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Native Aparthotels & Apartments In London

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Uncover the history of Ducie Street Warehouse

In the vast warehouses of Ducie Street, which tower seven stories high … are stored immense quantities of all kinds of merchandise, lying there in safety awaiting the owners’ instruction. The London Warehouse (as it is commonly called) is a building of equal height … and here the bulk of the general goods to and from London, Southampton and other ports is handled.

— Per Rail: Transportation is the Life Blood of Commerce by Knapp Drewett and Sons, for the Great Central Railway, 1913.

The canals.

With Manchester Piccadilly Station just a few minutes away, moving huge quantities of food, cotton and other products across the country was pretty convenient. Some of the warehouses in the area had direct access to the canal, with barges docking at each building so that goods could be heaved on and off the boats. Some even had hoists powered by enormous waterwheels, so you can imagine the noise, hustle and bustle of the area at the time.

Ducie Street Warehouse today.

Of course, a lot has changed since then and Ducie Street Warehouse is the last of the four MS&LR warehouses left, still standing proudly by the canal.

Ducie Street Warehouse to this day still has a huge amount of its original features including huge vaulted ceilings, riveted wrought-iron girders and exposed brickwork. We’ve taken this gloriously high-ceilinged and light-filled building and made the most of all its features. We’ve added a gorgeous glass atrium roof, so you can see the sky – even from the foyer. We’ve painted the steel beams powder blue and added features in gold to set off the rich colours of the apartment décor, giving it a modern industrial-chic twist.

Native Manchester aparthotel is a fantastic base for exploring the city, so why not make the most of your stay with our tips on how to spend 48 hours in Manchester.

Book your stay at Native Manchester.

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How to celebrate Chinese New Year

Tip: If dim sum’s your thing, join the epic (but fast moving) queues outside your restaurant of choice and aim for an early lunch. The best dim sum is served early and when it’s gone, it’s gone!

Celebrate in Manchester from 7th to 10th February.

Manchester’s very own Chinatown is in the heart of the city, with Faulkner Street at the centre of the action, just behind the Town Hall. There are dozens of brilliant events planned, all ending in the crowning glory of the legendary Dragon Parade. There’ll be a giant golden dragon in Exchange Square to preside over the celebration, as well as calligraphy, Tai Chi and artsy fun at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art. Our Native Manchester aparthotel is only a stones-throw away.

Tip: Check the Visit Manchester website for all the listings, and make sure you visit the street food market at St Ann’s Square for a huge range of Chinese treats.

Celebrate in Glasgow from 2nd to 17th February.

Chinese New Year in Glasgow is celebrated in the city’s many fantastic museums. This year you’ll find a fun filled, family friendly celebration of the Year of the Pig at Kelvin Hall and crafts and horoscopes at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, as well as decorations and activities on Main Street.

Tip: One for the foodies – chefs Jimmy Lee (Lychee Oriental) and Julie Lin (Julie’s Kopitiam) will be hosting a four-course Chinese feast at SWG3 on 7th February 2019. Book at Eventbrite.com.

Now that you know where to find the fun, start practising your xin nian kuai le (happy new year in Mandarin) or san nin faai lok (in Cantonese). Cheers!

 

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Top 5 places to feel inspired in London

If you are a horticulturist, or aspire to be, you can easily garner new ideas from seeing how plants of more than two thousand species are laid out to form what looks like a rainforest beneath the large glass roof. They do say plants are good for the office!

Nearest Native place: Native Bank 0.8 miles.

Max Colson

Libreria

After Rohan Silva quit as an entrepreneurial advisor to Downing Street in 2013, he opened this bookshop in East London. This attraction encompasses everything that makes a bookshop a bookshop, free of the distractions of loud coffee machines and Wi-Fi induced noises.

Here, books are arranged in suggestive themes rather than standard categories, allowing your trail of thought to run into many unexpected places. Come here to escape.

Nearest Native place: Native Fenchurch Street 0.8 miles.

Iwan Baan

Modern Society

This boutique in Shoreditch flung open its doors in 2015 and specialises in stocking luxury goods, including clothes from such brands as RE/DONE, Rejina Pyo and Alighieri. Modern Society has even launched its own clothing label and you can buy in the store. However, the building also houses a chic cafe where you can sip hot and cold beverages while admiring one of London’s coolest concept stores. It’s also a great place to stop for brunch.

Nearest Native place: Native Fenchurch Street 0.9 miles.

Cartoon Museum

This Bloomsbury museum is surely among the most unjustly hidden places in London. It includes British cartoons and comic art from various periods, right back to the eighteenth century.

Not only can you browse the three main galleries but you should also keep an eye on the line up of events and workshops, so you experience something new every time.

Nearest Native place: Native Mayfair.

