Hotel Brooklyn MANCHESTER Bespoke Hotels brings a taste of New York to the Cottonopolis, opening a Big Apple-inspired bolthole in the heart of the city. Words: Ben Thomas Photography: Courtesy of Bespoke Hotels
M
anchester resonates with Brooklyn on
a restaurant and bar named after American
several fronts, from its industrial past
writer Damon Runyon, a mini cinema featuring
to its effervescent music scene. Culture
a projector and tiered seating in the lobby, and
and community are ever-present characteristics
a cosy lounge complete with blue velour sofas,
of both boroughs, not to mention the Victorian
an open fireplace and vinyl players spinning
architecture that lines the streets of each,
records from Mancunian artists.
standing as a testament to their history.
“Raw with a juxtaposition was the underlying
So when Bespoke Hotels unveiled plans to
design ethos, as we wanted to take cues from the
open a second property in the Cottonopolis
look and feel of its stateside namesake and blend
– following the arrival of Hotel Gotham in
that with Mancunian style,” Redfern continues.
2015 – longstanding design partners Squid
“The exposed concrete and steel structure of the
Inc immediately looked across the pond for
building formed the backbone to the interiors
inspiration. “Brooklyn is an eight-letter word
and from that we added layers, each becoming
for an aesthetic that layers décor from mixed
more refined and offering a sense of warmth –
periods and sources,” says Lead Interior
from red hand-thrown bricks to American Oak,
Designer, Oliver Redfern. “A palpable anti-
hand-blocked wallpaper, velvets and brass.”
slick, anti-corporate sensibility, a place where creativity and collaboration reign.”
Guests are immersed in this transatlantic fusion from the get-go; the lobby emulates a
Housed within a former bank on the city’s
Brooklyn avenue with its brick stone walls and
Portland Street, Hotel Brooklyn pays homage to
trees, while at once honouring Manchester’s
the New York suburb’s history from early 20th
Northern Quarter by way of mosaic floor
century to present day, channelling an urban
tiles. Beyond the reception area is The Stoop,
aesthetic throughout 189 loft-style guestrooms,
a grandstand-like structure – reminiscent of
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