The Principal

After a £25 million revamp, what was the Palace hotel relaunched as the Principal at the end of 2016. The splendid Victorian red-brick edifice, once the HQ of the Refuge Assurance Company, has magnificent features (including a ballroom) and 271 elegant bedrooms. A big attraction is Refuge, a bar-restaurant collaboration with Manchester's Volta, a huge space which manages to be both imposing and inclusive. It's handy for the Palace Theatre and Oxford Road railway station. Pricey but impressive.