We visited fantastic conference and meeting venues in Manchester to help EAs and PAs planning events

The Editor of PA Life explored the best venues and hospitality for corporate events in Manchester to help event organising EAs and PAs to get ahead with event planning. The three-day visit, that included a day at the inaugural CHS Manchester, was a chance to connect with hundreds of top class venues ad suppliers thanks to our wonderful hosts, Marketing Manchester, the experts on everything this vibrant city-region has to offer to both business and leisure visitors…

As a returning visitor, it’s great to witness the huge change this area has undergone over the past decade particularly. There’s been a massive investment boom in property to accommodate both business and leisure offerings. And its cultural scene goes from strength to strength. All of this has helped to position Manchester in the centre of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ agenda, and is likely to keep it there with Andy Burnham drawing even more attention and investment to the region.

Attracting younger generations is also vital for longer term success of regional cities and Greater Manchester has plenty to offer to do just that, not least jobs in science, creative and digital industries. It’s thriving music, art and sports scene are another great pull, and it’s been named the UK’s most competitive, economically productive, liveable, and vibrant city.

Excellent road and rail transport links favour Manchester too and its airport’s route network is rapidly growing, connecting Greater Manchester with over 200 global cities.

Ask Marketing Manchester when planning meetings and events in their city

EAs, PAs and other event organisers are encouraged to enlist the help and advice of the local experts, the Meet in Manchester team when planning conferences and events in the city-region. The team offers a venue location service, bespoke bid production, a tailored accommodation booking service, targeted delegate welcomes, and event promotional support.

My stay at the 5* Edwardian

My three-night stay in one of Manchester’s top hotels, the five-star Edwardian Manchester truly met my expectations. The location of the property, behind St Peter’s Square in the Civic Quarter is convenient for accessing anything in central Manchester. The building has a rich Manchester history – once the Free Trade Hall, it has spent life as a political meeting venue, and later concert venue, hosting some major concerts including the Sex Pistols, and Bob Dylan’s infamous ‘Judas’ gig.  It’s now run by the Radisson group and also part of Virtuoso’s global portfolio of luxury properties. For EAs and PAs looking for a high-end city centre meeting or event space with accommodation, The Edwardian is a good place to start your search. With 263 rooms and suites, 20 event spaces, two restaurants and a gorgeous spa with a gym and pool, it has everything executives and C-Suite guests expect.

I stayed at one of the Collection Premium Rooms on the 12th floor with a fabulous city view taking in tower of the Town Hall and a glimpse of the building where the ‘Number 10 North’ is located. The spacious room came with a great bathroom with both a walk in shower and a bath tub. It also had ample space to serve as a dressing room. A bathrobe, slippers, luscious Chelsea Green amenities and a top of the range hairdryer are included,  I wouldn’t expect anything less from a hotel of this quality.

We started our tour of the hotel and its meeting and event spaces at the stylish Library Champagne Bar. It’s a popular choice for afternoon teas, which can be served with your choice of champagne. After seeing the impressive event spaces, each room comes with individual touches and natural light.

We finished the tour at Peter Street Kitchen, the hotel’s restaurant and The Rikyū Bar, for some fabulous cocktails served with delicious canapes. If you are a sake lover this is a must visit – equally impressive menu of fine wines and cocktails. The restaurant serves an interesting fusion cuisine of contemporary Japanese and Mexican dishes. Under the arches in the Rikyū Lounge or around the Hibachi table, you can book a semi-private dining experience with the best of Peter Street Kitchen’s cuisine. You can also take over the entire restaurant for an exclusive hire.

The ‘curtain raiser’ ahead of CHS Manchester

To finish my first day in I joined the ‘Manchester Calling’ welcome event at Manchester Central – a former city centre station turned into the city’s largest conference and event space with a capacity of over 10,000 visitors. It was a lively evening with plenty of food, drink and the legendary DJ Clint Boon, of Inspiral Carpets fame – one of Manchester’s definitive homegrown bands –  the event community warmed up ahead the inaugural CHS Manchester at AO Arena the following day.

After 13 years in Leeds and Birmingham, the CHS shows merged to a larger exhibition, and Manchester was chosen as the natural host for this major exhibition in the north of England. Over 300 UK and European venues and event suppliers came together at this inaugural show which had so much to offer its visitors, not least the three education stages. Some of the highlights for me included the Revolution Stage and The Manchester Stage with updates on what’s taking place in the region.

