A central Manchester hotel that’s all about the details
Living in the North West, most of my visits to Manchester tend to be day trips, so when I was asked to come and check out The Alan Hotel for a review stay I leapt at the chance to spend a full weekend in the city!
The Alan focuses hugely on it’s design and aesthetic appeal, which is something you’ll notice as soon as you step in. The décor perfectly combines warm, earthy and natural tones and textures with the industrial chic that is such a huge part of Manchester and it’s history.
As well as design-led rooms and suites, The Alan also has an on site cocktail bar, meeting space (SITU) and an open plan restaurant, where you can watch your meal being prepared right in front of you. The bar and dining areas aren’t huge, but all share a similar intimate feel, with those same earthy tones and subtle lighting contrasting wonderfully with the exposed pipes and brickwork throughout.
Disclaimer: Although I stayed at The Alan for a PR trip, all experiences and opinions expressed in this blog are unbiased and 100% my own.
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Where is The Alan Hotel?
The Alan is situated in a fantastic location at the heart of Manchester, a stones throw from St Peter’s square, and quite literally over the road from Manchester Art Gallery. So if you’re looking for a comfortable, stylish and contemporary place to stay whilst you explore Manchester, The Alan ticks all the right boxes.
If you’re visiting Manchester for the first time, you may find that the city feels a little spread out, but using the Metro you can easily get around. St Peter’s Square is a busy Metro stop that you can use to easily travel to other stations and lines around the city if you have plans to travel a little farther out, with a lot of attractions such as the Etihad stadium and the Lowry centre being less than 30 minutes away. However, you will plenty to see and do within walking distance of the hotel.
How to get to The Alan Hotel
With it’s central location, The Alan is easy to get to via public transport. If you are arriving to Manchester by train, it’s just 10 minutes by bus or tram from Manchester Piccadilly Station, or a 15 minute walk.
I wouldn’t recommend driving to the city centre if you can help it, as there is no onsite parking for the hotel, and public car parks in Manchester can be expensive, especially for stays over 24 hours. That being said, The Alan does have a partnership with the nearby Q Park, which gives guests discounted parking. You can find full details about this on The Alan’s website here.
If you’re arriving from even further afield by air, Manchester Airport is linked to the city centre via the Metrolink, which stops at Manchester Piccadilly Station.
Room review: The Alan Hotel Signature Suite
We stayed in one of The Alan’s signature suites, which features a large open plan room with a lounge area, rainfall shower and a ridiculously big bed!
True to form, the room featured heavily on the industrial chic and unique design touches, which included cosy rugs, a handmade vanity unit and a stylish and spacious work area with a resin cast desk by Robin Glazby.
The high ceiling and tall windows all around the suite allow the light to flood in beautifully through the soft voiles, which really added to its calming atmosphere. The soft furnishings and natural textures make the large space feel very comforting and cosy. Often you can feel like you are rattling around in a suite, but the use of space in The Alan is perfect.
Talking of space, I can’t not mention the ‘Emperor’ sized double bed (who even knew that was a thing?!). I could roll over twice from one side of this thing and not fall off of the other! It doesn’t compromise on quality either, I had a really restful nights sleep in this massive expanse of a bed!
The room also came with all the amenities you would expect to find, such as your tea and coffee making facilities, toiletries and a hairdryer.
There were also bath robes and slippers in the room, giving you even more of an excuse to relax and unwind whilst you’re here. Interestingly there was an option to buy the robes to take home for £25, but to be honest I don’t think the price was justified. I don’t think you’d struggle to find a bathrobe of better quality for a similar price on the high street.
The toiletries in the open plan bathroom (I’ll get on to that shortly!) were lovely however! The hand soap, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner were all Haeckels natural products which had amazing scents. The hand soap in particular had a really unique aniseed scent that I had to keep going back for another sniff of.
A quirky bathroom layout
One of the most ‘interesting’ features of the signature suite layout at The Alan, is the open plan shower. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin. The shower is a focal feature in the centre of the room, and from the right angle, you can see pretty much everything!
With that in mind, I’d advise you to think carefully about how comfortable you are with your roommate if you’re sharing! For couples this is probably absolutely fine, maybe even a plus, but if you’re here on business with a colleague, not so much!
The shower itself was great though, with a nice waterfall shower head, hot water and lovely fluffy towels.
