Work starts on new Dakota Deluxe Manchester hotel

Work has started on-site on the new £25m, 137 bedroom Dakota Deluxe hotel on Ducie Street at Piccadilly Basin in Manchester with the hotel set to open in Spring 2019. The luxury hotel is the fifth for the Dakota Group, a partnership between Leeds-based Evans Property Group and internationally acclaimed hotelier Ken McCulloch, and is the brand’s first hotel in Manchester.

The Manchester hotel forms part of Evans’ strategic plans to bring Dakota brand hotels to all major UK cities within five years and follows on from the openings of Leeds Dakota Deluxe in April this year, Glasgow Dakota Deluxe in April last year and the earlier hotels at Eurocentral on the outskirts of Glasgow and South Queensferry, Edinburgh.

Evans acquired the Piccadilly Basin site from Town Centre Securities (TCS), the regeneration experts behind the £300m waterside mixed-use scheme situated in the heart of Piccadilly, adjacent to Manchester Piccadilly train station and proposed future terminal of the HS2.

The design-led hotel will incorporate 20 suites including an extensive 1000+ sq ft penthouse with roof top garden terrace, thought to be one of the largest in Manchester City Centre. The Suites will include a number featuring rooftop garden terraces, separate lounge areas, dressing rooms and steam showers.  The penthouse “Grand Deluxe Suite” also includes a sauna, a feature fire and separate dining area.

At the heart of the hotel will be the Dakota Bar & Grill which will offer the special dining experience the brand has become known for. The Restaurant Grill with 104 covers will feature external seating terraces, complemented by the hotel bar with 75 covers, a Champagne Room and outdoor seating terraces

Alan Syers, Portfolio Director at Evans Property Group, said;

“The Dakota Deluxe hotels at Leeds and Glasgow have performed exceptionally well. The expansion of the boutique hotel brand enables us to bring a new offering to the Manchester hotel leisure market with an experience unlike any other in the city. We are incredibly excited to have secured such a fantastic site in the heart of Manchester and work is now underway with GMI, who recently completed the Leeds Dakota Deluxe. Manchester was always a priority city for the brand and we are looking forward to seeing the hotel come to life.”

Dakota is a lifestyle brand, synonymous with timeless style and exceptional service. Dakota’s founder is the internationally acclaimed Ken McCulloch, recognised as one of the UK’s most influential hoteliers. McCulloch was the mastermind behind the Malmaison hotel brand which instantly became the most significant European hotel brand launch in a generation.