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Manchester’s Hotel Gotham named one of the world’s most luxurious hotels – and you can see why

It's a landmark in Manchester.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 2nd November 2022

A landmark hotel in Manchester city centre scooped a big prize recently, and was named as one of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

Hotel Gotham, which towers at the top of King Street in an art deco-style former bank building, was crowned as the best Luxury City Hotel.

The five-star hotel scooped the accolade in the World Luxury Hotel Awards, where other winners included world-famous hotels like the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh and the Pan Pacific London.

Hotel Gotham has a 1930s interior filled with black and brass furniture and jewel-toned velvets.

There are 55 bedrooms within this stunning building, and five suites, all designed to ‘encourage a bit of decadence’.

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Several of the rooms have free-standing bathtubs in them, popped in next to king-size beds draped in soft fur throws.

There are the five ‘inner sanctum’ suites which are even more opulent than the rest, each one named after a local figure.

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These suites at Hotel Gotham transport guests back to the ‘golden age of travel’ with a giant ‘wonderwall’ screen, vintage suitcases, buckled belts and hat boxes.

Credit: Hotel Gotham Manchester

The hotel is also home to Club Brass, a private members’ club up on the seventh floor with rooftop terraces, and its restaurant Honey, which has two AA Rosettes.

Soon, Hotel Gotham will open up its vaults as an underground events space known as Gilt, inspired by the Gatsby era.

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You can see why it got luxury status too – its facilities include being home to Auto Vivendi, an exclusive supercar club.

The hotel’s chauffeur service is in a Bentley too. Pretty fancy.

Rooms at Hotel Gotham start from £160 per night and go up to £1000 a night for the suites.

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Hotel Gotham manager Mario Ovsenjak told the Manchester Evening News: “I am absolutely delighted with the latest award for Hotel Gotham. It’s our 20th prize, this time on the international stage.

“It comes at a time when the hospitality industry is still on a very slow and laborious road to recovery after the painful two years of Covid-19 related restrictions. This award is a testament to all the cast and crew of Hotel Gotham, who work tirelessly day in, day out to achieve the very best standards of service.

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“In doing so, the Hotel Gotham team take enormous pride in achieving such great worldwide recognition. It is particularly gratifying to win such a prestigious award in our seventh year of operation.

“This award reaffirms that Manchester as a destination offers the highest standards of accommodation to UK and international travellers alike.”

Featured image: Hotel Gotham / The Manc Group

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Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets

Danny Jones Danny Jones Real-life Pac-Man experience Manchester

Manchester already boasts a whole host of interactive games bars and activity destinations to boast, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there are very places on the planet where you can find a place to play a real-life version of Pac-Man.

First announced back in October and now scheduled to debut in March 2025, the Pac-Man Live Experience is the newest addition to Manchester’s growing entertainment scene and it’s promising to be a popular one too.

This brand-new life-sized immersive experience plunges players into the nostalgic world of the iconic video game we all know and love, only instead of using joysticks on an old-school arcade machine, they’ll physically sprint, dodge, and chomp their way through a maze.

Although the launch itself is still a few months away, the team behind this ingenious idea are getting ready for the frenzy and putting early bird tickets on sale ahead of opening day.

Credit: Concept Image (supplied)

So how does it work?

Good question: participants can gear up in a PAC vest and step into the role of the instantly recognisable yellow chomper, collecting power pellets, dodging the classic ghost characters – BLINKY, PINKY, INKY, and CLYDE – and racking up points on their way to victory.

Guided through an epic 12-level adventure, players will be led by the ‘PAC-MASTER’: a lively gameshow host who serves as commentator and referee; players will also be accompanied by immersive in-game effects like sound bites, lighting, and haptic (vibration) feedback to elevate the experience. Cool, right?

The striking Arcade Arena will feature two massive PAC-MAN courts projected onto the floor, while dynamic visuals transform the walls, fully immersing participants in the retro arcade universe. There’s no need for headsets either, so players can embark on a multi-sensory adventure, seamlessly blending the real world with augmented reality.

Created by Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the CEO and Founder of Little Lion Entertainment – the same team behind The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Tomb Raider, and Chaos Karts to the likes of London and more recently Manchester –

The whole thing has been brought to life in partnership with Bandai Namco Entertainment, lending the proper licensing to make the experience feel both fun and authentic. It’s the real deal.

Credit: Supplied

Early bird tickets for Pac-Man Live Manchester

If you’re not sold on playing a human-sized, real-life game of Pac-Man in a huge augmented-reality arena right here in Manchester then we don’t know what to tell you, to be honest – all we know is that we’ll be first in line when it arrives.

The Pac-Man Live Experience comes to the Arcade Arena on 22 March next year in line with the game’s 40th anniversary, and they’re inviting players of all ages and providing engaging gameplay for younger participants while delivering a nostalgic throwback that parents and grandparents will cherish.

Better yet, if you book during the early bird window, you can access discount ticket prices from just £25 per person too.

Early bird tickets go on sale at 12 noon today (Thursday, 21 November) – you can grab yours HERE.

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Featured Images — Supplied

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Blood Brothers at Palace Theatre, Manchester – a timeless classic

Greg James Greg James Sean Jones and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End making it one of only three musicals ever to achieve that monumental milestone – and now it’s visiting us here in Manchester.

“Oh Bright New Day”, Blood Brothers has just landed back at the Palace Theatre. This musical written by Willy Russell is a British piece of theatre that is a staple in the musical theatre tapestry of our country. 

For anyone who is unfamiliar with this iconic story, it is an emotional tale of two twins who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with the most fateful of consequences.

The story’s central character, Mrs Johnston is the linchpin in this whole story and carries us through the show.

This role has been played by many superb women over the years including Mel C, Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson and nearly all of the Nolan Sisters. This time, Mrs Johnston is performed by Vivienne Carlyle who provides a lovely maternal performance. 

The other two lead roles are Mickey and Eddie, played by Sean Jones and Joe Sleight respectively.

These are really complex roles to play as the actors have to portray the characters from early school years to grown adults.

The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

Sean Jones has been playing the role of Mickey now for nearly 25 years and so he is no stranger to this character. And I must say, he still fantastically plays the part, even when playing young Mickey, and the show really takes off when he enters the stage.

Joe Sleight is someone who I had not seen in the role of Eddie before and he gave just as strong a performance as Jones. He offered a real contrast to his counterpart with a really beautiful, touching performance. 

The whole ensemble did a gorgeous job of helping to carry these characters throughout the musical, showing a real flair for multi-roling and beautiful musicality in the group numbers too. 

Something which elevates this already gripping story though is the music. There are many recurring musical motifs throughout the show that on the surface may come off as repetitive but they offer perspective on how things can evolve and change over time.

Of course the song though that everybody is perhaps familiar with is the power ballad, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’. This is the climax of the show and what a climax it is. There’s not a dry eye in the house when we reach this point of the story, I can assure you! 

So, whether you are returning to watch this show again, perhaps know the story from studying it in English GCSE or seeing it for the first time, it will always be an absolutely timeless classic.

Blood Brothers is on at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 30 November. Tickets are available HERE.

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Featured image: Jack Merriman

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