I had been looking forward to my stay at the Adelphi Hotel Liverpool because when the current Hotel was opened in 1914 it was described as a` hotel with the luxury and refinement of a palace! This hotel had something to live up to! In 2014 the `Grand Old Lady of Lime Street` celebrated her 100th birthday and I was looking forward to celebrating it.
When the original hotel was built in 1826 it soon built up a reputation as one of the most popular and unique hotels in the whole of Europe catering for wealthy passengers from the great Atlantic ocean liners and numerous celebrities from the world of music, sport and stage. The hotel is a five-minute walk from Lime Street Station and a fifteen-minute taxi ride from the John Lennon airport so has very easy access for all forms of transport. It is also close to the motorway network so if you want to drive yourself to Liverpool there is ample car parking at the rear of the hotel.
Compared to most of the hotels I have stayed in this is big! There are 402 bedrooms and suites many retaining the original character, elegance and comfort of the original hotel rooms but now with all modern amenities. You can still find solid marble walls in many of the bedrooms and it has a wonderful heated swimming pool, spa and beauty salon to make your stay even more enjoyable. The present hotel is over 102 years old so I was expecting to find it a little worn around the edges but I was pleasantly surprised at how well she still looked.
The façade of the hotel is certainly imposing reaching a height of seven stories and an entrance front containing eleven bays all constructed from Portland stone. Other levels are decorated and enhanced with various columns, a cornice and balustrade making it an impressive building to look at. The hotel is situated at a busy road junction and there was a constant flow of coaches parking up on the front ramp dropping off or collecting passengers and their suitcases so our arrival was anything but peaceful. Large groups of people filled the lobby with their suitcases filling up floor space and the American Bar. Being a non-smoker I was not too happy about having to pass by several people smoking on the steps around the front entrance either.
Having walked through the rotating wooden doors at the entrance past marble pillars and night lanterns we passed into a spacious lobby and reception area which in turn leads you up a few steps under a splendid archway into the grand lounge.This room was the most impressive part of the hotel in my opinion with a couple of glistening chandeliers, marble panels along the walls and a very high glass ceiling which allowed some natural light to filter down onto the extensive patterned carpet. Later after our evening meal we returned to have our coffee in this glorious lounge seated on comfortable black leather sofas next to polished oak coffee tables.
The double bedroom was large and had a separate bathroom and toilet as well as a double sofa in front of the wide screen television. There were a number of impressive looking pieces of original period furniture spread about the room and aged wooden panels which added a lot of character to the room. There was a complimentary tea and coffee making tray, ironing board, hairdryer and direct line telephone. A couple of the drawers fell off the bedside cabinets when we pulled them out but apart from that everything else worked although I did have to call reception to `turn on` the heating which was a trifle embarrassing! Being central to the city we found it quite noisy but it was a lot quieter the second night of our stay. I would recommend ear plugs to ensure a good night’s sleep particularly if you are in a room at the front or side of the hotel at the weekend.
We ate in Crompton`s Restaurant but as we were staying as part of a two course meal deal the menu was the same on both evenings. For some other guests and diners coming in off the street there was an extensive À la carte and Table d’Hote menu to choose from. The staff were relaxed and efficient and the food was good on both evenings.
The chicken liver pate served with Cumberland sauce was very tasty and there was so much of it that on the second evening we decided to share the pate as a starter so that we could enjoy a shared dessert too. The Banoffee pie was a disappointment as it was too soft. I would prefer a much stronger biscuit base whereas we felt this one was a soft pastry base of some sort.
The Mustard sauce accompanying the Pork steak was delicious and my wife said the Sea Bass was very tasty alongside the Lemon & Caper butter and seasonal vegetables. There were about eight other diners on the evenings we were there.There were many other guests staying at the hotel during our stay, many arriving on coaches from across the country, but they ate their evening meals in Jenny`s Restaurant where we had our breakfast. This was a much bigger dining area which was able to accommodate the coach parties.
During our stay we also made use of Spindles Health and Leisure Club for an Indian Head massage. I have had massages at Spa clubs in Hotels previously but never had one in a Health Club or hairdressers. The young lady who gave us the massage was excellent and we both felt wonderful afterwards – a very professional experience.
One of the unusual features of the Hotel was the `shoe shine` stand. It was a pity there was no one available to shine my shoes as I would willingly have paid for the service!
We had a wonderful stay at the Adelphi and would recommend it to any of our friends if they were visiting Liverpool. We used the Adelphi Hotel as a base to explore the rest of Liverpool including the Albert Dock, Mersey Ferry, The Beatles Story and to travel out to `Another Place` other at Crosby beach to see the Anthony Gormley sculptures.
Jim Davis
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The Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Ranelagh Place, Liverpool. L3 5UL
Value for money: Excellent
Food: Good
Service: Efficient, friendly and unobtrusive.
Parking: Large car park at rear of Hotel. £12 for 24 hours.
Address: Ranelagh Place, Liverpool. L3 5UL
Telephone: 0151 709 7200
Website: http://www.britanniahotels.com
Twitter: @BritanniaLtd
Facebook: Britannia Hotels
Grading: 9/10
Total Cost: £79 Dinner with a bottle of wine, Bed and Breakfast plus two spa treatments GROUPON
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