Stock Exchange Hotel has recently been reviewed by two of our favourite publications. The Times gave the hotel an overall score of 8/10, calling it "a striking Manchester hideaway at the top of its game", while Lancashire Life described tender as "destination dining with serious wow factor". Here is what each reviewer found.
Writing for The Times, Mike Atkins, Chief Sub Editor for Travel, described Stock Exchange Hotel as "a tasteful flurry of marble pillars, gleaming brass fixtures and charming service", bringing "a dash of old-school opulence to Manchester city centre".
On the building. Atkins singled out the lobby's "glorious black and white harlequin floor" and the sense of "stepping back into a slightly more glamorous age". He noted the lovingly restored architectural features, the nostalgic photographs throughout, and the wallpaper patterned with fingerprints copied from banknotes found in the original vault.
On the rooms. Rooms were described as "refined and restrained", with a hushed palette of creams, greens and greys, white marble bathrooms and Jo Loves toiletries. The review also highlighted the suites created within the discreet two-storey extension, including the three-bedroom penthouse with its private roof terrace and dining room.
On tender. Atkins called the domed ceiling of the former trading floor "a thing of beauty", with the open kitchen offering a glimpse of chef Niall Keating and his team at work. Among the dishes he praised were pork scratchings with "a velvety chilli and lime pickle mayo", homemade sourdough with "an indecently good truffled honey butter", and pan-fried sea bream on creamy leeks with crispy capers. Breakfast, he wrote, is "à la carte and excellent".
On Sterling. The review recommended Sterling, our Roaring Twenties-style cocktail bar in the building's old vault, for its live jazz and inventive drinks list.
On location. Location earned the highest score of the review. Market Street, the Northern Quarter and Manchester Art Gallery are all a short walk away, and Co-op Live, the Etihad Stadium and Old Trafford are around 15 minutes by taxi.
Read the full review in The Times
Lancashire Life's review focused on tender, and opened by saying that calling it a hotel restaurant "doesn't really do it justice".
On the room. The reviewer described the vast domed roof, grand arches and marble pillars of the former trading floor, with tall drapes framing the open kitchen "like a stage set". Yet for all its grandeur, the space was found to be "luxurious but easy going", with curved leather booths, brass table lamps and trailing greenery making it feel like "more elegant indoor garden than former trading floor".
On the food. Lancashire Life noted that chef Niall Keating holds two Michelin stars, and described his cooking as "confident, modern British cooking without unnecessary fuss". Highlights included:
• Manchester smoked salmon, "silky and restrained"
• Bury Black Pudding Scotch egg with homemade brown sauce
• Beef tartare, "clean and well-judged"
• John Dory in sea-urchin beurre blanc
• The 1.2kg salt-aged Lake District tomahawk steak for sharing, "exactly the kind of dish that turns dinner into an event"
On the wine. The review praised tender's sommelier, Rafael Santo, "whose enthusiasm is as memorable as the bottles he pours", and his passion for the wines of his native Portugal.
On Sterling. After dinner, the reviewer followed the evening downstairs to Sterling, created by Joe and Daniel Schofield alongside wine expert James Brandwood, with live jazz on Fridays and Saturdays.
On staying over. The review also covered our 40 boutique rooms, with their old ledgers, architectural drawings and period photographs, and The House, which it described as the largest penthouse in Manchester. It recommended the Traders Package as "a neat way to experience everything the hotel does best".
The verdict: "This is special-occasion dining at its best."
Read the full review in Lancashire Life
Both reviewers arrived at the same conclusion: this is a building worth lingering in. Dinner beneath the dome at tender, a nightcap in Sterling and a night upstairs is the best way to see why.
