A new name on a familiar street
King Street has long occupied a particular place in Manchester’s social geography. Long before the city’s current wave of development, this stretch of the city centre quietly attracted the kind of guests who preferred substance over spectacle. The building that now houses The Rex played its own part in that history, first as a bank entrusted by Manchester’s commercial elite, then as a hotel that became known for discretion as much as its design. The transition to The Rex preserves all of that without apology.
“While our name has evolved, the hotel our guests know and love remains very much the same. This rebrand is an expressive upgrade, retaining the character, comfort, and connection people cherish, while introducing a more modern, sophisticated expression of who we are today. It reflects our commitment to our guests, our team, and the community we’re proud to be part of, while honouring the history that has shaped us.”
Jenny Oh, General Manager, The Rex
The 60-room hotel spans seven floors and carries the Art Deco bones of its banking past with visible confidence. Preservation has been the guiding principle rather than transformation, with each space reinterpreted to balance its architectural heritage against a more contemporary sensibility. The effect is a building that feels rooted and assured, rather than one straining to appear current.
The rebrand also formalises the elevation of several key spaces within the property, most notably Reserve, the hotel’s seventh-floor private members club, and Treasury, an underground events space set within the building’s original bank vaults. Together, they signal a clearer identity for the property: one built around privacy, considered service and the kind of atmosphere that cannot be manufactured quickly.
Reserve: a seventh-floor world of its own
Reserve sits behind vault-like doors on the hotel’s top floor, accessible to members and hotel guests. The choice of location is deliberate: elevated above the city, with three rooftop terraces offering panoramic views of the Manchester skyline, it functions as a space that rewards those who seek it out. The terraces are suited to everything from quiet afternoon work sessions to private parties, with the city spread below providing a backdrop that the interior design does well not to compete with.
The food and drinks offering at Reserve leans into the setting without overreaching. Small plates and a considered drinks menu form the core of the experience, delivered with the kind of unhurried service that is harder to achieve than it appears. The club operates as a working environment as comfortably as a social one, which gives it a versatility that purely evening-focused venues tend to lack.
Treasury and the appeal of the underground
Below the hotel’s ground floor, Treasury occupies the original bank vaults of the building. The Strong Room Private Dining Room sits at its heart, offering a setting for intimate, high-profile gatherings that the upper floors simply cannot replicate. The combination of low ceilings, original vault architecture and considered lighting creates an atmosphere that is genuinely difficult to find elsewhere in the city.
Treasury functions as a private events space, reinforcing the hotel’s established position as the venue of choice for occasions where the guest list and the setting both need to be exactly right. The contrast between the underground vaults and the rooftop terraces of Reserve gives the property a range that few Manchester hotels can match.
Refreshed interiors, retained character
The rebrand has been accompanied by a refresh of the hotel’s restaurant and bar spaces. New furniture has been introduced and the palette and detailing have been quietly updated, but the approach throughout has been subtraction rather than transformation. The spaces feel coherent and calm, with a confidence that comes from knowing what the building does well and not attempting to override it.
Guests will continue to find afternoon teas, five-course tasting menus, live entertainment and private dining within the hotel. The restaurant carries two AA Rosettes, a standard that predates the rebrand and will continue to define the food offering under the new name. The bar operates with the kind of continuity that regulars of the former Hotel Gotham will recognise immediately.
Leonardo Limited Edition: the wider context
The Rex sits within Leonardo Limited Edition Hotels, a collection built around individual properties with distinct histories and a strong sense of place. The approach across the collection is consistent: each hotel is allowed to carry its own character rather than being absorbed into a uniform brand language. For The Rex, this means the rebranding process has been shaped by the building’s own identity rather than imposed upon it.
The result is a property that feels specific to its location in a way that larger hotel groups often struggle to achieve. King Street is not a thoroughfare that rewards generic hospitality, and The Rex, under its new name, continues to offer something that is firmly rooted in where it stands and what that address has always meant to the city.
From the vaulted rooms beneath street level to the open terraces above it, The Rex covers considerable ground without ever feeling stretched. The rebrand has given the property a name better aligned with its current ambitions, and the spaces to match. Manchester’s King Street has a long memory. The Rex looks well-placed to give it something new to remember.