Manchester Social 101 recently had the honour of being invited to the Macdonald Townhouse Hotel. I’d never even heard of the hotel before, despite walking past its unsuspecting exterior many times whilst walking down Portland Street.
Situated in the beating heart of Manchester’s city centre, the Macdonald Townhouse Hotel is the perfect boutique-style hotel for visits to the exciting and cosmopolitan city. As it is set in a former cotton warehouse, the interior is just stunning and such a pleasant surprise! The hotel has been given a fantastic £3.5 million makeover and now boasts the perfect blend of style, space and comfort, whilst still keeping the original character and features in tact.
When my contributor Beth and I arrived, we were greeted by the GM: James McDevitt, which was a lovely surprise! He escorted us to the reception area to enjoy a glass of wine whilst he spoke to us about the heritage of the hotel. James is a very warm character and obviously is very passionate about his job. Originally hailing from America, he told us about the link bewtween America and the hotel relating to the textile industry. He also presented a bit of information about this city that we hold dear as he explained that Lincoln Square was a tribute to Abraham Lincoln, who knew?!
James continued to tell us about how the hotel was part of the Signature collection, which encompasses 11 hotels in the group that go the extra mile to offer its guests a ‘little extra’. As James put it “chivalry is not dead!” – from espresso machines in the hotel rooms, to sending a car to pick up guests that are delayed, it definitely resinated with me that they put their guests first, which is good to know!
A tour of the hotel ensued and we were really pleasantly surprised as the decor felt homely, without being dowdy and it was cosmopolitan, without being cold! It is somewhere I could imagine staying for sure.
We were then escorted to the restaurant, which left us salivating at just the description of the dishes. We were left under no illusion that they are passionate about their food and beverage options, James handed us over to the very capable hands of Michael Jebelli, the hotel’s Food & Beverage Manager. He spoke to us about his experience and how he’d like to demonstrate his sommelier skills to compliment our chosen dishes – he didn’t disappoint at all!
Here’s what we had and the wines our food was paired with:
Starters:
JOHN ROSS JR SMOKED SALMON – £6.50
Horseradish, Cucumber
Paired with Sauvignon Blanc, Bishops Leap, Marlborough, New Zealand
CAPRICORN GOATS CHEESE – £6.25
Beetroot, Toasted Seeds, Honey
Main Courses:
GRASS FED LAMB – £16.50
Loin, Braised Shoulder, Peas, Bacon, Dauphinoise
Paired With Merlot, Foundstone, Berton Vineyards, Australia
CORN FED FREE RANGE CHICKEN – £15.50
Spinach, Smoked Ham Potato, Mushroom
Paired With Semillon Chardonnay, Opal Ridge, Australia
Deserts:
Wye Valley Rhubarb & Apple Crumble – £5.50
Warm Custard, Vanilla Ice Cream
White chocolate TRINITY CREAM – £5.50
Pistachio & Lemon
Both paired With Berton Reserve Botrytis Semillon, Australia
If you’re planning on traveling to Manchester, or you live here and want a nice treat for you and your partner and/ or mates, I recon that this would be a fab shout!
Macdonald Townhouse Hotel is conveniently located in the city centre for the Manchester shopping district, theatre, exhibitions and two of the country’s biggest football clubs as well as they city’s vibrant night life.
Macdonald is the the largest independent hotel group in UK, boasting 45 rosettes! Impressive huh?!
Manchester Social 101 gives the Macdonald Townhouse the following ratings:
Food: 4/5
Rooms: 3/5 (the rooms are stunning, this figure is based on the hotels I’ve stayed in across the world)
Location: 5/5
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