Why it’s good for business
Loft is one of 14 apartments in Manchester run by Staying
Cool, a company set up in 2005 by Paul Taylor and Tracey Stephenson, a
former lawyer and tourism marketing exec both interested in design. All are
situated along the Deansgate corridor, making them handy for doing business
in the city centre.
The apartment is in a former dye factory in the city's Castlefield quarter
that has been repurposed by funky developers Urban Splash, who specialise in
inner city projects.
The apartments aim to bring together the things you might expect in a boutique
hotel – smart design, high quality toiletries and loads of Apple technology
to enjoy - with things that you would usually find at home – a stainless
steel kitchen, washing machine and a comfortable lounge.
Like many modern serviced apartments, Staying Cool does not insist that you
are there for an extended stay; you can stay for as little as one night. The
company also has apartments in Birmingham, Barcelona and a new one at the
docks in Plymouth.
The room
Loft wears its heart on its sleeve. The ceiling and some walls are left
unfinished and concrete grey, giving the whole apartment an industrial feel.
This greyness is offset by splashes of colour throughout – a small marmalade
coloured lamp, a Rothko inspired red and purple rug and a bowl of oranges.
There are four main areas to the apartment.
In the dining area, an eight person table is subtly lit with designer lamps
and is overlooked by a small kitchen area set back behind a brushed
stainless steel counter. I loved the Gaggia coffee machine for two and the
little packets of ground coffee. Shame they were a month out of date. It
tasted fine but there are guests who would be annoyed by this slip.
The lounge includes a dark brown bench-style designer sofa bed. The company
sources items from new designers such as Anne Kyro Quinn or uses refurbished
originals from the likes of Arne Jacobsen and Charles & Ray Eames. The
area is dominated by a two-metre square work of textile art on the wall.
Burgundy felt ribbons have been twisted to give a sense of waves and
movement. In the centre, there is the best friend of solo business
travellers everywhere – a massive flat-screen television with satellite TV.
Minus a few points for having so many of the channels not available.
Passing through a smoked glass door, you come to the bedroom. A bed, which
they dub The Ultimate, fills the room. The Ultimate is pocket sprung and
uses a memory foam mattress. To one side, there is a working desk with an
Apple i-Mac (see Technology credentials below).
The bathroom sits in its own glass cube and features one of those enormous
standalone baths which look as though they can comfortably hold four people.
It looked beautiful although the plug mechanism wasn’t working properly and
the hot water ran out on the morning of my departure – ah yes, just like
home.
