Manchester’s modernist Gateway House - also known as the ‘Lazy S’ – opened 8 May, as a Staycity Aparthotel, creating 50 new jobs.
The building, which sits alongside Piccadilly Station, was built in the 60s as offices and retail space but has remained empty since 2010. Staycity Aparthotels has signed a 25-year lease on the building, which is owned by LaSalle Investment Management, and will occupy all seven floors with retail space remaining underneath.
Staycity Manchester Piccadilly offers 182 short-let apartments made up of one-, two-, and three-bed units each with an open-plan sitting room, kitchen and dining area and en-suite bathroom. Additional facilities include a café, lounge area, gym, car park for 56 vehicles and a 24-hour reception service as well as four separate meeting rooms offering a total space of 42m2 available for bookings from guests or local companies.
“This is an important opening for Staycity as the building is a well-known landmark in
Manchester – the first sight of the city visitors have when they arrive by train to Manchester Piccadilly. We are delighted to be part of the regeneration of this unusual and striking building,” commented Staycity Aparthotels CEO Tom Walsh.
Dublin-based Staycity is one of the fastest-growing European aparthotel providers. Its well equipped apartments are popular with both business and leisure travellers as an alternative to hotel accommodation.
“Our apartments offer guests a freedom that they don’t get from a hotel. Business and leisure travellers either on short or long-stays are discovering the more home-from-home feel of an aparthotel, where they are free to cook their own food when they want and have the space to relax, work or meet colleagues or friends,” added Walsh. Staycity operates over 3,000 apartments across 10 European cities including Birmingham,
Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Lyon and Marseille. The company intends to grow to
15,000 apartments by 2022, reinforcing its position as one of the leading aparthotel operators. www.staycity.com