THE BRITANNIA ADELPHI HOTEL IN LIVERPOOL

It may be one of those buildings you cannot miss in Liverpool. The Adelphi Hotel is very well situated, next to the railway station and the buzzing shopping district. Public transport (buses and underground) are also quite at hand. The reception staff were not that interested in the guests, who, of course, had to wait for them to come out, while conversations and laughs about their private lifes were taking place behind the mirror wall.

The building it self shows the splendour the city once had... It has 402 bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms. According to the hotel, they are beautifully presented in Edwardian style with plenty of character. In my opinion, I got the impression of being in a huge Russian Hotel... I felt it was quite bare in decoration, poorly lit, and quite basic. I had been told that the hotel seemed as though it had been important a long time back, but since that time, little renovation had taken place... and the comments were not exaggerate. I must say that I felt a bit let down by the hotel. Rooms are big but extremely basic. The furniture and door frames had undergone several layers of paint throughout the years. The bathroom was big, and it had a Jacuzzi bath tub... but little extras there.

Like any bed and breakfast, the room had its TV on a really cheap and nasty wheeled table, Telephone, and Tea & Coffee making facilities (also hot chocolate). This hotel also features 2 great restaurants, 2 bars and a pizzeria. You can also find a gymnasium. Additionally, there is also a Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and solarium in addition to the beautiful heated marble swimming pool.

If you are travelling by car, it has a car park, but they charge you for the space... They still do it the old way. You take the car, then they park it for you until the car park is full... and I mean full. They even park cars in the corridors to maximise spaces.

Breakfast... Well, what can I say about breakfast...? Very sad. You feel like being inside a local cafe, rather than in a Hotel. The Continental breakfast offers you a rather "cheap" looking variety of products. Personally, I didn't go for English breakfast, although, other guests seemed to like it extremely. Shockingly enough, there were people who just came in the Hotel to have "breakky".

Summarising my stay, I can say that the hotel was clean, handy for visiting the city, but far away from a decently stylish hotel. Breakfast needs to improve considerable; so does the decoration. There is nothing wrong with old style decoration... But one thing is old... another, the "abandoned" state the hotel is...

I am sure that if the hotel was taken to 21st century standards, it would be a reference hotel. For now, I have to say, it is a poor choice, and will think twice before checking in again.


BRITANNIA ADELPHI HOTEL - LIVERPOOL
Ranelagh Place, Liverpool L3 5UL United Kingdom
Tel: +44 0871 222 0029
Fax: +44 0871 222 7009
Email : res700@britanniahotels.com