My First Trip To Manchester With Selfirdges

Manchester. A city in the north of England (well, the South for lil old North East me!) that every British person seems to know and love and surprisingly, I'd never visited the city properly until last week. I'd visited in passing for an event a few years ago and fly from the airport nearly every time I go away but I'd never had the chance to explore, to really get to know the city or for myself how wonderful I'd heard it was. Last week, I finally visited the city with Selfridges, visited the amazing store in the famous Exchange Square and had a fantastic couple of days in the notoriously beautiful city.

We started off our trip by visiting the Selfridges store in Manchester's Exchange Square and having lunch in their San Carlo Gran Cafe, an Italian-style cafe located in the Beauty Hall on the lower ground floor. After being stuck in horrendous traffic on the motorway, we were so ready for some delicious food and being the true millennial that I am, I had to order avocado and poached egg on toast from the brunch menu. It was delicious and teamed with a "hangover cure" smoothie (which I ordered despite not having a hangover, the little rebel that I am) and followed by a sorbet and ice cream berry sundae, it made for the perfect pre-shopping fuel that we needed. 

After spending some time in the cafe, we explored the huge Selfridges store in Exchange Square and it was absolute bliss for anyone who loves beauty, fashion and shopping. They have their own personal shoppers who you can book to help you find your perfect outfit or piece in their luxurious lounge, they have a Topshop and a Missguided (!!) section as well as dreamy Alexander McQueen, Whistles and so many more well loved names. I spent most of my time lusting over the beautiful bags and let me tell you I am desperate to get back down there and spend some dough on a classic designer bag. 

At 4pm, we headed down to the beauty department where I was booked in for my make-up with NARS, a brand I'm already a huge fan of. The amazing Stephanie gave me the absolutely stunning look that you see above, guiding me through exactly what she was doing so I could recreate the look myself at home, creating a face chart at the end with all of the products used and encouraging me to step outside of my beauty comfort zone and go for colour on my eyes (*faints in shock*). I was over the moon with my make-up and may or may not have taken approximately 140 selfies in the hotel room afterwards and I wouldn't hesitate to head back to both Selfirdges and NARS for my make-up or products for any occasion. The beauty department in Selfridges is fantastic too, with other brands such as MAC, Dior, Chanel and so many other well-loved luxury make-up and beauty brands. It is a blogger's paradise for sure and I could have wandered around for the entire night! 

After we'd shopped, ate and had a right nice afternoon in Selfridges, we headed back to our hotel to really see what kind of stay we were in for after quickly dropping our bags in when we arrived and oh my days I knew straight away that we'd just found my new favourite hotel. King Street Townhouse is located in the very heart of Manchester, just a short walk away from the Selfridges store, and I just didn't want to leave. We received the warmest of welcomes from the staff who were incredible throughout our entire stay and our room was beautiful, with a huge bed, a bath by the window (have you ever had a bath watching the sunset over the city? It's just as amazing as it sounds) and one of the best views I have ever seen. 

We had dinner in the hotel's restaurant, the King Street Tavern, on the evening and it was beautiful. It felt so uptown and luxurious whilst also managing to have a really lovely atmosphere too and the service continued to be incredible. I had a few "small plates" of seafood which were amazing and The breakfast and afternoon tea didn't disappoint either, with the veggie breakfast starting me off for the day. Obviously, anyone who knows me will know that afternoon tea is my thang and I'm obsessed with tiny sandwiches and cakes and I loved the afternoon tea here, particularly the scones and the raspberry macarons. YUM

However, my favourite part of King Street Townhouse was on the 7th floor: the spa and the famous rooftop pool. I'm not sure that I even need to say anything about it as the photos speak for themselves. We headed up at 8am in the morning for a swim before breakfast and it was incredible. The water was warm and with that view I think I could have easily just floated there all day in the infinity pool that looked over the city. The pool also had jets that you could turn on to turn it into a hydrotherapy pool and the steam room was just a few steps away too. I had a massage booked in and my therapist Olga came up to the pool and took me to one of the therapy rooms, where I had a full body massage that Olga tailored to me. She focused on my upper back where I get very knotted and I felt amazing afterwards. 

Overall the city itself is wonderful and I know I will definitely be back - two days just wasn't enough to experience all of the restaurants, bars and culture Manchester has to offer and as it's only a couple of hours away from where I live I really have no excuse! 

Big thanks to Selfridges and King Street Townhouse for such an amazing trip and introducing me to Manchester!

Have you ever been to Manchester? What's your favourite UK city?

Amy x

THIS POST IS IN COLLABORATION WITH SELFRIDGES AND KING STREET TOWNHOUSE AND THE TRIP AND EXPERIENCES WERE PROVIDED BY THEM. ALL WORDS AND OPINIONS REMAIN MY OWN.