The best: Boutique hotels for a fantastic festive stay in Manchester

Part-fifteen-room lodge, part-award-winning pub, the Northern Quarter’s warm, charismatic Abel Heywood Hotel offers a memorable city centre stay to enjoy as serenely or as actively as you like. From City Doubles to Suites, every room features high-speed WiFi, a 42” TV, memory foam Hypnos mattresses and even a record player or vintage radio. On the ground floor, the highly esteemed pub serves an extensive set of food menus, including Sunday Dinner, breakfast and prix fixe options.

City Double rooms start from £104.50 in May.

Formerly a textile warehouse, the sleek, verdant Newton Street sanctuary combines high-tech comfort with majestic Victorian opulence at an astonishingly affordable nightly rate. Spacious yet intimate and gorgeously appointed throughout, Cow Hollow features sixteen bedrooms and offers complimentary prosecco and antipasti in the evening, as well as milk and cookies before bed.

A standard room starts at £99 per night, with £30 for a deluxe upgrade and £149 on weekends.

Featuring forty rooms and suites, the majority of which have freestanding baths, luxury urban residence King Street Townhouse promises ‘indulgent relaxation’ in a uniquely historic Italian Renaissance-style building. Responsible for Manchester’s most-Instagrammable infinity pool, which overlooks Manchester Town Hall, the five-star hotel has recently added a gym and spa with a variety of treatments, four workout zones and a Himalayan salt cave.

Entry-level snug rooms start from around £160 per night in May.

Ideal for romantic escapes, Dakota’s darkly glamorous decor and heady, sensuous atmosphere provides the perfect environment for a refined anniversary city-break. From the Classic Double to the two-bed Grand Deluxe Suite, every room features high-thread count linen, rainfall showers, luxury toiletries, high-speed WiFi and even full Sky Sports and Sky Movies packages with a 49” smart TV. On the ground floor, Dakota Grill offers impeccable fine-dining with a selection of seasonal dishes and tasting menus.

Classic Double rooms start from £140 per night in May.

Centrally located between King Street and Market Street, the Stock Exchange Hotel occupies one of Manchester’s finest Edwardian baroque buildings. Faithfully designed with original brass trims, rich green profiles and grandiose stained glass windows, the hotel promises a tasteful yet decadent stay amongst living city heritage. In the imposing domed former trading atrium, the Stock Market Grill serves elevated British dishes in the North West’s most beautiful dining room.

Rooms start from £164 in May.

Delicately appointed with soft pastel pinks and pistachio greens with a sophisticated blend of art deco and mid-century modern details, Whitworth Locke offers a variety of achingly fashionable self-contained studios and apartments ideal for a private yet central getaway, with Instagram-friendly flourishes at every turn. On the ground floor, an expansive co-working space provides well-connected solace while beloved restaurant Peru Perdu serves reimagined South American cuisine.

City Studio rooms start from £95 in May.

A pristine example of South Manchester’s handsome residential Victorian architecture, Didsbury House offers twenty-seven soothingly restful rooms with charming yet sophisticated personality. Perfect for family breaks, secluded recharging or even a full wedding, the delightful suburban mansion provides a homely hotel stay within minutes of the city centre.

Snug Standard King Rooms start from £150 in May.

With Crittall windows, freestanding baths, a Farrow & Ball colour palette, a small jungle of hanging plants, a central, vibrant location and, of course, exposed brickwork, Leven is the platonic ideal of a Manchester boutique hotel. Promising a luxury haven in which you can be unapologetically yourself in ‘spaces designed to inspire you to embrace every second’, the lively yet harmonious Gay Village lodge features a variety of exquisitely furnished rooms and a viridescent cocktail bar on the ground floor.

Life Size rooms start from £119 in May.

Located further down Canal Street, Velvet is one of Manchester’s original boutique hotels – and comfortably the best for nightlife. Featuring twenty-four individually designed rooms ranging from flamboyant, lavishly decorated chambers with glittering chandeliers to ultra-modern suites cloaked in muted greys, the hotel offers a world-class bespoke city break experience in the centre of Manchester’s most exciting area.

Deluxe King Rooms start from £111 in May.

Set within the Grade II listed Lancashire House, a former shipping warehouse on the bustling Peter Street, each high-end bedroom within Forty-Seven has been designed specifically with the intention of providing guests with the best night’s sleep possible. The hotel works with a dedicated ‘Sleep Fixer’ to ensure all aspects of the rooms, from colour schemes to materials, are optimised for sleep — this even includes the addition of an actual ‘Pillow Menu’.

Downstairs is the acclaimed Asha’s restaurant, winner of ‘Best of Manchester’ in the 2023 Nation’s Curry Awards, and below that is the hotel’s cosy cocktail lounge, The Peterman, where guests can sip through a selection of hand-crafted concoctions.