Treehouse Manchester, UK, hotel review

Why book Treehouse Manchester?

There’s always a reason to go to Manchester, whether that’s a reunion concert by a Nineties band or a Homobloc club night, or simply for the weather. Treehouse Manchester, planted right in the heart of the city, is the long-long-awaited northern sequel to the London original and brings together some of the most relevant local culinary and creative talent, along with a design sensibility that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And when the rooftop bar and restaurant open towards the end of 2025, the hotel will have some of the best views in town.

Set the scene

A few years ago I went to see an Olafur Eliasson installation at Manchester’s Whitworth gallery, stepping from the city street into a Narnia-like indoor forest of birch trees. You get a similar sensation here, approaching a nondescript tower block on busy Deansgate and passing through sliding doors to a bucolic setting suitable for a picnic and a wooden path leading the way. Rus in urbe, as they say. While many Manchester hotels make the most of their urban redbrick setting – others riff on New York themes – this is an escapist bubble with an interest in cabin porn and whittling. In the open-plan dining and bar space, walls, columns and floors are lined with overlapping timber strips, logs and branches, while wooden pendants dangle above the mismatched furniture and plumes of greenery sprout from the rafters. One wall contains shelves of coloured ceramics, another a rather lovely living mural of ferns and fronds set behind a coloured glass panel. ‘Let’s go wild’, says a sign picked out in woollen thread, while Q-Tip raps over the speakers (the playlist is assembled by Manchester club royalty Luke and Justin Unabomber, invited onboard to take care of the hotel’s music programme). It’s all a little bit Tulum or Ibiza, as if sandy beaches and chiringuitos were just outside rather than Andy Burnham’s yellow Bee buses.

The backstory

Treehouse London opened in 2019 next to BBC Broadcasting House on Langham Place, feathering its nest in what was once the George Hotel – itself a former Sixties office block. Since opening, it’s been drawing in a local crowd for its vibey rooftop restaurant and bar, Nest, which has some of the best sunset views in London. Its Mancunian sibling works along similar lines, taking what used to be the Renaissance Hotel – an unloved brutalist eyesore from 1972, that many people hoped would be demolished – and literally sprucing it up, with a panoramic bar and restaurant to open on the 14th floor later in 2025. Originally set to open about two years ago, it’s been delayed by building issues, which at least has given the team time to finesse its game plan. A third Treehouse – the brand is part of the Starwood group, which also has the sustainable-forward 1 Hotel brand – has also just opened in Silicon Valley.

The rooms

The make-do-and-mend cabin aesthetic continues upstairs, past the floor numbers made from leftover wool and fabric swatches into the wood-clad, green-walled rooms, which are set under exposed concrete waffle ceilings and feel a bit Little House on the Prairie mixed with, for those that remember, Playschool. There are patchwork quilts on the bed and sofa, a blackboard on the flipside of the TV, and a cushion in the shape of a house – all that’s missing are Humpty and Big Ted – while woven headboards, a deep sheep’s-wool rug and boucle fabrics on the chairs give it a nice tactile feeling. Bathrooms are clad in green tiles, while behind a coloured glass door is the mini-bar, with all its products sourced as sustainably as possible, including Rave coffee bags and Two Farmers crisps. On the hour, a little bird pops out of the cuckoo clock and oinks. It’s playful and cosy but not overly twee. On a practical level, the studio suites come with wooden counters you can work at, and there are twins with two queen beds for families and friends.

Food and drink

For many, the treacle tart – a deliciously light wedge of sugary, sticky warmth, embellished with an Earl Grey cream – will be reason enough to come to Pip. It’s a dish that Bury-born Mary-Ellen McTague chef first made at The Fat Duck, and took with her to The Creameries, the restaurant she opened in Chorlton; now it’s come to roost at The Treehouse, along with other favourites such as split peas simmered down into a purée and deep-fried as Jenga-like chips, to be dipped in mushroom ketchup. That ketchup makes frequent appearances on McTague’s menus here, which draw on pickling and fermentation, rate vegetables over meat (though there are some barnstorming options), and doesn’t scrimp on the cheese. There’s a lot to like, from the oysters with kimchi liquor and cheese gougeres, demolished in seconds, to the salad of hibiscus-glazed beetroot, blood orange and radicchio, a crimson swirl of texture, and a bowl of mussels pepped up with wild garlic; although the Lancashire hot pot – chef likes to keep a northern focus here – is the highlight, made with slow-cooked lamb shoulder and presented with an oyster shell of brine to salt it with. Grab-and-go snacks of cream-cheese-and-salmon bagels, and parkin, are a practical touch, while a breakfast of Derbyshire oatcakes – a thick pancake – with fried eggs and ham, or the crumpets with black pudding, may remove the need for lunch. The drinks menu, which partly draws on leftover ingredients, features a mean Negroni and lighter breakfast Martini, using marmalade gin, along with local ales and an interesting wine list. Later in the year, Sam Grainger – the chef behind city favourites Madre and Medlock Canteen – will open Sister Moon on the top floor, with a South-East Asian menu.

The service

Friendly and diverse, drawing on many of the hospitality graduates drawn to the city from around Europe and Asia, along with some London emigrées, dressed in natty blue outfits with floral details.

The neighbourhood

Right on Deansgate – one of the main roads in Manchester – which leads up to St Anne’s Square and the neogothic marvel of the Town Hall in one direction, and past the medieval Cathedral (set amid landscaped grounds), Chetham’s School of Music and Football Museum in the other, as well as a 2019 statue of Gandhi, erected to celebrate the Indian leader’s visit to the city in 1931. Across the street are Harvey Nicks, Selfridges and the unlovely shopping precincts of the Arndale; just behind are the fragrant waters of the River Irwell. Nearby highlights include Climat restaurant, the hidden green space of Parsonage Gardens and cocktail bars such as Schofield’s and Speak in Code.

Who comes here?

Plenty of guests will be here for concerts and gigs at the AO Arena, along with parents of students at the university, though the team noticed several regulars from Treehouse London, who made the journey up to see what the fuss was about. But it’s also wide open for locals to pop by, with the lobby acting as a social hub for artists in residence – Caroline Dowsett, known for her colourful abstracts, was here for the opening weeks – along with vintage fashion pop-ups from Northern Quarter cult favourite Suzy Loves Milo, while other spaces host printing and pottery workshops, and yoga and art sessions.

Eco effort

Apart from upcycling an existing hotel structure, Treehouse Manchester is on track to achieve BREEAM Very Good green building and Green Key sustainable operations certifications, while the Hyvert living wall façade helps reduce energy consumption. There’s a rooftop aviary that makes honey, and the design features reclaimed furniture and vintage finds, with blackout curtains made from natural linen by Edinburgh Weavers. Pip restaurant aims to be as low-waste as possible, reusing restaurant leftovers in the bar.

Accessibility

Three bedrooms have been designed to be accessible.

Anything else to mention?

Manchester, never known for being a tennis city, has fallen for padel in a big way – first with Club de Padel opening next to the Deansgate Towers and, now, the covered courts of The Pollen Club next door to the Treehouse – guests can book in while staying here. The hotel also has a substantial gym, complete with a weight sled and track; more relaxing is the first-floor cinema with body-hugging green-velvet seats and drinks coolers to settle down with during film club nights (during my stay, the Doc ‘n Roll festival was in town, showing documentaries on The Selector’s Pauline Black and Detroit legend Carl Craig, among others) and big-ticket football matches.