The new Manchester hotel inside three historic textile warehouses – with incredible views of the city

There’s another new hotel on Manchester’s scene – and Whitworth Locke really is a stunner.

Based inside three former cotton warehouses on the corner of Whitworth Street and Princess Street, the hotel opened last week after an extensive refurbishment of the listed buildings.

It is the most ambitious venue yet from the Locke Hotels group, and boasts spectacular views across many of the city’s back streets you may never have noticed before – including cobbled streets used for the filming of the new series of Peaky Blinders only last month.

The 160-studio aparthotel is designed around the central glass atrium, which houses pop-up cocktail bar The Conservatory and immersive co-working spaces for both guests and city residents.

It also houses Manchester’s second Foundation Coffee House, which has its own entrance off Whitworth Street, adding to its existing Northern Quarter venue.

Consisting of three former export mills, Central House, Johnson House and Dominion House, Whitworth Locke has been knitted together by a blush colour palette and transformed by acclaimed New York architects and designers Grzywinski+Pons to reflect the city’s culture, taking inspiration from its industrial past and progressive present.

It was formerly The Atrium Aparthotel, but has been completely transformed by the new owners, with luxurious interiors, textiles and colourways with the use of sage, taupes, apricots and terracotta, complimented by dark tones to reflect the Manchester sky resulting in the feel of “noir luxury”.

And the bedroom views, particularly from the Whitworth Suites out onto the Rochdale Canal, are really quite stunning.

Responding to the changing trends of today’s traveller, each suite or studio is designed to revolve around Locke’s designer living spaces, allowing guests to surround themselves in space and comfort – a sort of second home with bespoke bathrooms and fully-fitted kitchens, ideal for short and longer stays.

“Whitworth Locke encompasses our ambitions and is demonstrative of the brand’s future,” said Locke co-founder Eric Jafari. “This is a very special project for us.”

Locke Hotels has also launched its own crossfit gym, The Locker Room, designed by the team at NoChintz, with plans for regular yoga classes at the Manchester venue too.

Eric continues: “We know modern travellers increasingly value their social experiences and personal connections. We’ve created a space where people can truly feel at home. From our perspective, a second home is more than the four walls, it’s defined by a combination of your community and ability to maintain your daily habits.”

The first phase of refurbishments are complete on the former Johnson and Dominion buildings, but works are continuing on the 19th century Central House, distinctive as the only example of Scottish baronial style in the city, which should be ready for guests in Spring 2019.

Intriguingly, that building also houses a basement swimming pool – that is set to be transformed into a 1920s underground ‘speakeasy’ bar as part of the developments.

The launch of Whitworth Locke follows hot on the heels of Ancoats’ newest hotel AC by Marriott, that opened earlier in November at a burgeoning time on Manchester’s hotel scene.

Whitworth Locke follows the brand’s launch of Eden Locke in Edinburgh 2017 and East London’s Leman Locke which opened in October 2016.

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