Kimpton Clocktower Hotel (Manchester, UK)

What is your Rewards Club status?

Plat Elite/Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?

Yes, but with caveats.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?

A "1 Double Bed Essential". Was apparently given an "upgrade" (but I didn't catch exactly what), but the room was still the same type.
Elected to pay for an upgrade to a 2 Double Bed Essential later in the day (because of certain circumstances), and was given the first day's upgrade for free.

How are the rooms?

I'd say it varies. I was rather happy with the 2 Double Bed Essential I moved into later the day, but less so with the 1 Double Bed Essential room. The Clocktower Hotel isn't in a purpose-built hotel building (as the name suggests), so one's mileage may vary depending on the room. Some rooms have their TV wall-mounted, some not, depending on whether there is a wall to mount it on. Rooms without the TV wall-mounted meant that it ate into desk space (and so you can't really realistically use the desk for work). I did see a room that had the period panelling features and had a dedicated desk space, but it felt a bit darker than the rest, and it had a shower instead of a shower+bathtub (not a deal-breaker for me, I prefer the shower, but it might be a dealbreaker for some).

Second room definitely had really high ceilings (think lofts); can't remember about the first.

The first room I was in had an issue with what I think was the dehumidifier fan? in the toilets. Like, it made noise from time to time, and I thought it was kinda normal but I had none of those in the second room.

The heating/cooling can also be quite finicky - in both rooms I was in, it automatically switched back to cooling from heating. Given that this is Manchester and not London, it turned me into an icicle at times. And I'm not quite sure why as well, Daikin (the brand) usually is stellar from what I've seen over the years.

Essentially I guess it might be helpful to drop an email with your enquiries before your stay, if you need specific stuff - the staff there is excellent.

[If you are Spire and Inner Circle] How was your complimentary welcome amenity?

Not Spire or Inner Circle, but was offered 600 points or £10 raid the bar. Got the £10, but didn't end up using it, and was offered to have it changed back to points at checkout.

Did you raid the minibar? If so, what did you take?

Minibar stuff's all free at this Kimpton!

Were you offered a Chef's Taste at Dinner, If so, what did you receive?

NA

Did you use the free spa credit / did the hotel participate? If so, was it a good value?

NA

What was good and what was bad?

Good:
The staff. Oh, they were so nice. And I mean, actually-nicer-than-IC-Sofia-which-is-already-really-amazing. They went out on their way to make sure I was happy with everything.
The Refuge bar and restaurant - food was better than usual, but beyond that, it's a really nice bit to just have a drink or two and I wished I took advantage of it more when I was there.

Really lovely building, and really lovely rooms. However (see below)

Bad:
However, some corridors and some rooms definitely are better than the others. The corridor where my original room is was a bit darker (I love my light), the other one was way better with lots of natural sunlight. I'm not a fan of the Clocktower building (the one accessible to the right), but the buildings on the left are nicer. Refuge building/wing is currently not used as it's undergoing renovation. The hotel is absolutely huge (you can definitely get lost in it), so I'm not surprised about the variation.

​​The nature of this hotel's buildings (the Clocktower is based on four historic enjoining buildings) mean that some old-construction flaws are kinda, well, obvious. The room that I stayed in (and the previous one) had minimal soundproofing from the outside. Sometimes it's possible to hear a very teeny tiny bit of what is going on in the adjoining room, and definitely when people are talking in the corridor. I was woken up by construction (conducted on the building next door) on my last two days, too; and was disrupted from falling asleep at 3/4am in the morning on the first day because of presumably club-goers making noise whilst walking down Whitworth Street.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
In all honesty, I would return when the conditions are right. The staff alone made it quite worth the time. But I admit I paid too much for this. Considering it was the Platinum Jubilee weekend in the UK, it probably is par for the course. Yet, considering the fact it was a writing/work retreat for me, hopping up to Edin or Glasgow to one of the other Kimptons might have been more economical and for a slightly nicer environment. If I had stayed in my original room, a citizenM would have more table space in their tiny rooms than it, which I consider shocking.

While I am in "I will return" bit (especially once the Refuge wing refurb is complete, and some of the other refurbishments that's slated for some other rooms), I think I can only come to a definite conclusion once I've tried the Hotel Indigo in town, and when it comes down to price. This Kimpton can be had affordably, but it can also spiral quite expensively and I just think there are some price points where the value proposition for this place can't be justified (especially considering the possible noise and room variation issues).