Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, Manchester
Expert reviews
“The Clocktower Hotel offers contemporary comfort and boutique-hotel chic for history buffs. After a renovation costing more than 25 million pounds, the Clocktower has kept intact the lovely period faience in hallways, and the glass-domed ceiling in the spacious lobby, while converting former clerks’ offices into wood-paneled bedrooms with soaring ceilings and sleek subway-tile bathrooms.”
Featured in New York Times’ 36 hours in Manchester.
“In an imposing terracotta Victorian building, with ornate original features and one of Manchester’s most popular bars, the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel combines classic good looks with a cool streak. And, despite its grand public areas, it’s warm and welcoming, with thoughtful extras for all guests, from families to dogs.”
What guests liked
- Top location
- Friendly staff
- Great breakfast
- Comfortable beds
- Free Wifi
All you need to know
With a variety of stunning spaces, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is particularly aesthetically-pleasing. Nestled in a Victorian-era building dating back to the 1890s, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel has unparalleled craftsmanship, apparent in every room. Guests can enjoy the greenhouse-like lounge with incredibly high, opaque ceilings, bold-tiled flooring, and full-size indoor trees. The hotel restaurant’s crown molding and vintage wooden floors create a space filled with character. Vintage wood paneling in many of the guest rooms adds to this historical hotel’s charm. In the hotel ballroom, you can take in the largest event space in the North of England.
There are many different floor plans to choose from throughout the hotel, but each room comes with tasteful decor, private bathrooms, WiFi, and satellite TVs. Depending on the guest room, you will likely find fun pops of color, different-textured materials, exposed finishes, and incredibly comfortable bedding.
Located on the lively Oxford Road, you will only be a short walk away from abundant attractions, shops, and restaurants. However, the onsite dining does not disappoint. The Refuge Dining Room offers a vibrant space to enjoy an eclectic meal, or check out The Winter Garden for afternoon tea in an elegant environment. You will be within walking distance from several sights during your stay, like the Palace Theater, Bridgewater Hall, Library Theater, Canal Street, and the Manchester Art Gallery.
Hotel deals & lowest price guarantee
We partner with Booking.com and Agoda. Both booking websites offer the lowest price guarantee, so you can be certain you will always get the best deal for this hotel. If you have seen a better price elsewhere, all you need to do is contact the booking website, and they will refund you the difference immediately. You can price match right up until the day before check-in.
Location
Recent guest reviews
16 September 2025
Really good, we'll be back
Receptionist was really good, great communication and knowledge.
DJ in the Bar area on Sunday afternoon too loud. No show on in the Palace Theatre on Sunday night.
15 September 2025
A fabulous hotel in the most incredible building
The building and decor are utterly fabulous, made even more beautiful by the many stunning plants throughout the hotel. Breakfast was very good, bed and pillows very comfortable and the room very clean. Reception staff were excellent too.
15 September 2025
Not long enough
Coffee was not great everything else was delicious
15 September 2025
Excellent, dog-friendly Manchester option. Stylish rooms, lots of space and solid parking options.
Great building, good location, helpful staff.
Awful coffee !
15 September 2025
Overall, a lovely stay. Would return.
Lovely hotel, lovely service. I did think our room was a bit basic for the price paid, but overall a very nice stay!
A better room for the price paid. The standard double room was fine but I don't think it's worth £200pn- maybe more £150.
15 September 2025
Gorgeous hotel in the heart of Manchester
Gorgeous hotel in the heart of Manchester. Exceptionally friendly and helpful staff, wonderful breakfast. The hotel is huge, with a great buzzy bar and fascinating architecture. Our room was spacious, the bed was very comfortable and lots of nice touches like fresh milk and complimentary snacks!
15 September 2025
Exceptional
sausage terrible, but the rest of breakfast was excellent . wobbly table
14 September 2025
Loved it but wouldn’t stay again music of the music
Beautiful building
Music far too loud in the evening. Nowhere to sit and chat.
14 September 2025
very enjoyable stay
staff very attentive and helpful Evening meal and breakfast were fabulous location was perfect
1st room smelt of drain problems form the bathroom - staff upgraded my room imediatley
13 September 2025
Exceptional
Everything
12 September 2025
Lovely building in ideal location but a little noisy
Lovely reception and nice room with high ceilings. Very nice breakfast selection with full English buffet including fried eggs and high quality sausages. Also lots of complimentary bits in the room which was a nice surprise (tea, coffee, snacks). Great location if you are visiting Palace Theatre right next door.
The door to our room did very little to cancel out noise. Could hear lots of noise from the corridor as well as the next room, including hearing their bell so loud we checked it wasn’t our own.
12 September 2025
Brilliant location for Station, Theatre and Restaurants
Room Upgrade, thanks. Bed was very comfortable. Fridge a bit noisy. Breakfast had a wide variety.
12 September 2025
Highly recommended for a comfortable city break in Manchester
Well-located hotel, just a few minutes stroll from St Peter's Square. We booked a King room, which was spacious, comfortable, and had good provisions that included snacks, bottled water, hot drinks, and a small bottle of fresh milk in the fridge. Also, nice toiletries in the bathroom. Good food selection for breakfast. Good access to complimentary WiFi.
