Hospitality Design : Case Study
Great John Street, Manchester
BACKGROUND
Eleven Didsbury Park and Didsbury House Hotel are two individual and cleverly designed hotels in Manchester. I was thrilled to be offered the chance to work with owners, Sally and Eamon O’Loughlin of Eclectic hotels on their new property, Great John Street, Manchester. The hotel was a former Victorian schoolhouse with a unique history which we set out to integrate into its new use.
The Challenges
In the early days of working with Granada Studio Tours, I worked with the Granada designers on a themed Sherlock Holmes hotel near the Castlefield site. The hotel was not only designed for tour customers but became popular in its own right because of the popularity at the time for themed hotels.
THE APPROACH
From the outset, it was critical that consideration was made to reuse and repair, and wherever we could, keep some of the existing features including old floors, brick walls, and tiling. We also had fun preserving the room names such as the ‘Library‘, and the ‘Headmaster’s Office’. Holding this model and approach throughout all stages of the design process created benefits of not only a more sustainable outcome but also a fully integrated design experience, giving the work a deeper meaning. Luxury and eclectic were woven into the design framework while incorporating elements of a comparative European approach.
Eamon has a clever eye for the use of space and was able to improve the size of the hotel footprint by taking the double-height ceilings in the main building (which can be seen in the window heights on external views) and maximising floor space, by building mezzanine balconies set back from
the windows in the rooms. This was clever in three ways; it didn’t affect the outward appearance of the listed exterior, it not only nearly doubled the room size, but it added interest to rooms, creating bedrooms with bathrooms above and snug lounges and suites below.
A rooftop bar and spa were added where the old playground once was, again adding to the clever use of space and creating a rooftop party appeal in the city.
These creative approaches strengthened the business model whilst ensuring the building’s exterior retained its context, an essential condition of the planning permission in response to its listed status.
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THE RESULTS
The clever and considered design approach to Great John Street worked holistically throughout the hotel’s business structure and extended to the more eclectic nature of service offerings including food and drinks, and business development strategies. The building essentially retained its sense of time, place, and social significance, whilst housing a hospitality experience with both a high standard of luxury and eclectic bespoke design.
The quirky and well-designed spaces, with warm and comfortable luxury environments and lighting, made the hotel a unique and highly regarded experience, becoming “the place” to stay, visit, eat, drink, or party in Manchester’s City Centre for international and local travelers, key corporate events and sports teams.
MY REFLECTION
It is my belief that good design alone does not deliver a hospitality experience. Integrating and enhancing good design with brand, story, and cohesive ways the business is run, provides a holistic approach to design, without a doubt adding value to the customer experience. My favorite part of this series of hotels, was how they used the idea of ‘Eclectic’ design, mixing elements from a variety of sources local with European, current luxury with period pieces. This was also how they catered to both over-delivering on expectations from an existing clientele, whilst expanding to wider markets.