Sam Jacob Studio

Tate Modern London

If your creative tastes lean towards visual art of a contemporary slant, you could regularly find new sources of inspiration in the Tate Modern, which is among the most creative places in London.

The Tate recently opened a Switch House extension where you can check out solo displays from female artists and take to a viewing platform allowing panoramic views of the city. The Tate is in Southwark’s Bankside area, in what was the building of Bankside Power Station.

Nearest Native place: Native Bankside 0.3 miles.

So there you have it, don’t settle for working from home or in one of those mundane co-working spaces. Get out there and try somewhere new!

Neil Oliver visits Native Glasgow

What do you love most about the city and it’s history?

Glasgow is filled with history, culture and the latest music and pop up events that draws the crowd all year round. That’s why I was intrigued when Native invited me to stay at their new aparthotel in Glasgow city centre in the Anchor Line building, once the headquarters of the Anchor Line Shipping Company. This was a company that played a huge part in putting Glasgow on the map in the early 1900s, thanks to its booming shipping trade and cruise liners.

We’re thrilled that you enjoyed your stay with us at Native Glasgow. What was the highlight?

What I especially like is that they kept a lot of the heritage, proudly showcasing nautical emblems as you enter the hotel, the original fireplaces, and one apartment even has the two original safes that stored gold and other valuables! The apartments are fantastically located for a short stay in the city or for exploring the surrounding countryside, which I couldn’t recommend enough. I’d say that Native Glasgow is the place to stay for a truly authentic Glaswegian experience.

Thanks, Neil – we couldn’t agree more.

Watch the video

If you’d like to hear more from Neil about the history of our new aparthotel in Glasgow city centre, watch him here in all his glory…

Book your stay and see Native Glasgow for yourself.

Meet the artists of Native Bankside

The crack you see here is a reflection of the 2008 Jaipur bombings, which happened just four hours after Simon and Carolyn left the city. The boy is one of the city’s many street children and the crack illustrates the ground being blown apart almost from beneath his feet. The boy’s in constant motion, forced to keep moving to avoid the danger tailing him.

We love the way this gives the piece energy and momentum, even in the stillness of the space surrounding the boy. The photograph was taken by Carolyn, and Simon painted in the photo-realistic cracked ground afterwards, bringing graffiti and print together in a whole new way.

Where’s the Crack? This artwork is displayed above your bed at Native Bankside.

Since then, Carolyn and Simon have built a small boarding school for girls in Morocco and founded a charity project that provides transport to get girls safely to and from school.

About Jon Liu

A photographic prodigy at the age of 13, Jon started his career in commercial photography and fashion, before starting to shoot more fine art. Having grown up in Singapore, he came to London to study at London College of Communication, where he started working primarily in black and white photography.


Here, he’s been playing around (just a bit) with colour. This shot, named Bankside Thames, is the view of Bankside as you walk over Millennium Bridge. Doesn’t look familiar? That’s because Jon’s removed the Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe and all the people.

Why? Well, Jon was inspired by German artist Andreas Gursky, who takes panoramic landscape photos that are majestic and peaceful at the same time. By taking all the distractions out of this Bankside scene, Jon’s given it a kind of calm and tranquillity that just doesn’t exist in our bustling neighbourhood. It’s a sort of escapist fantasy, if you will.

You’ll find this piece in our entrance lobby.

About Frida Wannerberger

Frida, who grew up in Switzerland with her Swedish parents, is another international artist who brought her talent to London. Studying at the world famous Central Saint Martins school of art, Frieda started creating these astonishing paintings of girls, each sporting different fabrics.

Once a Victorian tea warehouse on Bear Gardens, so named for its famous bear baiting ring, our Bankside hotel has a rich history that Frida was keen to highlight in her paintings.

We love how Frida’s six different girls are accompanied by swatches of fabric that give a hearty nod to our building’s history, like bears for bear baiting, or compasses and Chinese pagodas for the tea trade. They’re both dreamy and bold, irresistible to the eye and perfectly set off by our soft grey living room walls or our apartments.

Come and see the artwork for yourself at Native Bankside or follow our artists on Instagram @beckerharrison, @jonsaysrelax and @fridawannerberger.

We’re opening the doors to Native Manchester Aparthotel this summer

Native Manchester

At Native Manchester, we bring together all the elements you might want from a traditional hotel stay but in the comfort of our chic apartments. We want you to have the flexibility to cook, entertain and relax in a home away from home. Each apartment features fully equipped kitchens, offering a space to relax and unwind after a day in the city.

This aparthotel is perfectly situated on the edge of the Northern Bohemian Quarter in Manchester city centre where you’ll find eclectic shopping, growing art scene and the buzzing nightlife close by. Let’s not forget football fans here, you’ll be in the thick of the Mancunian culture and their world-class football.

Book your stay in our Manchester aparthotel.