Manchester's fast-growing Medlock Square entertainment district has a new anchor: The Medlock, a Radisson Blu Hotel, with 401 rooms positioned squarely between two of the city's biggest draws — the Etihad Stadium and the Co-op Live arena. If your travel plans revolve around a match or a gig, this is about as close as you can sleep.
The hotel is a partnership between Radisson Hotel Group and operator Valor Hospitality Partners, and the design brief leans into East Manchester's past. Local firm Space Invader shaped the building as a nod to the 19th-century gasworks, green spaces and waterways that once occupied the site, softened with planting and biophilic touches.
The lobby sets the tone with an overhead digital light installation that shifts to match the mood of event nights next door, plus digital check-in pods and lounge seating. Rooms follow a quieter, music-inspired theme — rug patterns riffing on retro audio gear, bathroom tiles echoing recording-studio acoustic walls — with family layouts available. Every room comes with a Grind coffee machine and a mattress developed with Silentnight; deluxe rooms add yoga mats. Art throughout is by Manchester creatives, including photographers Paul Crudgington and James Cochrane and artist Steve Longbottom, whose contribution playfully features Vimto bonbons.
The headline space is a two-storey Penthouse Suite: two bedrooms (a third can be added), a full kitchen with an adjacent private dining room for a chef experience, floor-to-ceiling views, a rooftop garden and dedicated VIP access — clearly aimed at touring acts and big-spending match-day visitors. Everyone else gets a 24-hour Technogym with virtual personal training, and virtual in-room trainers in deluxe rooms and suites.
For travellers, the pitch is simple: a full-service hotel steps from a stadium that hosts Manchester City home games and an arena that books the world's biggest tours, in a part of the city that's been transformed over the past decade. It works just as well for a concert weekend as a base for exploring the Northern Quarter, which is a short tram ride away.