Newly opened in Manchester, The Alan Hotel is the place to stay if architecture and design is your jam.
Situated opposite the Manchester Art Gallery, in the heart of the city, it’s just a short walk from Chinatown and the central shopping district. A six-storey building, it offers 137 bedrooms, ground floor cafe and bar, plus a pop-up multipurpose area. Architectural design is by Red Deer.
We want to challenge conventions, says Red Deer lead designer, Ciarán O’Brien: “The hotel industry is saturated with ‘brand guidelines’ – many of which are over the top or antiquated. True luxury to our generation is space and quiet and considered pieces that inspire or make someone smile. We believe the hotel brand book needs to be rewritten to incorporate courage to do things differently, in a world where we’ve all seen everything before.”
Reflecting this philosophy, the building’s cotton warehouse origins are a cause for celebration, its historic brickwork and pitted stonework exposed; the original plasterboard and lowered ceilings have all been removed, something of a signature move on all Red Deer projects.
The ‘living’ functions of the guest rooms have also been accentuated through the use of a long terrazzo shelf, made by Robin Grasby. Mika Kaski has supplied light fittings for the Ground Floor public areas and the swivel and alabaster lights for the bedrooms.
“True luxury to our generation is space and quiet and considered pieces that inspire or make someone smile.”
“Art always inspires me in every project I take on,” says O’Brien. “I seek to make usable art pieces that are interacted with and help people rethink their relationship with the spaces around them.”
As many original materials have been reused as possible. The ground floor terrazzo collage comprises fragmented and discarded marble pieces, crafted in collaboration with Int. Marble.
“I had always been acutely aware of how wasteful the construction industry is,” says O’Brien, “and decided to celebrate the inherent value still found in these marble pieces, despite typically being considered as offcuts or ‘defective’. When viewed individually they seem to be useless fragments, but make sense in the space when they flow together as one. Subtly this refers to how we’re all made up of a collage of our personal stories, some good, some bad but all have a part in who we are.”
To book your stay at The Alan click here, prices start at £94 a night. Photography by Adam Firman.
Numarine has released fresh details of its new 40MXP, a 40-metre superyacht designed to bring a little Mediterranean luxury to the long-range explorer category. Multiple builds are underway, with two deliveries scheduled for 2026. The name says a lot: MXP stands for Mediterranean Explorer, signalling a shift toward open-air living and sociable deck spaces, while…
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced a new partnership with Knightsbridge Circle, the invitation-only concierge service known for unlocking rarefied experiences for a global, high-net-worth clientele. The collaboration will give guests staying in the line’s most exclusive suites complimentary access to a Personal Manager from Knightsbridge Circle, smoothing out the parts of a journey that…
When you fly British Airways next year, you’ll be able to stream, scroll, and stay connected at 38,000 feet, as the flag carrier rolls out high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire fleet. The airline says all travellers, regardless of cabin class, will enjoy complimentary, gate-to-gate connectivity capable of supporting video streaming, video calls, and remote…
The Luxe Review 
Newly opened in Manchester, The Alan Hotel is the place to stay if architecture and design is your jam.
Situated opposite the Manchester Art Gallery, in the heart of the city, it’s just a short walk from Chinatown and the central shopping district. A six-storey building, it offers 137 bedrooms, ground floor cafe and bar, plus a pop-up multipurpose area. Architectural design is by Red Deer.
We want to challenge conventions, says Red Deer lead designer, Ciarán O’Brien: “The hotel industry is saturated with ‘brand guidelines’ – many of which are over the top or antiquated. True luxury to our generation is space and quiet and considered pieces that inspire or make someone smile. We believe the hotel brand book needs to be rewritten to incorporate courage to do things differently, in a world where we’ve all seen everything before.”
Reflecting this philosophy, the building’s cotton warehouse origins are a cause for celebration, its historic brickwork and pitted stonework exposed; the original plasterboard and lowered ceilings have all been removed, something of a signature move on all Red Deer projects.
The ‘living’ functions of the guest rooms have also been accentuated through the use of a long terrazzo shelf, made by Robin Grasby. Mika Kaski has supplied light fittings for the Ground Floor public areas and the swivel and alabaster lights for the bedrooms.
“Art always inspires me in every project I take on,” says O’Brien. “I seek to make usable art pieces that are interacted with and help people rethink their relationship with the spaces around them.”
As many original materials have been reused as possible. The ground floor terrazzo collage comprises fragmented and discarded marble pieces, crafted in collaboration with Int. Marble.
“I had always been acutely aware of how wasteful the construction industry is,” says O’Brien, “and decided to celebrate the inherent value still found in these marble pieces, despite typically being considered as offcuts or ‘defective’. When viewed individually they seem to be useless fragments, but make sense in the space when they flow together as one. Subtly this refers to how we’re all made up of a collage of our personal stories, some good, some bad but all have a part in who we are.”
To book your stay at The Alan click here, prices start at £94 a night. Photography by Adam Firman.
First look: Numarine 40MXP superyacht gives Explorer series a Mediterranean makeover
Numarine has released fresh details of its new 40MXP, a 40-metre superyacht designed to bring a little Mediterranean luxury to the long-range explorer category. Multiple builds are underway, with two deliveries scheduled for 2026. The name says a lot: MXP stands for Mediterranean Explorer, signalling a shift toward open-air living and sociable deck spaces, while…
Elevated cruising on the menu as Regent Seven Seas partners with Knightsbridge Circle
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has announced a new partnership with Knightsbridge Circle, the invitation-only concierge service known for unlocking rarefied experiences for a global, high-net-worth clientele. The collaboration will give guests staying in the line’s most exclusive suites complimentary access to a Personal Manager from Knightsbridge Circle, smoothing out the parts of a journey that…
British Airways to introduce complimentary lightning-fast Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet from 2026
When you fly British Airways next year, you’ll be able to stream, scroll, and stay connected at 38,000 feet, as the flag carrier rolls out high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire fleet. The airline says all travellers, regardless of cabin class, will enjoy complimentary, gate-to-gate connectivity capable of supporting video streaming, video calls, and remote…
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