Treehouse Hotel opened its first outpost just by Oxford Circus — a top-floor retreat above Regent Street where retro-cute meets grown-up whimsy (no doubt a breath of fresh air for business travellers who are after somewhere with a bit more personality).
The vibe here is very much nature-meets-scout-hut kitsch. This boutique bolthole for urban escapists is part of the same family as the sustainability-loving 1Hotels: that is, the brainchild of Barry Sternlicht, the American property-developer hospitality-industry heavyweight who dreamt up W Hotels back in the day.
Owned and operated by Starwood Hotels (Sternlicht’s group), this 100-room (more to come) venue clearly benefits from being a small operation, and each outpost is shaped by its local context. Treehouse might be a US-owned brand, it’s one that’s growing mindfully in a world of cookie-cutter stays and that counts for something.
Look and feel
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Clearly designed with fun-loving grown-ups in mind, it’s all reclaimed timber. Quirky touches such as cuckoo clocks are soundtracked by Luke and Justin Unabomber — a reminder of Manchester's club scene clout of yore.
The rooms come in a few categories, but we especially loved the idea of nesting in the ones with two queen beds, as families or with friends.
Once inside, the mini-bars are a clever curation of zero-plastic indies — Karma Cola and Two Farmers crisps speak to their low-food-miles mentality.
Expect warm Northern hospitality with North American service-culture creds; it's a human-light model, sure (pick up the phone in the room to try reach an operator and you’ll get a recorded stateside accent) — but when you check in or make an order in the eatery, you get the sense that those who work here want to be here, which is a rare treat in many more affordable establishments these days.
For those with Soho House member sensibilities, the screening room, gym and event spaces will appeal. As for the bedrooms, they feel on the back-to-basics side, while the en-suite bathrooms only have showers.
The green credentials
It has never been easier to get here by train, thanks to the excellent service connects Euston and Manchester Piccadilly in a couple of hours. There’s pride in the service and passion behind the smiles — rare for a high-rise hotel in the heart of the city.
This sleek operation is still in the throes of a transformation helping regenerate Deansgate, but the location — right by the river within earshot of the bells of Manchester Cathedral — is ideal. And when its rooftop bar and restaurant open at the end of the year, the transformation will be complete. What used to be an eyesore of concrete corner is now a Brutalist beaut with beehives on the roof, and The Pollen Club’s Padel courts below.
Their interiors allude to nature-related themes, but the hotel doesn't wear a big green badge or risk accusations of greenwashing by suggesting they're outright eco-warriors — there's just a pleasant undercurrent of thoughtfulness here.
The restaurant
Low-waste high-end dining awaits at Pip, where chef Mary-Ellen McTague’s menu amounts to a masterclass in seasonality in the window-less ground-floor sunken restaurant, which is a warm hug of an all-day eatery.
If the way to your heart via the stomach involves all things locally sourced, regenerative, foraged and pickled, the sustainability-minded omnivore dining here is especially nourishing. Even more so when you appreciate how's it’s also thanks to a much-loved Mancunian female chef killing it in the kitchen and setting new benchmarks in an otherwise male-dominated industry.
Her nose-to-tail, root-to-fruit nous elicits lots of imaginative zero-waste creations — the cauli-kraut is a winner (main courses here start from £18). Black pudding and crumpets for breakfast and beef pudding and hot pot made from regenerative farm meat are comfort food at its best. The cocktails are also inspired with lots of made-from-scratch seasonal enhancements.
Out and about
Manchester is a close-to-home walkable city-break which has shades of Manhattan to some of its streets with a Brooklyn-like buzz. Climat (8th Floor, Blackfriars House, St Mary’s Parsonage, M3 2JA; climatmanchester.com) is a wine-led restaurant with panoramic views right on your doorstep. Named after Burgundy’s climats — tiny, defined vineyard plots — nook a counter seat at sundown and swivel round between sips and bites for the best Golden Hour views.
Further afield, the Royal Exchange Theatre (St Ann’s Square, M2 7DH; royalexchange.co.uk) is an iconic theatre-in-the-round inside a historic former cotton exchange a five-minute walk away. People’s History Museum (Left Bank, Spinningfields, M3 3ER; phm.org.uk) is also the national museum of democracy and activism, and it’s best experienced with Bob Dinn’s free guided tour on Saturday mornings — he brings the stories behind those banners to life, from the Suffragette movement to Peterloo.
Manchester Art Gallery (Mosley Street, M2 3JL; manchesterartgallery.org) is super grand and fantastically free, with smart commentary throughout for forward-thinking lovers of social justice, historic and contemporary art. Allow time to explore every corner. Explore the Northern Quarter (Oldham Street to Stevenson Square, M1) the quirky indie neighbourhood of vintage shops, record stores, street art, and independent bars and cafés. Seek out Manchester Craft and Design Centre (17 Oak Street, M4 5JD; craftanddesign.com) for up-and-coming makers and designers in a converted Victorian market hall full of hand-crafted jewellery, ceramics, textiles — and a great café, Fred’s, in the middle.
Rooms from £199 for bed and breakfast; treehousehotels.com