Dining at The Alan Hotel’s restaurant
At The Alan, dining is more than just a meal—it’s an experience. Seated in one of two inviting areas, you’ll find yourself immersed in a culinary journey. The main dining space, with its cosy booths and intimate tables, sets the scene for smaller gatherings of up to four. Alternatively, closer to the hotel lobby, there is a more spacious table which is ideal for larger groups
What sets the restaurant at The Alan apart is its open-plan kitchen, where your meal is prepared right before your eyes .You can watch the chefs work their craft with precision, transforming fresh ingredients into culinary delights. It really does add an extra dimension to the restaurant experience
Dinner at The Alan
The dinner menu at The Alan is concise but well thought out, and there were several options that I could have gone for!
We started with a couple of small dishes from the ‘bites’ section of the menu to share.We had the Black olive and semi dried tomato tapenade, paired with some melba toast for a bit of crunch. We also had the Caramelized red onion and butterbean hummus, served up with some warm ciabatta.
Both of these small plates were delicious, easily an 8 out of 10 for flavours at least, making me really excited for the following courses!
It’s worth mentioning too, that the dishes were served in a kind of tapas style, so they basically came out as an when they were ready, so just something to bear in mind when you order if you prefer the courses to come one after the other.
For my starter I ordered the coffee seared beef fillet. The portion was on the smaller size in comparison to the brown buttered wild mushroom cavatelli that Matt had ordered (which could quite easily have passed as a main!), but it certainly wasn’t lacking in flavour.
The beef came lightly seared, with a smoky charred taste enhanced beautifully by the coffee flavour. For me it was cooked to perfection, and the chilli and spring onion garnish alongside added a nice little kick.
For the main I ordered the cod supreme, which was a nicely sized piece of cod fillet served with sweetcorn veloute, chorizo, clams and spinach. Again, the presentation and quality of the meal were excellent, and far exceeded my expectations of the kind of meal I’d usually envisage coming from a hotel restaurant.
The flavour from the chorizo combined with the meaty cod was particularly enjoyable, and I found that the portion size of the main was just right.
Unfortunately on the night we dines at the restaurant cocktails were unavailable, however there was a good choice of wines, and the prices were quite reasonable for these too. We ended up going for a bottle of Vinho Verde for £30 which complimented the meal really well.
Breakfast at The Alan
Breakfast at The Alan is also prepared and served in the open plan restaurant kitchen. You are served at your table for breakfast, ordering from the options on the menu. It was a nice chance of pace from the usual hotel buffet spread, and added a little bit of sophistication to the start of the day!
When you have breakfast included in your stay, you are free to choose one menu item, plus an accompanying hot drink and juice of your choosing. Don’t be shy about asking for a latte or cappuccino either, as they made a really nice coffee!
Matt chose to go with the eggs benedict for his breakfast dish. The eggs were poached perfectly, with that lovely golden yolk burst that’s a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach!
I went for the smashed avocado on toast with two poached eggs on top, and as far as avo-toast goes, this one is up there with the best I’ve tried! The avocado was creamy and spread on top of the grilled ciabatta liberally. The poached eggs on mine were perfect too, and it was all brought together with beautiful presentation. Definitely a winning start to the day!
Would I stay at The Alan hotel in Manchester again?
It’s been a barely a week since I checked out of The Alan and I’m already itching to return! The hotel’s chic, design-led style and unbeatable city centre location made it a real stand out against the usual chain hotels. Add to that the cosy rooms and amenities, and it’s a winning combo.
And let’s not forget the restaurant – its intimate atmosphere and delicious dishes were the real stand out for me. So, would I pick The Alan again for my next Manchester trip? Absolutely! It’s got the perfect blend of style, comfort, and city centre convenience, making it an easy choice for my next stay.
How to book a stay at The Alan
The easiest way to book a stay at The Alan is directly through their website here. You can also save an extra 20% on their flexible room rates by joining their club on the website.
Alternatively you can book via Booking.com by popping your dates into the search box below.
Things to do in Manchester nearby
Manchester is a fantastic city break, with plenty to see, do, eat and discover! You could easily plan out a whole week of things to do in and around the city centre, but here are a few of my favourite things we got up to whilst staying at The Alan Hotel:
Feeling hungry?
There are a few really exciting street food venues popping up around the city. A couple of my favourites include
- Escape to Freight Island
- Mackie Mayor
Something to drink?
The craft beer scene close to Piccadilly Station is brilliant, with several breweries within a short walk of each other. Be sure to check out the taprooms at
- Cloudwater Brew Co
- Track Brewery
A bit of culture
- Manchester Art Gallery is right on the doorstep of The Alan and FREE to visit
- If you fancy a bit of shopping, you’re only a short walk from The Arndale
The post The Alan – The stylish hotel in Manchester with a restaurant worth staying for appeared first on Weekends and Away.