Minor issue, with the pillows being too soft and flat.
12 September 2025
Fabulous hotel in every way
Absolutely everything was 5 star. The staff, room, breakfast was exceptional
No sugar to put on cereal No sanitary waste bags
11 September 2025
Luxurious feel, great value for money
Love the old building with modern facilities, staff were friendly and professional, made to feel welcome
10 September 2025
Fantastic location , stunning hotel
The building is stunning
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10 September 2025
Great
Amazing building. A bathtub. Nice products to use.
The coffee for breakfast was bad. I was expecting it to be freshly made - it was the only reason I included breakfast in my booking.
10 September 2025
Excellant comfy quoe stay
Large rooms comfy beds, loads of little extras in the room Breakfast was very good just need more coffee
Breakfast, offer of pot coffee or tea
9 September 2025
Exceptional
Fantastic hotel
Everything great 👍
8 September 2025
Incredible
I was really blown away by the style of this hotel the photos really do not do it justice until you see it in person. Extremely good location in walking distance to almost everything you would need. Staff are polite and helpful. Very well thought out with complimentary refreshments and snacks in the room on arrival and also everything you would need is in the room. I had a good sleep and just overall a really good experience and I will definitely be staying here again!
8 September 2025
Would have liked to stay longer but would come again and recommend it to others
Comfortable and clean room with great attention to detail e.g. en suite facilities - towels. toiletries. ALL members of staff encountered were polite, helpful and cheerful. Wide range of breakfast food available, laid out in inviting fashion. Cooked food was well prepared and remained warm. Even the plates were warm which is a small detail making a big difference
Would be hard pushed to make a comment for the sake of it. If anything price was rather high but you get what you pay for. Railway line nearby may be annoying to some, perhaps more so if windows open (which I did not need at the time in early September)
7 September 2025
Exceptional
Comfortable bed hotel beautiful decor throughout Location perfect for the palace theatre which is literally a short walk away. 5 min walk to Oxford road station 16 min walk to spinning fields Short walk to Piccadilly and centre of Manchester
Full English Breakfast could do with being done to order as by the time you get it from the buffet to your table it's gone cold...plus the dinning area was cold when seated as it's a large room.
7 September 2025
Made our stay in Manchester memorable
The building is amazing, good breakfast, free drinks from 5pm to 6pm.
Nothing
6 September 2025
Phenomenal hotel - would stay again!
Very comfortable room, and exceptional breakfast spread. The hotel itself is a wonderful collection of older architecture and modern options (WiFi). The shower has great hot water, any time of day.
Not a big fan of the partial bathtub wall (no curtain), as it makes it trickier to not get water on the floor.
4 September 2025
A very good location and excellent restaurant
Nice decor and a free drinks happy hour was a pleasant surprise. Restaurant was very good.
3 September 2025
A Super Stay in an Historically Beautiful and Characterful Hotel.
A simply fabulous old Victorian building with plenty of fascinating original features, but offering comfortable modern facilities. Roomy bedroom, comfortable beds and all the extras that make your stay trouble free and relaxing. A lovely touch was the fact that guests were asked to enjoy a glass of wine and chat with catering staff between 5.00 and 6.00. All staff we encountered were friendly, helpful and efficiently. On arrival, the reception area is breathtaking and the restaurant offers a substantial choice of ingredients at breakfast time. An absolutely delightful stay which hooefully we will be able to repeat in the future.
3 September 2025
A lovely place to stay
Stunning building and rooms
2 September 2025
Hotel is beautifully styled but basic comforts need attention.
Breakfast good. Room very clean
Window wouldn’t close & was next to rail line therefore noisy Sink plug wouldn’t seal. Strong smell like moth balls in room
2 September 2025
Exceptional
rooms are very comfortable, with nice touches in terms of amenities such as free snacks in room. Housekeeping are excellent Front of house staff great
A negative turned into a positive. When I arrived there was a function in the bar area that shook the very windows of my room. I went to the front desk and without hesitation they relocated me to a quieter room, without a hint of this is a problem Garbriella was awesome
1 September 2025
Beautiful building lovely rooms great location
Great rooms Friendly helpful staff Fabulous breakfast Good location
Nothing
31 August 2025
Fabulous
Great location nice hotel
Our room was near a Trainline so did wake us
31 August 2025
Excellent location, & very grand, beautiful building. Staff were lovely, free drinks for guests at happy hour was a
Beautiful, grand building.
Room quite small
31 August 2025
Outstanding base of operations for a visit to Manchester.
We arrived in Manchester early in the morning after an overnight flight from the US. The front desk staff checked us in early AND upgraded our room. The hotel architecture is incredible. Breakfast was excellent.
Small elevator, and not enough lights in the room. Dinner menu is limited.
31 August 2025
Brilliant ask for a room away from the noise of the trains
The room was really nice .
Breakfast was good but it was ridiculous that you had to pay an £8 supplement for eggs Benedict.
