Manchester serviced apartments for a comfortable city break

You’ll be in the middle of the action at Staycity Aparthotel Manchester Picadilly, a minute’s walk from the city’s Piccadilly train station. Choose from one, two and three-bedroom apartments with living spaces featuring flatscreen TVs. Rooms have modern, clean-lined décor and fresh towels and bed linen are included.

This aparthotel also has a café open 24 hours a day – great for late-night eats after an evening out at the lively cocktail bars of nearby Spinningfields. Bag a table under the angular yellow lamps in the Scandi-style setting with pale wood furnishings and munch on piping-hot pizza. Or get it to go and share it with your travel partner on the soft sofabed in your apartment.

It’s also easy to soak up the sights then pop back for a snack made in your apartment kitchen. Piccadilly Gardens is just over five minutes on foot, so you can take your nibbles and enjoy them out in the open air. Other attractions a few minutes’ walk away include Manchester Art Gallery, where you can see world-famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings and 21,000 items of clothing and accessories from 1600 to the present day.

Influenced by its location close to Chinatown, Roomzzz Manchester City has an Eastern-inspired flavour: think patterned silks on beds and exotic dark-wood furniture. The décor is also a masterclass in mixing modern and vintage accents, with rustic floorboards, bare beams and wooden shutters giving each space offbeat charm.

Solo travellers might want to economise with a thoughtfully designed studio, complete with a kitchenette. Groups of four, meanwhile, can spread out in the Penthouse Suite, with its double-floor layout and Jacuzzi bathtub (plus – perhaps more importantly – three HDTVs).

From this hotel, you’ll be just five minutes from the Town Hall and shows at the iconic Palace Theatre. In the mornings, pick up a grab-and-go breakfast including hot drinks, fruit juice and yogurts, as well as freshly baked pastries, porridge and fruit. Then spread the feast out on your sinkably soft pocket-sprung bed while chatting about the night before.

The apartments at SACO Manchester – Piccadilly are light-filled spots with an airy ambience. When you’re not out exploring, snuggle on the sofa and catch a game on the flatscreen Freeview TVs with Sky Sports channels. You’ll be near enough to the sights to pack as many in as possible. The immersive exhibits at the Science and Industry Museum, set inside a 1830s railway station, are a 20-minute walk away.

Bedrooms are as sleek and contemporary as the rest of the apartment; you’ll have a comfortable night’s sleep on the plump pillows under fresh white linens. In the bathrooms, find a fluffy towel to envelop yourself in after freshening up with the luxe L’Occitane toiletries. It really is all about the details at this aparthotel, with milk supplied for your morning cup of tea and earplugs on hand.

When you wake up each day, tuck into treats from your breakfast hamper while playing music using the Bose sound dock. With a one-bed Club Apartment, you’ll also have a pod coffee machine for java on tap.

Settle down in Salford – about a 15-minute train ride from Manchester city centre – at Riverside Villas holiday apartments. You can escape the hustle and bustle of the city on your balcony overlooking the river, yet you’ll still be within walking distance of many attractions. Manchester Arena’s a half an hour stroll away for concerts, and tours of Man U’s Old Trafford stadium are a 10-minute drive.

Cook in the spacious kitchen with sunshine streaming in through the skylights or test out the nearby restaurants. A top pick is stylish Vero Moderno, serving authentic Italian meals among bar brick walls (just over a 10-minute walk away). Meadow Park’s right in front of the property, so you can easily head off on wanders in this lush green reserve to work off the indulgence. Private parking’s available too, making it easy to get out and about in the countryside.

With services including laundry and dry cleaning as well as housekeeping, this aparthotel is a convenient choice for longer trips.

For serviced apartments with a touch of luxury, it’s hard to beat CitySuites. This accommodation has an 18-metre indoor pool and a hot tub for unwinding in. If you’re keen to keep up your exercise regime, it also has a fully equipped fitness centre.

For a short trip, select a Studio space with handy amenities ranging from a Smeg fridge and a Nespresso coffee machine to a plush corner sofa for curling up with a page-turner. Family apartments are ideal if you have the kids in tow – these roomy spaces include Sky+ HD TVs so the little ones can catch up on cartoons while you have a lie-in.

CitySuites is a three-minute walk from Manchester’s towering cathedral, just across the rushing River Irwell. After checking out its dreaming spires, continue on to New Cathedral Street, five minutes from the aparthotel, for designer and high-street shopping at department stores like Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. Restaurants are easy to source – trendy Gaucho, adorned in cowhide wall hangings and serving Argentinean-style steaks, is also five minutes away on foot.

Heading to Manchester with friends? Lushpads Northern Quarter can accommodate up to 10 people. Its loft-style apartments have a Victorian gothic feel, decorated in deep colours with exposed-wood beams and glossy mahogany-toned furniture.

The bohemian Northern Quarter is known for its striking street art, indie record shops and left-of-field bars. As the city’s cultural hotspot, it’s also a dream location for music fans. A concierge is on hand at the aparthotel, so you can ask for tips on which venues to check out. They might also recommend eateries such as Federal Café Bar on Nicholas Croft for Aussie-style coffee and brunch, where you can order fail-safe breakfast favourites like smashed avocado and eggs on sourdough toast.

If you’re visiting with a large group, go for Pad 1 out of Lushpads’ two luxury serviced apartments in Manchester, which has high-spec extras like a curved 4K TV and multi-seater dining table for group meals. You’ll have your own entrance, meaning you won’t disturb other residents when you’re popping in and out.

Premier Suites Manchester really does live up to its name. This aparthotel has one-bedroom flats that measure around 47 square metres – more than 50 per cent bigger in size than your average British hotel room. For extra space, splash out on a 63-square-metre two-bed flat.

Whichever apartment you choose, you’ll have a slick kitchen featuring integrated appliances for cooking in comfort. Order a supermarket delivery for all the meals you have planned and reception will accept it for you, so there’s no need to wait in for your groceries. Or head out for dinner: the Mackie Mayor food hall inside a late 19th-century market, with independent businesses selling everything from cheesy stone-baked pizzas to spicy bao buns, is a couple of minutes’ away on foot.

If you’d rather feast on melt-in-the-mouth jerk chicken from nearby Eat & Sweet on your apartment’s comfy sofa, make the most of the restaurant delivery services – just ask at reception for details.