Housed in one of Manchester’s grandest listed buildings, Hotel Gotham is steeped in as much history as it is in luxury. The award-winning hotel has 60 bedrooms, an exclusive rooftop bar and one of the best restaurants in the city centre. I went to spend the night and find out for myself whether it would stand the test of time.
I love a hotel where you feel like a VIP as soon as you enter. A door is opened for me, I am immediately welcomed to the hotel and asked for my name by which time my bags are already being scrambled to my room. The reception is a short lift ride away and I am greeted warmly by the lovely Grace who seamlessly checks me in, provides me with a welcome drink and takes me to my room, showing me around to make sure I have all that I need.
Accommodation at Hotel Gotham
The room I have is unlike any other I’ve experienced in Manchester, with high ceilings, faux fur throws and lavishly decorated with dark wood and leather. An old luggage trunk acts as a coffee table containing binoculars and a beautiful welcome platter of chocolates and fresh fruit. A writing desk contains a copy of the ‘Gotham Bugle’ a newspaper containing everything you need to know about the hotel from the wifi password to how much laundry service is. The bathroom is well-lit and contains all the amenities you’d expect from a five-star hotel. What really grabs my attention though, is the incredible windows, almost floor to ceiling and in the original settings from 1928. The view of course could be better, but it’s hard to have any kind of view when you are right in the city centre.
The location of this hotel is the absolute best for anyone new to the city, a few steps in one direction and you have Market Street, the beating heart of Manchester, full of shops and the Arndale shopping centre. The hotel is at the top of King Street, where you’ll find some of the best restaurants and bars then a stone’s throw away you’re on Deansgate and Spinning Fields with some of the best places to eat and drink in the city. But don’t worry if you don’t feel like venturing out into the cold, wet northern streets, there’s plenty to keep you satisfied inside.
Hotel Gotham is the home of Club Brass the 7th floor Private Members Club with three rooftop terraces affording spectacular views over Manchester City Centre. The good news here is that, when you stay the Night at Hotel Gotham, you automatically have access to Club Brass throughout your stay. Here you can enjoy DJ sets as well as live music and most importantly some spectacular cocktails such as The King of King Street, Bellboy Barry’s Bramble and Lady Crumpsall’s Champagne Cocktail.
As much as I do like a drink, I was more excited for the food, having experienced the tasting menu here before with BBB I was more than keen to get my teeth into the a la carte menu.
Dining at Hotel Gotham
My companion and I shared crispy buttermilk fried chicken with chimichurri and deliciously moreish padron peppers with a side of potato and rosemary sourdough, which was so delicately grilled to perfection that the aroma was just wonderful. I followed my starters with a beautifully rare fillet steak served with a fat braised onion and hot, crispy skinny fries whilst my companion absolutely devoured a plate of lamb rump with peas and feta.
I remembered from my last visit that dessert was worth saving room for so I had to have the Casa Luker dark chocolate delice with tonka bean ice cream and a coffee caramel ganache. The smooth texture of the delice and sweetness of the ganache was just heavenly! We ended our lovely meal with a signature cocktail each, opting for the black forest martini and ‘Breakfast at Gatsby’s’ complete with candy floss on top, ridiculous yet delicious.
Usually at this point in a review I say I went to bed, had breakfast then left and would conclude my stay, however, I had such a good night’s sleep at Gotham due to many factors. The pillow menu meant we were able to select the exact pillow we wanted instead of the down pillows usually offered by the best hotels and the room was absolutely silent and pitch black, something so many hotels just can’t seem to get right. Even being in the city centre, without double glazing, I was left undisturbed all night long and awoke refreshed and eager to see what was for breakfast.
Breakfast at Hotel Gotham is absolutely worth getting up for, with a continental selection you can help yourself to as well as a hot breakfast menu that the chefs will prepare. The food selection was just lovely, with fresh honeycomb to go on thick Greek yoghurt with a bowl of sliced fruit and buttery pastries crying out to be smothered in the selection of jams on each table, it was truly hard to resist. I had to get a full English breakfast of course (that’s how you judge a hotel is it not?) and it went down very well whilst we planned the rest of our day and enjoyed the view of Manchester at rush hour.
You may hear the name and think the hotel is affiliated with a certain Marvel comic, that the dark and crime ridden city of Gotham would be the opposite of where you would want to stay while in Manchester, but Hotel Gotham is something out of a comic book in it’s own right, artistic flair in its rooms, colourful characters who make your stay memorable and dining options that will leave you always coming back for more.
Hotel Gotham
100 King Street
Manchester
M2 4WU
United Kingdom
