Hotel Football is an upscale football-themed hotel overlooking Old Trafford, the home of

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

Owned by former players Ryan Giggs,

Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...

Nicky Butt Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English football coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at Manchester United. He is also a co-owner and chief executive officer of Salford City. He played prof ...

Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player, who is the head coach of MLS team Inter Miami CF. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teamma ...

and

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...

as well as the GG Hospitality Management Company; the hotel was built at a cost of £24m and features 133 rooms, a restaurant called Cafe Football and a

five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...

pitch on the roof. Opened in 2015, the hotel is the first in a planned chain of football-themed hotels to be located near football grounds around the world.

History

initially purchased a plot of land underneath a canal bridge close to Old Trafford from a group of

fans who owned the land with the intention of building a club house. They agreed to sell Neville the land to build a hotel on providing he promised to build a greyhound track as part of the hotel. In 2011 Stuart Procter, former general manager of the Stafford Hotel in London, was drafted in to mastermind the build and development of a football themed hotel by members of

The Class of '92 ''The Class of '92'' is a 2013 British documentary film, released on 1 December 2013. The film centres on the rise of six young Manchester United footballers – David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes ...

, the idea behind the hotel being to hark back to the golden era of football of the 1990s, before ticket prices soared 1,000pc, pricing out many fans. The construction of the hotel was handled by

Galliford Try Galliford Try plc is a British construction company based in Leicester, England. It was created through a merger in 2000 of two businesses: Try Group, founded in 1908 in London, and Galliford, founded in 1916. Formerly involved in house-build ...

and features subtle football references throughout the building. In May 2014, to promote the construction of the hotel and its impending opening, the ex-players involved in financing the construction played a game of

Five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...

on the roof of the hotel against a team of builders involved in the construction. In November 2014 Gary Neville won permission to put a five-a-side football pitch on top of the ten-storey hotel, a previous application had been approved in May of that year but changes to the design meant a resubmission was required.

objected to the plan, claiming the scheme on the site of a former lard factory undermined the “holistic vision” of its “strategic plan” for the area.

Facilities

Old Trafford Supporters Club, a 750-capacity basement bar with pool tables United red, TV screens and terrace-themed food such as pie and peas. Entrance is £1, with the fee earmarked for investment in local community projects.The Guardian Hotel Football review 12 March 2015
/ref> Cafe Football, a 185-seat restaurant with a menu overseen by two-Michelin-star chef Michael Wignall of the

Pennyhill Park Hotel Pennyhill Park Hotel is a 19th-century country house hotel and spa in Bagshot, Surrey in the south east of England. History The first historical reference to Pennyhill Park's land relates to when the site was used as a warning beacon point in ...

. Heaven, a bookable five-a-side astroturf pitch which on match days turns into a bar and barbecue area. Hotel Football also offers services to companies who wish to host events with two separate function rooms. The Professional Football Scouts Association currently hold their Scouting Courses within the Players Lounge.

References

External links

Official Hotel Football website
{{Buildings and structures in Trafford Borough Hotels in Greater Manchester Buildings and structures in Trafford Hotel buildings completed in 2015 Stretford