Staying Cool

Manchester

• About Manchester
• Castlefield Basin
• Damask: Boxworks
• Loft: Boxworks
• Lulu: Moho
• Clint: Moho
• Swish: Timber Wharf
• Boutique: Burton Place
• Manchester Central
• Skyline: Beetham Tower
• Fresh: Hill Quays
• Woody: Hill Quays
• Shopping District
• Glam: The Edge
• Egg: The Edge
• Space: The Edge
• Sophistication: The Edge

Birmingham

• About Birmingham
• Mini: Rotunda
• Clubman: Rotunda
• Maxi: Rotunda
• Penthouse: Rotunda

Barcelona

• About Barcelona
• 39 Steps: Raval

Devon

• About Devon
• Napoleon: Royal William Yard

Individual. Independent.

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.

Great cities

We started with just three apartments in Manchester and one in Barcelona. We now have 15 apartments in Manchester, the same lovely bolthole in Barcelona and 15 apartments in central Birmingham on the top two floors of The Rotunda, in partnership with our favourite developers, Urban Splash. We're also opening up in Devon later this year...

Great design

Each of our apartments is individually designed; a one-off. Choose from Space, Egg, Mini, Maxi, Swish, Lulu 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

 

Great reviews and ratings

We were the first apartment company in Manchester to receive five star ratings and we still own the most officially rated five star serviced apartments in Manchester; all of our others have been rated as four star. We've had some great media reviews and our guests write pretty nice things about us too.

Bespoke service

Unlike other serviced apartment companies, we don't act as an umbrella agent. We own or lease all our apartments directly so that we can design and fit them out to our own high standards. We are then in total control of the service that our guests receive. We're passionate about great service. Not about people carrying our bags or serving us breakfast in bed but about trying to anticipate a guest's needs and giving them all the basic tools to enjoy their stay with us – independently. 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 guests' requests quickly. In short, we try to treat guests how we would like to be treated ourselves.

Comfort

We've spent a lot of time (and money!) carefully choosing the basics. We value a good night's sleep so beds are pocket sprung with memory foam. The mattress is called the Ultimate - you'll know why in the morning... We love great coffee so we've put in really good espresso makers (and peppermint tea for night time). We're also Apple mad, hence the Mac in every apartment. We hate the world of rip-off wifi so obviously that comes free-of-charge.

Form and function

Guests always ask where we get our furniture from. We're producing style guides for every apartment but 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 fit-out budget on each apartment, not on the lobby or on reception staff. We also make sure that the space works well from a guest's point of view - function and form.

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 converting to green electricity and we are increasing our recycling efforts.

We try to source regional produce (we've switched from Waitrose to fab, local delis) and we always buy organic and Fairtrade whenever available. We've just commissioned our own pretty right-on bathroom range which is free of all things bad and full of aromatherapy and other natural oils. We donate all our ex-stock to Men and Women's Direct Access – two shelters for the homeless in Manchester. We're currently seeking a Birmingham-based charity so if you have any ideas, let us know.

Complaints

We can't claim to always get it right and sometimes, no matter how hard we try, things go wrong... On the rare occasion this does happen then we're at the end of the phone 24 hours a day and we're never more than 15 minutes away from an apartment. 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 0161 832 4060 with your feedback.

stylish serviced apartments
– the hip alternative to hotels

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