Dakota Hotels - I Like Your Style

Dakota Deluxe Manchester is launching in the city this May, bringing with it 137 beautifully designed bedrooms and 20 lavish suites. As the latest addition to Piccadilly Basin, the luxury award winning boutique hotel will sit as the crown of the Northern Quarter – hailing from Ducie Street, just a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Station.

In short, expect high levels of service at affordable prices. Stylish and contemporary, Dakota is designed for the lone traveller, but also works as the perfect haven for city breaks or romantic weekends away.

What is Dakota Deluxe Manchester all about?

Boasting eight impressive storeys, all designed by award-winning and internationally acclaimed designer, Amanda Rosa, Dakota Deluxe Manchester is a £30 million investment which promises to present the city with some of its largest and most indulgent rooms.

In the form of an exquisite 1,800 sqft penthouse, the hotel will feature an impressive ‘Grand Deluxe Suite’, which is set to be the biggest across the whole of Manchester. This will include a scene-setting terrace to overlook the city, a steam shower, stunning interiors, an on-site chauffeur and even a butler at your service. Across the rest of the floors, room rates will start at £150.

A partnership between internationally renowned hotelier Ken McCulloch and Evans Property Group, Dakota Manchester is the fifth hotel in the Dakota Group and the latest addition to the brand’s expanding portfolio.

The epitome of comfort and indulgence, the hotel will feature a 75 seat cocktail bar, a 100 seat grill, and a champagne room, along with a canal-side terrace and cigar garden (home to a fine array of Cuban cigars for those cigar aficionados out there). With an intense passion for food and wine, the vibrant brasserie follows the Dakota philosophy of executing the simple things in the most divine way possible.

The Dakota Deluxe Manchester Story

With a name which takes inspiration from the aircraft which transformed the face of air travel for the world, Dakota was known for offering both impeccable style and service at affordable prices. In 1936, the Dakota airliner made its maiden flight from New York to Chicago, thereby changing the face of adventures forever.

With sophisticated service and cabin accommodation at accessible prices, Dakota revolutionised air travel by breaking boundaries; it’s this defining spirit which lives on in the Dakota Hotels brand today.

Applying this ethos to its hotels today, Dakota provides guests with sincere hospitality and service, oozing classic values and creating unforgettable experiences across the board.

Founded by Ken McCulloch, an ambassador for Scotland and Scottish talent, it’s his meticulous attention to detail and dedication to service which prove invaluable to his success. With a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, Ken’s back-catalogue of hotels include Malmaison (sold to Patriot America in ’98) and the internationally acclaimed Columbus Monaco, which opened in Monte Carlo when he and his wife moved to Monaco two years later. Ahead of the Dakota Deluxe Manchester opening, we headed to Dakota Glasgow to sample a taste of what’s to come. We discovered a hotel which was warm and charming; qualities reflected in both the intricacies of the interiors and the loveliness of the staff.

Unfolding the stories behind the décor, Amanda Rosa explained why Dakota is so different to anything else out there on the market, elucidating on an effortless ambience, “It has a soul that we live and breathe. The people are genuinely happy to work here and to look after you.” – and it’s clear that this is a narrative she passionately tells through her interiors, “…design should be un-obvious. As if it couldn’t be any other way. You should always endeavour to build a style that lasts, not fashion that fades. The original Dakotas are twelve years old and they look pretty bloody good.”

Revealing the tagline for their newest venture, it’s this notion of timeless elegance which Ken and Amanda hope to narrate into Dakota Deluxe Manchester; ‘I Like Your Style’ . Proudly taking credit, and divulging that he was struck by inspiration when at home one afternoon, Ken expands on this, “It’s personal. I wanted to compliment the city. The essence of simplicity runs into everything at Dakota, so I think it suits Manchester and it suits us.”

As a city on the up and up, especially when it comes to dining, Manchester is a city that demands, and expects service. Believing that the new hotel in Manchester is a case of ‘the right place at the right time’, Ken admits that he’s thrilled about the new opportunities in the city, “We’re so excited. I do feel that this could be a very significant moment for Manchester – as a city you’re judged by the facilities that you have, and the more you have the more you’ll get.”

In terms of a ‘significant move’ for Manchester, the team feel strongly that when you’re making hotels, it’s not necessarily the product you market, but the difference. It’s this originality which Dakota intends to make indicative. Ken expands, “First and foremost, we’re enthusiasts. We try and do things that the big boys don’t do very well. We like to add a bit of attitude. We’re also very guest focused, and take the time to invite people in one at a time. We’re fortunate enough to be independent, so we can do that”. With the intention of always thinking like a guest, the Dakota Group likes to keep their guests at the forefront of everything they do. Amanda attributes this level of care into the ambiance of the hotels, “It’s nice to sit without the spotlight above you. We do like to think of the lone traveller, so for example, if you’re a woman travelling on your own, you don’t feel too under the spotlight. It’s always nice to have your own space and privacy. At first, we thought we were talking to the corporate man… and then everyone started staying, so we had to change up the ways we did things slightly, in order to accommodate to the weekend and leisure market.”

Ken adds, “I’ve always felt that the majority of time spent away from home is begrudged. We want to really turn that around, so that the guest feels like they can go down to dine and feel like they’re enjoying a treat instead”.

Noting that Malmaison will always have a warm place in their hearts, Ken and Amanda point out that at the crux of Malmaison, guests are encouraged to ‘dine with us and stay with us’. Taking inspiration from this, at Dakota Deluxe Manchester, the food promises to be the heart and soul of the experience, while the service is another reason to come and stay again.

One of Ken’s most inspirational thoughts, ‘success is the sum of many small things done correctly’, derives from the thought that it isn’t one thing that’s directly important, but the sum of those things coming together – a thought process instilled into the Dakota collection.

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