MOTELONE's bar looks as sharp as a pin, very Berlin, very Rotterdam. It certainly doesn't look anything like the drab decor in a Travelodge or a Premier Inn, equivalent budget hotels.
The hotel consultants should also have been re-calibrated
The layout is clever. You can hardly tell the bar forms a huge glorified reception for the real reception desk if you enter from the Whitworth Street entrance rather than the London Road entrance.
Instead your eyes are dragged to the lovely feature bar and arrested by the bauble-lights swaying overhead. The generous proportions and the sixties' scale are appealing. A fine selection of chairs to wallow within boosts the feeling of comfort. The house colour is a fetching turquoise by the way and they are prepared to use it everywhere and do so.
Nathan, the barkeeper and a good lad all round, mixes up some mean bespoke cocktails. There are themed numbers for Manchester such as the Manchester Bee (£5.50) and a Manc-hattan (£5.50). These are both excellent. The Bee is all about the Jack Daniels, the bitters and a soft orange kick. It's refreshing and robust. The Manc-hattan comes with Kentucky bourbon and something that should make it fail, Vimto. This has been reduced to a black/red sludge and added into the mix. You expect cloying sweetness but instead are rewarded with a controlled, subtle hint of Vimto.
Snacks of 'special toasties' will be available in the fullness of time but there will be no menu.
The automatic doors off Whitworth Street will prove a problem as presently every passerby triggers them. This will prove an issue in winter. A few re-calibrations should fix this. The hotel consultants should also have been re-calibrated when it comes to the theme-elements of the bar, reception and website.
On the outside of the building MotelOne has decided to mark the hugely influential Twisted Wheel club with a plaque. Unfortunately the building which had housed the Twisted Wheel was demolished to build MotelOne, amidst a storm of internet angst. Basically the plaque is saying, this place was great but we got rid of it.
In the 1960s the venue hosted soul nights and performances by artists such as Ike and Tina Turner, Edwin Starr and Ben E King, and it is considered to be the spiritual home of Northern Soul along with Wigan Casino. The club closed in 1971 and went on to become Placemate 7, and more recently Legends. DJ Pete Roberts resurrected soul sessions in 2000 using the Twisted Wheel name. It attracted thousands of club-goers from all across Europe.
This has been completely ignored by the interior designers. Instead they've gone for a Madchester and Britpop wall neither of which have anything to do with this place. The Madchester part is eccentric and features Northside - fame at last. The Britpop bit takes eccentricity into perversity with the result that now we have Oxford band Supergrass commemorated on a Manchester wall. Hurrah.
The wall is almost as mad as their web-publicity, the crowning achievement of which is this set of sentences: 'You will certainly be surprised how many green spaces, parks, and forests there are in and around Manchester. Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and recharge your batteries in the enchanting rose gardens or the rambling parks. Why don't you hurl yourself into the many posh shopping areas with small designer boutiques, vintage shops, and large shopping centres. The Trafford Centre is Manchester's largest shopping center and is always worth a visit. Or you splash out on a personal shopper in the classiest shopping centre in town - Selfridge's. Cheaper and more unusual is Tib Street, for example, with its Fashion Market. The Avenue (Spinningfields), on the other hand, is a cool and brand-new shopping area with many high-end designer shops. You can not fail to find something either at Affleck's Palace, in the Lowry Outlet Mall or in the Pop Boutique (Oldham Street).'
Google translator should rarely be used for professional purposes.
Anyway exhausted by our strolls though Manchester's enchanted rose gardens my friend and I hurled ourselves into a double Lagavullin single malt and a house special the Japanese whisky, Suntory Yamazaki, plus a couple of bottles of Blacksheep ales from North Yorkshire. (Why didn't MotelOne choose beer from one of the forty-two Greater Manchester breweries?)
We felt very settled next to the fake fire surmounted by a Noel Gallagher Union Jack guitar. It was all very comfortable. Shame about the mad inconsistencies in the interior design but then perhaps only pedants - and I like to be pedantic - will notice these.
Nip in if you're passing for the cocktails and the spirits.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
MotelOne, 34 London Road, City centre, M1 2PF.
Rating: 12/20 (remember venues are rated against the best examples of their type - see below)
PLEASE NOTE: Venues are rated against the best examples of their kind: fine dining against the best fine dining, cafes against the best cafes. Following on from this the scores represent: 1-5 saw your leg off and eat it, 6-9 get a DVD, 10-11 if you must, 12-13 if you’re passing,14-15 worth a trip,16-17 very good, 17-18 exceptional, 19 pure quality, 20 perfect. More than 20, we get carried away.
