GO OVER THE PENNINES FOR YOUR VALENTINES CITY BREAK

Although it may be tempting to book a country  house hotel or a coastal hideaway for a Valentine’s Day sojourn with the prospect of inclement weather in February, transportation delays and cancellations choosing a city break is perhaps one of the best options.

Manchester is a great choice for a Valentine’s break and one of its newest hotels The Hyatt Regency is a great option set in the Innovative District  on the south side of the vibrant city centre.

We had no difficulty finding the hotel and parked outside to off load our bags before parking in a car park less than three minutes walk away.

Enter the Hyatt Regency and there’s a wonderful sense of space, modern elegance and opulent style that cannot be found in any of the city’s other hotels.

The lobby is vast and the white marble and gold finishes will take your breath away. But above all, like the whole hotel, it is well planned to give a feeling of luxury and modernistic design.

I loved the fireside effect in the large lobby. You can sit here in leather tub chairs and relax with a cocktail, glass of wine or enjoy an afternoon tea. Alternatively sit at one of the tables that line the length of the lobby and watch the world go by through the large floor to ceiling windows.

There’s sinkable sofas, arm chairs with cushions or modernistic seats – someone has really put their creative thinking caps on when designing this area.

Our room was easy to access by the high speed lifts and when we opened the door we were really amazed by the view from the floor to ceiling windows in our room and in the evening gave a  superb view of the twinkling lights of the city.

All rooms have king size beds which are more than comfortable with crisp white bed linen. I loved shelving that included everything from a hospitality tray, glasses etc to our large flat screen T.V.

The bathrooms at the Hyatt Regency are just as well planned as the rest of the hotel. They are large and spacious but above all well lit with a great deep bath, lots of places for toiletries and makeup etc and a wonderful high pressure shower.

Before dinner we decided on an aperitif in the Graduate Bar. Again this is a spacious place with a light and airy atrium and some great art work on t he walls. The bar is stocked with everything you can ever imagine and there’s a friendly and knowledgeable bar man who knows everything about his stock from beers and wines to cocktails and champagne!

At the other side of the bar from the lobby there is a garden terrace but on a cold winter night this was one place we failed to visit having our drinks infront of the floor to ceiling windows in the lobby.

The Laureate Restaurant, where we dined,  is an a la carte restaurant with tempting choices created under the guidance of Head Chef Manash and Sous Chef Vikas. It’s a place to discover new dishes or savour old favourites with a fusion of flavourful ingredients in a menu that feels vibrant and fresh, whilst at its heart it remains modern British.

The seating in the restaurant, as you would expect is well planned offering different types of seating from tables to leather sofa bench type seating and a feeling of spacious comfort. You would hardly know you were still in the gigantic lobby space.

After perusing the menu we decided to share two starters a Mezze selection and a Cured Salmon starter. The Vegan and gluten free Mezze selection came beautifully presented and included a tomato basil bruschetta and pumpkin spinach bakes which were absolutely delicious teamed with several house dips, olives and breads. A generous portion indeed.

The home cured Scottish salmon was finely sliced and exceptionally tasty with the perfect match of orange and fennel and beetroot tartar.

My main course of Sea Bass was just as it should be and one of the best cooked ones I have tasted for a long time – the fish was white and succulent and the skin was very crispy – with all the right accompaniments including some delicious buttery mash.

The 12 hour braised beef short rib my partner chose was he said a dish to remember. The beef was so tender and flavoursome and the Dauphins and young vegetables, pan glazed shallots and parsley crisp completed the perfect fusion of flavours for the beef.

I must admit we had to take a break before ordering our dessert. I opted for the Chocolate and Coconut Tart with  a vegan coconut sorbet. This was my heaven on a plate. The sweet was beautifully balanced with the coconut and chocolate avoiding that overkill of chocolate one often finds in chocolate desserts and the pastry was obviously home made.

The honeycomb cheesecake my partner chose was beautifully presented with crispy honeycomb pieces and fruit.

The restaurant service for dinner was amazing with the maître de making us feel really special as well as being knowledgeable about each dish.

Sitting in the lobby we decided on a couple of cocktails to end our lovely evening in the opulent surrounding of the Hyatt Regency before retiring to our room and drawing back the curtains to reveal the magical twinkling light of Manchester – but it could have been Manhattan or anywhere the view from our window was just so amazing.

Next morning we indulged ourselves in the Hyatt’s quirky and traditional breakfast. My partner chose the full English from the buffet whilst I feasted on some of the tempting pastries, fruits and breads and the delicious coffee on offer.

Our check out was as friendly and efficient as our check in with friendly and helpful reception staff to see us on our way.

Our Hyatt Regency sojourn was restful, romantic and  only a short drive over the Pennines an experience that I am sure we will be repeating in the future.

The Hyatt Regency, 55 Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PQ

Tel: 0161 613595550   Email: Manchester.regency@hyatt.com

Website – https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/england-united-kingdom/hyatt-regency-manchester/manrm

The hotel is a short walk from the Manchester Museum, Whitworth Gallery, The Palace Theatre and 02 Apollo, Oxford Road and Deansgate Station whilst the Manchester Arena and Lowry are around 3 miles away.

Liz Coggins is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers