We can’t wait for Therme Manchester to open.
Some projects are exciting because of the work we’re doing. Others are exciting because of what they’re going to mean for the city.
This is definitely one of those projects.
We’ve recently kicked off an ongoing content partnership with Therme Group, working alongside agency Rule 5 to create social and promotional video content for Therme Manchester.
The aim is to build excitement around what’s coming, showcase the Therme experience and keep people across Manchester up to date as the development progresses towards its planned opening.
And although the site might not look like much just yet, there’s a huge amount happening behind the scenes.
So, what exactly is Therme Manchester?
If you’ve not come across Therme Manchester yet, it’s worth getting excited about.
Therme Manchester is set to become the UK’s first Therme resort – an enormous urban wellbeing resort and indoor water park being developed at TraffordCity.
The concept brings together wellness, relaxation, entertainment and family experiences in one destination.
Think thermal pools, saunas, therapeutic treatments, waterslides, family areas, restaurants, bars, botanical spaces and plenty of opportunities to simply switch off and relax.
It’s part water park, part spa, part wellness retreat and part day out.
And it’s difficult to really understand what Therme is all about until you’ve experienced one.
So that’s exactly what we did.
Taking the Coolbox crew to Bucharest
As part of the project, we headed to Romania to visit Therme Bucharest, the original Therme resort.
It was the perfect opportunity to experience the concept first-hand and understand what Manchester can expect when its own Therme eventually opens.
And honestly, it was pretty incredible.
The resort is huge, with multiple areas designed for different experiences.
There are enormous thermal pools, waterslides and family areas, alongside quieter spaces for adults to relax. You can swim up to a bar for a cocktail, enjoy therapeutic treatments, eat fantastic food, explore botanical spaces or simply spend hours floating around in warm thermal water.
There’s something for pretty much everyone.
We joined presenter Natalie Pike as she explored the resort and experienced it for herself – from swimming and treatments to eating, drinking cocktails and discovering everything Therme has to offer.
It was a pretty good filming brief.
More importantly, it gave us the opportunity to capture what makes the Therme experience so different.
And there’s one fact that makes the Manchester project even more exciting:
Therme Manchester is set to be twice the size of Therme Bucharest.
Having seen Bucharest first-hand, that’s a pretty mind-blowing prospect.
Giving Manchester a glimpse of what’s coming
One of the things we love about this project is that we’re not creating content for a finished destination.
We’re starting at the beginning.
Right now, the Manchester site is still very much a construction project. There’s a long way to go before visitors will be swimming, relaxing, eating and enjoying cocktails there.
But that gives us a fantastic story to tell.
Our role is to help document that journey and bring people along for the ride.
We’ll be creating social and promotional content that showcases the Therme concept, shares progress from the Manchester development and gives people a better idea of what they’re going to be able to experience when the resort opens.
Rather than waiting until everything is finished and revealing it all at once, we’re helping tell the story as it happens.
And over the next few years, we’ll be there to capture it.
International productions aren’t always straightforward
Of course, travelling internationally with a full camera kit is never quite as glamorous as it sounds.
There are flights, equipment, paperwork, security, logistics and the inevitable things that don’t quite go according to plan.
This trip gave us a few reminders of just how much preparation goes into taking a production overseas.
But that’s part of what we enjoy about production.
You plan as much as possible, adapt when you need to and get the job done.
And thankfully, the occasional logistical headache was more than worth it.
Romania was an incredible experience and, most importantly, we came home with some brilliant footage.
Seeing the Therme vision first-hand
The biggest takeaway from the trip was seeing what Therme is actually building.
Before visiting Bucharest, we understood the concept.
After spending time there, we really understood it.
There’s a big difference.
Experiencing the pools, treatments, food, bars and different spaces first-hand made it much easier to appreciate what Therme Manchester could become.
It’s one thing to hear someone describe it.
It’s another thing entirely to spend the day there.
And knowing Manchester’s version is planned to be twice the size makes the whole thing even more exciting.
Manchester is incredibly lucky to be getting something like this.
This is only the beginning
Our work with Therme Manchester is an ongoing project, so this is very much the first chapter.
Over the coming months and years, we’ll be helping document the development and create content that keeps Manchester informed, engaged and excited about what’s happening.
For us, it’s exactly the kind of project we love at Coolbox Video Studio.
It’s creative.
It’s ambitious.
It’s rooted in Manchester.
And there’s a genuinely exciting story to tell.
We’re incredibly proud to be involved and we’re really happy with what we’ve created so far.
The resort might still be a few years away, but after experiencing Therme Bucharest, we completely understand the excitement.
We’ll be first in the queue when those doors open.
Client: Therme Group / Therme Manchester
Agency: Rule 5
Production: Coolbox Video Studio
Presenter: Natalie Pike