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.
Costumes from the multi-award-winning 2018 movie The Favourite have gone on display at Blenheim Palace, as part of a spectacular new exhibition celebrating the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Created by the renowned British designer Sandy Powell, the costumes used in the black comedy are historically accurate, but have made from contemporaryContinue Reading
New female-founded, London based cashmere brand, MyCashmere, has launched a range of premium knitwear which it says bridges the gap between elegance and comfort, while advocating sustainability. Produced in Italy, the collection includes a variety of tops, cardigans, trousers, shorts, sweaters and dresses, all in neutral tones. The range plays into the idea of slowContinue Reading
Virgin Voyages has announced Melbourne, Australia as the brand’s new homeport in 2023. Resilient Lady, the latest addition to the company’s four-strong cruise ship fleet, will make her way Down Under via an epic 44-night trans-continental voyage beginning October 2023, travelling from Athens to Sydney. The trans-continental stint comprises three different itineraries. The first 14-nightContinue Reading
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.
Costumes from BAFTA-winning The Favourite on display at Blenheim Palace
Costumes from the multi-award-winning 2018 movie The Favourite have gone on display at Blenheim Palace, as part of a spectacular new exhibition celebrating the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Created by the renowned British designer Sandy Powell, the costumes used in the black comedy are historically accurate, but have made from contemporaryContinue Reading
Premium cashmere brand embraces recycled yarn for sustainable summer collection
New female-founded, London based cashmere brand, MyCashmere, has launched a range of premium knitwear which it says bridges the gap between elegance and comfort, while advocating sustainability. Produced in Italy, the collection includes a variety of tops, cardigans, trousers, shorts, sweaters and dresses, all in neutral tones. The range plays into the idea of slowContinue Reading
Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady heads to Melbourne in 2023 with epic trans-continental cruise
Virgin Voyages has announced Melbourne, Australia as the brand’s new homeport in 2023. Resilient Lady, the latest addition to the company’s four-strong cruise ship fleet, will make her way Down Under via an epic 44-night trans-continental voyage beginning October 2023, travelling from Athens to Sydney. The trans-continental stint comprises three different itineraries. The first 14-nightContinue Reading
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