31 August 2025
Excellent in every way. Highly recommend
We were so impressed from the moment we entered the building. Extremely beautiful and the rest of the hotel followed suit. From all staff, to the very impressive large clean bedrooms and the wonderful breakfast selection, all was excellent. Thank you so much, we will definitely return and the best proximity for Oxford Road train station and the Palace theatre too.
No negative comments at all .
30 August 2025
Best Manchester hotel by far
Everything beautiful
Dirty windows and no magnifying mirror in the room
29 August 2025
Exceptional
Incredible hotel , like staying in an art gallery. Staff attentive and always going the extra mile. Perfect location, couldn't recommend it enough!
Everything was perfect
29 August 2025
Perfect overnight break in the city, everything on the doorstep and the theatre right next door hotel right next door.
Location, comfort, beautiful surroundings
28 August 2025
Best hotel I have ever stayed at!
Amazing service, incredible building, fair price.
nothing m8
27 August 2025
Impressive entrance with high standard of interior and fittings making a welcome and beautiful stay. The furnishings we
Beautiful architecture, high quality interior with helpful friendly staff and service. The onsite florist was beautiful, alongside the door staff as they gave a sense of reassurance.
We got lost via the different lifts and couldn’t access our room using the lift from the bar and the stairs. The bathroom light didn’t always work, we thought this was related to the keycard but the other lights in the room worked.
27 August 2025
Fabulous
Great location, right next to Palace Theatre, opposite Oxford Road train station, around the corner from NCP carpark. Many restaurants with 15 minutes walk. Fabulous grade II listed building with original features. Very friendly and efficient staff
Not cheap
25 August 2025
Overall is was good.
Clean and sophisticated, beautifully designed
The reception area was absolutely beautiful However the hall way to the rooms and the room itself is basic. Nothing wow about it. The price I paid was not worth it. The breakfast was average not much of a selection for kids and vegetarians.
25 August 2025
Lovely stay, lovely staff, lovely place
We love the decor, friendly staff, cleanliness, attention to detail and location
We weren’t advised at the time of booking that there was a pride event on, and it was very loud and took away the usual ambience of the bar etc I also reported the sensor light outside room 103 needed adjusting, on the first night I fell down the stairs as I couldn’t see them, the light came on too late
25 August 2025
Great hotel to visit Manchester
Food was great! The location is unbeatable and you can find the hotel from anywhere due to the clock tower, that was pretty high. The bed was comfy and the toiletries were great. And I absolutely loved the large windows and ceilings.
It was a bit noisy from other guests; they often left some trash in the hallways.
24 August 2025
Great breakfast, friendly service, grand rooms.
The hotel is well located and fun to be in. Breakfast was excellent. The room had all we needed including WiFi, complimentary snacks, tea and coffee, bath and shower.
The finish in the room could have been better (the toilet seat didn’t fit well).
24 August 2025
Perfect for girls theatre trip.
Perfectly located right next to Oxford Rd station and the theatre which we were going to on a girls trip. We were upgraded to a really nice room and it was very clean. All the staff were lovely.
Nothing to complain about!
23 August 2025
The best Hotel in Manchester to be spoilt rotten.
From start to finish our stay was exceptional. We received and incredibly warm welcome from Gabriella who ensured that our stay was beyond expectation. The hotel is exquisite, full of heritage and beautiful features. The room was spacious and luxurious. The best nights sleep I've had in any hotel. At breakfast we were greeted by Fran who was bubbly ,friendly and helpful. We will definitely be planning another stay as soon as possible.
That we had to leave 😅
23 August 2025
Exceptional
staff location comfort stylish
23 August 2025
Fabulous hotel in a prime location.
Fabulous hotel in a prime location, near to the station, shops, bars & restaurants. It was a grand hotel, full of history and corridors galore to explore. The rooms were large, very comfortable and beautifully decorated, although kept their Victorian image. The breakfast was delicious and plentiful, offering a wide range of hot & cold food, set out in a buffet style. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Reception check in & out was very quick & straight forward. I would highly recommend this hotel and will certainly stay there again.
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Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Snack bar
- - Kid meals
- - Coffee house on site
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Safety deposit box
- - Packed lunches
- - Heating
- - Allergy-free room
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Designated smoking area
- - Minimarket on site
- - Pet basket
- - Pet bowls
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Business centre
- - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Express check-in/check-out
- - Currency exchange
- - Luggage storage
- - Concierge service
- - Invoice provided
Activities
- - Fitness centre
- - Games room
- - Nightclub/DJ
- - Fitness
- - Bicycle rental
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Ironing service (additional charge)
- - Daily housekeeping
Entertainment and family services
- - Board games/puzzles
Parking
- - Parking garage
Accessibility
- - Wheelchair accessible
- - Toilet with grab rails
- - Lower bathroom sink
- - Emergency cord in bathroom
Outdoors
- - Outdoor furniture
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key card access
- - Smoke alarms
- - CCTV in common areas
- - CCTV outside property
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Breakfast takeaway containers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Thermometers for guests provided by property
- - Face masks for guests available
16 September 2025
Exceptional