There's a huge new hotel right next to Manchester Airport's Terminal 2 - and it's aiming to challenge perceptions. The 280-bedroom hotel is the newest in the Holiday Inn stable, but with some stylish twists that those familiar with the brand may not quite expect.
The hotel has opened this week as part of the Airport City development, with its sister venue, the budget hotel Ibis, opening next door to it last November. The £45m development represents the first new hotels that have opened for eight years at Manchester Airport.
But they will not be the last on the ambitious £7bn Airport City site. In the next year, they will be joined by a fellow IHG hotels stablemate, Tribe, which is fast taking shape behind them on the site just a two minute walk into Terminal 2 at the International Airport.
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The brand new Holiday Inn opened its doors to guests for the first time this week - with the first four floors of the hotel open and bedrooms available to book now. The remaining upper floors are still being completed and set to open in May.
That will include the spectacular top floor 7 where a sky bar, Glo, will boast simply stunning views across the terminal to one side of the building, and over Manchester and beyond to the other. It will be only the second Glo rooftop bar in the Holiday Inn stable after Ibiza, and will include an outdoor terrace for guests to enjoy in the warmer months.
Also on the top floor will be a huge gym for guests to use - including treadmills and a Peloton bike positioned in front of the floor to ceiling windows to watch the planes flying in and out of the airport.
In a first for the Holiday Inn brand, there is also a Turkish restaurant, Firin, on the ground floor. The vast site will be serving up a range of Turkish mezze and traditional pide pizzas and sharing dishes that bosses hope will offer the perfect spot for a feast before guests fly off to their next destination.
Firin is the Turkish for "bakery" and so at the heart of the restaurant is an open theatre kitchen with a central stove where guests will be able to see the fresh-baked breads and pide being made in front of them. Bosses say it aims to be a modern version of the traditional Istanbul pide salon.
Alongside Firin will be a traditional Holiday Inn style restaurant which will serve up full English breakfast buffets, brunches, lunches and dinners. As with all Holiday Inns, all children staying with adults at the hotel can eat for FREE at lunchtime and dinner during their stay.
Also on the ground floor is the spacious Open Lobby area and a Starbucks cafe. Here you'll also find a handy flights board updating you on the latest news on all arrivals and departures into Manchester Airport, set onto a wall with a colourful mural of Manchester featuring the city's best-known landmarks.
It is now the closest hotel to Terminal 2 on Palma Avenue, and is also just a few minutes’ walk from both Terminals 1 and 3.
Ben McNally, director of sales and marketing for the hotel, said: "People may have this idea of Holiday Inn as a bit beige, but this is the next generation of Holiday Inn and it's really not like that at all. We are really pushing the envelope here in terms of the style and what we have on offer.
"We're proud to have the first Firin restaurant in the group, and if it's a success it will be rolled out to other hotels across the world. One of the owners of the hotel has a Turkish background and he really wanted to get that vibe here in Manchester.
"We think it's the perfect menu and style for those big groups wanting lots of sharer dishes before they fly off on holiday."
Ben added that it was exciting to be part of the Airport City development that will become the "hotel district" with six new hotels in total when it is complete. He said: "We are the first new properties in eight years, and our opening comes amid exciting times for Manchester Airport.
"They have a target of 55mn passengers by 2025 and that's a lot of heads on a lot of beds in the years to come."
The bedrooms
Each of the 280 bedrooms feature floor to ceiling windows and are equipped with coffee and tea making facilities, WiFi, and en-suite walk-in showers. There is a range of double, twin, family, premium and accessible rooms with prices starting for standard rooms at a special opening rate of £96 which will then rise to £105 which you can book online here.
The hotel prides itself on being family friendly, with all rooms having double beds and the option of a sofa bed for those with children - with all kids staying and dining for FREE. The hotel also features a number of pet friendly rooms, with any pets being able to stay alongside their owner for £15 a night.
The first four floors of bedrooms are open to guests, with floors 5 and 6 to follow in the spring. And when these floors open there will be a spectacular king suite on the sixth floor with its own exterior terrace boasting the very best views of the planes flying in and out of Terminal 2.
And while it's now the closest hotel to Terminal 2, once you shut your curtains you'd never even know an airport was next door. All rooms have been triple glazed to make them completely sound proof to traffic from both the road it sits next to and the international airport.
There is limited parking available at the hotel for guests, but this is on a first come first served basis. But parking packages can be booked with the hotel, who are working with the main Manchesdter Airport car parks that sit next to the hotel.
It is around a 15 minute walk from the hotel to the mainline Manchester Airport train station and Metrolink Tram stop.
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