The hotel has undergone a wholesale restoration in order to redefine the “old dame” both historically and as a lifestyle hotel. The works have included the restoration of the 1000 person Grand Ballroom, redevelopment of the original banking hall as a thriving bar and restaurant destination curated by the local Manchester team behind the award winning Volta bar, as well as the remodelling of 272 guestrooms.
Our work on the Hotel (formerly the Palace Hotel) sought to strip back a number of interventions made in the 1990’s and reposition it as a Lifestyle Hotel worthy of the buildings history and character. In the former Refuge Assurance hall we created a new Winter Garden as the central focus of the space, surrounded by a new bar, restaurant and den, enabling the space to be used as an “all day offer”. One of the key moves was improving circulation routes around the 4 separate buildings that make up the hotel and reorganising the different uses throughout the building to provide a more effective use of the front of house spaces and ultimately improve the guest experience.
“It was an honour as a local practice to be involved with repositioning one of the city’s most significant listed buildings. The transformation to the Kimpton Clocktower was true example of collaboration as the client, design team and city’s conservation team worked closely together to ensure that the qualities of the existing building were complimented by the necessary modern interventions.”
