About us
Five things you may like to know about Staying Cool
- We are a small, independently-owned company with twelve (lovely) full and part-time team members
- We never use the word luxury - it's overused and rarely lives up to its billing
- Our bedding feels like goose down, but allergy sufferers need not worry - they're actually filled with microfibre
- Unlike many hotels, we don't earn commission from the places we recommend to guests. If we don't like or haven't tried it, it doesn't go on the list
- After six years in business, we still get excited and cheer every time a booking comes in!
More about us
We set up Staying Cool back in 2005 (we being two friends, Paul and Tracey). We both worked away from home a fair bit and thought there had to be a better alternative to a boutique hotel (great design but small rooms and a hefty bill) and a serviced apartment (cheaper and more spacious but badly and blandly furnished). So we came up with the concept of Staying Cool: individual apartments for the more independently-minded among us.
Great cities
We started with three apartments in Manchester and one in Barcelona. We now have apartments in Manchester, the same lovely bolthole in Barcelona and 20 stunning apartments in central Birmingham on the top two floors of The Rotunda, in partnership with our favourite developers, Urban Splash. We've grown but we're still small enough to offer that all important personal service.
Great design
Each of our apartments is individually designed; a one-off. Choose from Space, Egg, Mini, Maxi or Loft to name but a few.
‘...ours has more than a touch of retro decadence, with its white fur rug, Barbarella-style light fittings and moulded plastic chairs. There's nothing retro about the free wi-fi, Apple Mac, wide-screen TV and espresso maker, however. The bed is huge and inviting and the shower packs a punch. In short, it's perfect.’
Joanne O'Connor, Travel Editor, The Observer, on Space
Great reviews and ratings
We were the first apartment company in Manchester to receive a five star rating; all others there have been rated as four star. In Birmingham we've held the city's only five star rating for the larger apartments at Rotunda for three years now. We've also had some great media reviews and our guests write pretty nice things about us too.
"...it was lucky I had a room at Staying Cool. The name seemed to work immediately. It was also slick in a 'contemporary cool with swinging Sixties style' - the product of Urban Splash, the increasingly well-known city centre 'reinvigorators', and the design-conscious Staying Cool team... Everything seemed functional and well planned, as if I really was in a dream flat. There was plenty of room and a large, comfortable bed... I sipped my mint tea (free), read Wallpaper* (free), and thought: why can't all city stays be as cool as this?"
The Times, on their stay in a Mini in Birmingham
Bespoke service
We're passionate about great service. Not about people carrying our bags or serving us breakfast in bed (although that can be rather nice...) but about trying to anticipate your needs and giving you all the basic tools to enjoy your stay with us – independently. No knocks at the door here for a bed turning down service when you're just getting into the shower.
We try to be as flexible as possible when we can – check-in and check-out times are a good example – and to respond to your requests quickly. In short, we try to treat you how we would like to be treated ourselves.
Comfort and the little things in life
We've spent a lot of time carefully choosing the basics. A good night's sleep is high on the priority list so beds are pocket sprung with memory foam. Our mattresses are called the Ultimate - we always say you'll know why in the morning... We love great coffee so we've put in really good espresso makers and commissioned our own ethically sourced coffee (plus Fairtrade peppermint tea for night time). We're also a bit Apple mad, so there's a Mac in every apartment. We hate the world of rip-off wifi so obviously that comes free. Oh and we also hate those little UHT milk things so we put in a pint of fresh organic or locally produced milk, depending on where you're staying.
Form and function
Guests always ask where we get our furniture from - the simple answer is from all over the place.
- We commission pieces from up-and-coming designers and studios (NaughtOne, Anne Kyyrö Quinn, Lou Rota...)
- We source original pieces and refurbish them (from Eames, Jacobsen and Panton...)
- We buy from more established names such as Timorous Beasties, Tom Dixon, Paul Smith.
We've essentially turned the hotel model on its head and blown the budget on each apartment, not on the lobby. We also make sure that the space works well from a guest's point of view. Function and form we hope.
Great design doesn't have to cost the earth...
We're passionate about a lot of things. We all care about the environment and are trying to apply our good green credentials at home to the business. We're an accredited Green Tourism Business and converted to green electricity three years ago with Ecotricity and we are increasing our recycling efforts all the time.
We try to source regional produce using local delis and have Waitrose as the back up plan. We always buy organic, Fairtrade or ethically sourced produce whenever available. We commissioned our own handblended bathroom range which is free of all things bad and full of aromatherapy and other natural oils. We donate all our ex-stock to shelters.
Complaints
We can't claim to get it right all the time and sometimes, no matter how hard we try, things do go wrong... On the rare occasion this does happen then we're at the end of the phone 24 hours a day. If we can't resolve a problem then we make sure we deal with your complaint fairly – as we would expect to be dealt with ourselves.
We really value guest feedback and use all your comments at our monthly meeting where we discuss new ideas. Some of our best ones have come from guests. Email tracey@stayingcool.com or phone Tracey on 0121 285 1250 with your feedback. Thanks for reading this far.
‘Need somewhere stylish to stay? Don’t follow the crowd and book a hotel. Try Staying Cool’s apartments – a hip alternative.’ The Independent on Sunday
‘in fact, given the apartments' oh-so-slick ambience, head-swimming, city-sweeping vistas, cache of tech wizardry and everything-thought-of amenities, stayingcool offers every excuse for staying in.’ Mr & Mrs Smith