I have a ritual when I enter a hotel room. From the bed, I take any scatter cushions, throws, even the occasional cuddly toy, bundle them up and dump them in a corner. I then clear all leaflets, welcome packs, flowers, ornaments, bedside glasses and “table-talkers” (you know, those triangles of card advertising spa treatments and 2-for-1 steaks in the grill), and stick them on a shelf. I want to be able to sit down, move around and plug-in my phone without constantly knocking things over.

So after opening the door to my room at Innside, my brain did a celebratory back-flip. This was an unusually clutter-free room. It contained everything you might need, down to a free dental hygiene kit and complimentary soft drinks, but nothing more. Moreover, everything is stowed in such a way that there is plenty of walk-room around that huge bed. The partially open-plan bathroom (note: the sink, not the shower and toilet) adds to the sense of space.

Given their hard surfaces and a grey/ white colour scheme reminiscent of a Joy Division album cover (we are across the road from the old Hacienda), these 208 bedrooms will split opinion. Some will find the gloomy corridors and monochrome suites too bleak. Personally I loved it, not least because it was exceptionally comfortable with its super-firm mattress, ergonomic furniture and solid Villeroy & Boch bathroom fittings. I could have stayed on the 10th floor for hours, watching Manchester beetle away below me.

If the Bauhaus functionality of the bedrooms reflects Innside’s German origins, the ground floor lobby and bar-restaurant, Street on First, are clearly the creation of its Spanish owner, hotel giant Meliá. The look is pure modern Madrid minimalism, a vast glass box finished in stone and marble, dressed with elegant, slimline furniture and peculiar designer light fittings (not always that practical – I twice head-butted one at breakfast). On a sunny day, flooded with light, it looked a neat fit with the surrounding buildings, a very European development of open spaces, sculptures and futuristic fascia, that includes the arts centre HOME.

Not that Innside is entirely free of corporate hotel cliche. Two huge TVs relay 24-hour news on mute in the lobby-bar, while the piped music drips anodyne jazz and latin house. Bizarrely, on Thursdays and Fridays there is a DJ at breakfast (a lavish buffet). It is an attempt to cheer up business travellers. Luckily, I was there on Tuesday.

The conceptual nonsense in the restaurant, that sees each day assigned a different “mood”, is also unnecessary. More interesting is that, unusually among chains, each Innside does its own buying and menu design. There are interesting craft beers from Barcelona’s Beer Cat and the local Tweed Brewery behind the bar, incredibly lemony olive oil on the tables and upmarket ibérico ham on the Spanish-influenced menu. The execution isn’t flawless, for instance a potentially great dish of scallops and pork belly is rather muddled by too many garnishes, but chef Dave Spanner’s lamb sliders are excellent and his tuna niçoise is an artful plate that delivers on flavour.

Compared with its corporate competitors, Innside cuts a dash.

• Accommodation was provided by Innside (1 First Street, Manchester, 0161-200 2500, melia.com). Rooms from £99 B&B, dinner from about £30 a head, plus drinks

Ask a local

Dave Moutrey, chief executive of HOME arts centre Manchester

• Eat and drink
On Whitworth Street, Gorilla does good food and has a great cocktail list which I now avoid as the temptation only leads one way – to a hangover. If you’re looking for a quieter spot for coffee, lunch or somewhere to read, then the International Anthony Burgess Foundation in Cambridge Street has a good cafe and the Burgess archive is amazing.

• Theatre
I’ve been visiting the Royal Exchange for years and its programme has been revitalised under artistic director Sarah Frankcom.

• Art
The changing exhibitions and permanent collection at the recently revamped Whitworth Art Gallery are first class and the new cafe overlooking the park is a wonderful place to refuel after pounding the extensive gallery floors.

• Coffee shop
An artisan coffee roaster situated in a Hewitt Street railway arch, ManCoCo is great.