This Manchester hotel has been called the best in the North by The Times

It’s not yet been open a year, but the stunning conversion of Manchester’s old stock exchange into a luxury hotel by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs has made quite the impression.

A striking example of Edwardian architecture, the meticulous transformation saw the boutique hotel becoming a member of Relais & Châteaux, an association of 580 unique hotels and restaurants throughout the world owned operated by independent entrepreneurs, before it even opened.

Just a few weeks after opening, the hotel, with its collection of 40 rooms including two signature suites and a stunning 3,500 square foot penthouse residence, was awarded the title of one of World’s Best New Luxury Hotels 2019 by the researchers Luxury Travel Intelligence.

The hotel then accommodated NHS healthcare workers and medical professionals free of charge from The Manchester Univeristy NHS Foundation Trust at the height of the pandemic earlier this year, providing them with a comfortable place to stay and remain safe while continuing their incredible work during the challenging time.

Now, national newspaper The Times has declared Stock Exchange Hotel the best in the North.

Co-owners Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs have spent six years and £20 million on the landmark grade II listed building, but it’s been “well worth the effort,” says the newspaper.

The piece praises the “slick” rooms, decorated in calming shades of “sage green, dove grey and cappuccino cream”, with “covetable” high-backed velvet and suede nest chairs and white marble bathrooms.

And the location, of course – minutes from King Street, Manchester Art Gallery and the bars and restaurants of the Northern Quarter – not that you need to step outside for some of “the best food in the city” says The Times.

The food and drink operation in the hotel is overseen by Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge in The Bull & Bear restaurant, housed under the magnificent dome which, for decades, was the trading floor of the stock exchange.

Tom’s “fuss-free food works beautifully” here, says the piece, with “contemporary interpretations of classics” such as chicken kiev and beef suet sticky toffee pudding.

The open kitchen “adds extra theatre” – though it also helps distract diners from the wall-mounted TVs everywhere, says The Times, adding that the screens are “the one bum note at an otherwise exceptional northern powerhouse”.

Overall, though Gary, Ryan and the GG Hospitality team have have “scored a hit” says the newspaper, who say the hotel is the best not just in Manchester but the North.