Planning conferences and meetings made easy at CHS Manchester

What better place to spend my second day in Manchester than amongst the 300+ exhibitors and hundreds of visitors at the inaugural CHS Manchester at the 4500 capacity AO Arena. The buzzing show floor was packed with top venues, suppliers and destination stands from from across the UK, and Europe too.

The three education stages offered a wide range of great talks and topics from the latest in the events industry including AI, personal branding and planning your career on the Revolution Stand. I also listened to Laura Mason, Head of Business Development at Marketing Manchester to share the latest industry news and plans for the region. Emma King, Founder & CEO, CHS Events, was interviewed about bringing the show to Manchester, how she felt the day had gone and what the future of the show looks like. The Industry Hub pulled audiences to talk including how to do less but achieve more by using AI tools in events and what’s next for incentive travel.

Pretty much the whole show was brought together over lunch and also invited to the post-event drinks at The Mezz Bar and Restaurant within the AO Arena. Both were fantastic opportunities to network and make new connections, and worked well even for such a large event as this.

The day of visiting amazing venues in Manchester

The Monastery Manchester originally opened in 1872 as a friary, the building sat derelict for nearly 20 years, when it was converted into a conference and events space in 2007. The Grade II*-listed building offers a uniquely stunning events venue, with a variety of spaces including the original Monastery knave, with capacity for 650 people. You can also host banquets, private dinners, and smaller events, with all of the profits from venue hire being invested back into the charitable trust that preserves the building.

The University of Manchester is a world-class institution, with a highly-rated student experience. The city also boasts impressive academic and political history as the birthplace of modern western vegetarianism, atomic theory, women’s suffrage and thermodynamics. The four venues our guides took us were all in the main campus area, on and off Oxford Road in the city centre and showed the quality and diversity on offer. The Oddfellows House in Deansgate is a beautiful Grade II listed 1900th century gem, recently renovated, offering stunning rooms for dinner, celebrations and meetings.

A few minutes from there we arrived at the new Engineering and Technology department building a vast property for 5000 students. It took us a good five minutes to walk through the building. The department moved here in 2022, and also offer the impressive facilities for organisations to host large events and conferences, and smaller events too.

We also visited the Nancy Rothwell Building, that offers smaller meeting and events spaces for hire and ended this part of the tour at the Manchester Museum. You can host receptions amongst the exhibits including impressive taxidermy. The museum won the European Museum of the Year 2025 and recently completed a £15m refurbishment and extension to add new gallery spaces.

One of the larger event venues, Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, can offer 13,200 m2 of flexible indoor and outdoor space and room for up to 4,500 people. You can hire a variety of spaces covering form the open cafe and bar area to the impressive Andrew Law Hall theatre and concert space for your large conference seating up to 1600. Lily Allen performed here recently.  The Warehouse can be linked to the theatre offering an additional a 4,500-capacity space that is longer than a passenger jet and taller than four double decker buses! Plus, spaces like The Social for a casual events space with bar, and outdoor public realm with seating and options for stages.

Lunch at Sexy Fish, the UK’s second Sexy Fish restaurant was a fabulous experience, not least for the tasty Japanese-inspired tasting menu. The incredible decor is bound to impress even the most demanding of execs. Elaborate Damien Hirst artwork decorate the walls, and there is also a private dining area for up to around 20 people. Ask the restaurant about their bespoke menus, expert mixologists and sommeliers catering they can offer to events.

Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground is a venue with spacing ranging from 10 to 1,000 guests, with a range of hospitality suites, pitch side meeting rooms, small meeting spaces, and external spaces. As you’d expect their match day hospitality is top quality – PA Life Club had a chance to experience what corporate hospitality entails at the stadium offer during our recent FAM Trip. There is also an on-site Hilton Garden Inn hotel, easily connected to the stadium, which offers rooms with balconies overlooking the stadium pitch.

Our last stop was at the LOWRY theatre and art gallery complex in Salford Quays. Located opposite the Media City is a fantastic location, as well as well as great building. Named after painter L.S. Lowry, whose works are on display in the galleries and make a wonderful attraction to any event. There is a varied range of spaces is on offer, including hire of its full theatre spaces including the Lyric (1,730 capacity), Quays Theatre (440 capacity), and Studio (150 capacity), alongside five other meeting spaces with varying capacities from 20 to 250 people. We enjoyed a few canapes and a glass of fizz on the terrace that overlooks the Salford Quays and the Media City.