which is a dining room and public bar set in a 10,000 square foot of space.
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IHG / Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
A 10-minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly Station, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is located in the heart of the city, opposite Oxford Road Station. Visible from all around thanks to its clock tower, it is less than five minutes by foot from the world-famous LGBTQ area of Canal Street, and close to the city centre’s shopping areas and department stores.
For those looking to explore Manchester on two wheels, Kimpton-branded bikes are available for hire free-of-charge.
Destination bar and restaurant, The Refuge by Volta, serves globally inspired small plates, craft beers and cocktails curated by the award-winning team from Volta and has a uniquely curated programme of events and happenings.
The hotel also offers 17 meeting rooms – featuring charming Edwardian detailing alongside 21st century technology – with capacity from four to 1,000, thanks to the largest ballroom in a hotel in the north west of England.
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Johan Scheepers – General Manager at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – said: “Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is the latest addition to the global Kimpton brand. Each Kimpton hotel is an escape from the ordinary, and Kimpton Clocktower Hotel will offer a real ‘wow’ factor stay with a warm Mancunian welcome.
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“Kimpton continues on its incredible expansion across the globe with the opening of Kimpton Clocktower Hotel marking our fourth opening in the UK.
The Kimpton brand is rooted in human heartfelt connections and we look forward to welcoming guests and locals in a city world renowned for its warmth, charm and exuberance.”
Double rooms at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel start from £120 (inc VAT, Service Charge and Full English Breakfast).
Bookings are now available via the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel website here.
The safety and wellbeing of guests and colleagues amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is of top priority, so the newly-introduced IHG Clean Promise giving guests extra reassurance and you can find out more at kimptonhotels.com/Clean
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BBC cancel three hit shows, including legendary stand-up series, Live at the Apollo
Danny Jones
The BBC have reportedly cancelled three of their hit TV shows, including the long-standing Live at the Apollo.
With the company facing even more cuts and the television industry facing the ever-changing obstacles set about by increasingly dominant digital platforms, the hit live stand-up series, which has run for over two decades, is the latest big IP on the chopping block.
But that’s not all: joining them in cancellation after long stints on the box are Celebrity Mastermind and the most recently rebooted version of British favourite, Blankety Blank, brought back with Bradley Walsh as host back in 2020.
With roughly 65 full-length seasons between them, and literally hundreds of episodes under their belt, the unfortunate trio have fallen foul for varying reasons.
At first I read that as Celebrity Masterchef, but that show is immortal.
Really surprised to see Live at the Apollo go. It can't cost much and has been instrumental in giving many comedians their big TV breaks. https://t.co/BrT8k2hoYd
While Walsh announced that he was quitting the programme after three series (the fourth was set to begin recording later this year) largely due to scheduling conflicts, the driving force behind the decision is the aforementioned cutbacks.
In case you hadn’t heard, the BBC has seen an approximately £500 million reduction in annual spending, which has meant that one or more productions were always going to be hit hard as a result.
They are aiming to save upwards of £100m annually, which is set to come in the form of 100-150 hours less originally telly by the end of 2028.
Issuing an official statement, they say: “We are incredibly proud of all three of these much-loved shows and would like to thank everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, for bringing them to screen and making them such a success over many years.
“Unfortunately, we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challenges, and these savings have been identified from the entertainment genre.”
With Live at the Apollo, in particular, having served as an important proving ground and spotlighting stage for rising comics, the UK mainstay originally hosted by Jack Dee is sadly going the way of Mock the Week by being pulled after 22 years on the air.
As you can see, it’s already been heavily mourned by performers around the comedy circuit and fans alike. It goes without saying that those within the industry know all too well how important it’s been.
Unfortunately, more announcements and cuts are expected throughout the remainder of the year as the BBC‘s entertainment arm tries to regain profitability.
This means that these three likely won’t be the last to be axed; who knows? Given that even the biggest of IPs don’t seem to be safe, maybe even mainline Mastermind could be in trouble…
It’s also worth noting that this news comes not long after the media giants launched their big campaign to reassert their domestic significance and beyond, with more and more people straying away from the TV licence in favour of modern streaming.
You can read the full ‘savings’ update right HERE.
Co-op Live appears to tease major Mariah Carey Christmas gig sending fans into a frenzy
Emily Sergeant
All we want for Christmas… is Mariah Carey in Manchester.
And maybe, just maybe, our Christmas wish might come true very soon, as Co-op Live has taken to social media today to tease its next gig announcement with its hundreds of thousands of followers, and without jumping to conclusions, it does appear to be hinting at the queen of Christmas herself making an appearance.
Look, we know it’s only July and right in the middle of summer, but even if you think it’s too early to be talking about the festive season, you have to admit that the potential of Mariah Carey coming to Manchester is worth getting excited any time of the year.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever, taking to sold-out Manchester Arena stage on 10 December 2017.
Mariah has not performed in Manchester since, but all that could be set to change as Co-op Live has hinted that an announcement is ‘coming soon’.
Taking to its official social media platforms today, Co-op Live posted a very festive-themed AI video of snow falling on the arena as the camera zoomed in and the instrumental of Mariah’s absolutely iconic hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ playing in the background, and the caption hinting at the song’s title too.
Of course, we could be wrong, it might not be Mariah at all, but if the 300+ comments from fans in a frenzy thinking the same as us are anything to go by, it’s looking like we might be right.
“The countdown to Christmas is on,” Co-op Live said in its video, before letting fans know that they would be getting some form of confirmation soon.
Emily Sergeant -
8th September 2020 
