Britannia Adelphi Hotel

Spent three nights in the Adelphi, as we were visiting Anfield for a match and wanted somewhere central in Liverpool so we could shop/eat easily afterwards and enjoy the sights. Check in was swift and easy, our room was on the 6th floor. Three lifts - only two available (the third was out of order), and both were VERY dubious. It became a 'bonding' point between guests; everybody joked about how random the lifts were. You were lucky if you got to your floor first go. Thankfully we never got stuck for half an hour, unlike one guest. The room was OK - a reasonable size. A nice view of the Cathedral which was great at night. It was extremely warm and we had to turn the heating off. Luckily the windows opened. Very little in the way of 'goodies' in the room - limited tea/coffee, no biscuits, no writing paper, pen etc or 'welcome to Liverpool' brochures. There was just a couple of sachets of sad looking shower/hair wash in the bathroom which admittedly was clean, but the plumbing left a lot to be desired. Very little pressure so you had to turn the taps on full to get anything, and the toilet whinged when you flushed. The TV was broken (no remote either) - which eventually was replaced late the next day (but still no remote). The bed to give it credit, was big and comfortable; the mattress felt quite new. Lighting in the room was dismal; no central light and only two small 40 watt table lamps miles apart. I wouldn't recommend sitting in here reading in the evening unless you fancy billing your optician's charges to the Adelphi. On our last day, we didn't get maid service till 4pm when we returned from shopping. We were about to go out, so said she could clean the room. She muttered something about coming back later, but we said it was fine right then and went downstairs for a tea in the big 'lounge' area up the stairs from reception. We were informed that tea was not served after 4pm... huh?!!! Not even a pot? We were told to try Jenny's Restaurant. The waitress there seemed to think our request unreasonable and wandered off to find out if the kitchen could do us tea... we ordered specifically Earl Grey, which I knew she hadn't paid attention to. She said it would come, and then wandered off again after we asked if it was OK if we could sit down (sorry for asking!). Eventually our tea arrived - it was English Breakfast tea. We sent it back, stating our correct order. It returned again; the same tea. The waiter put it down and walked off. He returned a little while later and asked if things were fine. I said 'It's still not Earl Gray but never mind' (in a resigned manner). He insisted on bringing the right tea (he couldn't understand how it could not be Earl Gray, despite the fact that the teabags have the name on the tags!). The cups were not the cleanest either. We really felt we were 'imposing' which should NOT be the case in a hotel where you are paying for the service. When we returned to our room at 6pm wanting to freshen up for a meal out, the room still hadn't been done. A complaint to housekeeping brought the floor manageress to us who said that chambermaids had now finished for the day but she would do it herself. We had to go downstairs and wait for 15 mins - so we had a drink in the bar which was fine. We came back upstairs and found our room had been done. We had slightly better toiletries, although one towel for the entire bathroom (no hand towel), she had thrown out my toothpaste box which I use to transport our toothbrushes etc, and we had 3 teabags rather than 4. The staff didn't really seem to care; one time I waited to get our room key when we came back in and one receptionist could see us standing there, but she was far more interested in chewing her gum and chatting to her friends. An obvious attention request was eventually answered but you felt that you were asking something really difficult of them. Another time a different receptionist knew that handing us a key would literally take 2 seconds but no, she had to keep us waiting while checking in a new guest who had arrived marginally after us. If you have certain standards levels, this is not the place for you. It's just too frustrating. The manager needs to get his staff motivated - the floor managers need to make sure their chambermaids do their jobs efficiently (and in some cases to do it at all!), maintenance needs to be more routine to make sure you are not stuck with non functioning facilities in your room (and made to feel bad when you request (multiple times) that the television work!) and above all - they need to care about their customers. Something which isn't happening right now.

Stayed in January 2004. Thought Liverpool was great but this hotel was not all I expected. Best things: location, price (don't pay attention to quoted price. It was listed as 165 and we got a room for 42) Worst: Very dirty. First room we got had not been cleaned since last guest checked out. Second room had been cleaned, but probably only marginally. Sheets were stained, bathroom disgusting, smelled like stale cigarettes. I would not stay there again.

I recently stayed at the Adelphi ( 11th Feb ) for just the 1 night having been quoted a very good price through booking online with the Merseyside Tourist Board. Being an exiled northerner i was looking forward to the stay as it has a long history. Given the price I paid then if i judged the hotel on location and facilities alone it was ok. The main drawback is the building itself which is dated , tired and in need of a refurb if they want to justify the full board prices. There are far too few lifts ( which incidentally don't work ) and the floor on the 6th floor creaks in most areas. Checking in age seemed to take an age and the room , although clean , did pong a bit. On the plus side the breakfast was good and in the evening the beer was well priced compared to other establishments - it's a shame I had to wait 20 minutes to get served.

My friend and I booked a room at the Adelphi via -------------. We were promised an "executive" room with an en-suite. When we arrived we were given a room with no jacuzzi that looked like it had been decorated in 1910. On complaining we were moved to the back of the hotel to a suite accessible through a conference room (Goodness only knows what the listerine mouthwash delegates thought as we trapsed through with our bags) The room we were given was smoking (we deduced this from the full ash trays and the bed was unmade) On complaining again we were moved to the suite next door which was huge and had a jacuzzi bath of sorts. The furniture was dated and falling apart but there was enough room to swing 3 cats. Thank God we got the room cheap or I would have left immediately. If they want to build on the Capital of Culture status they need to get their act together! Come to Newcastle and see how its done.

Some friends and I recently went over 4 a stag in Liverpool and stayed in the Britannia. On first arrival we thought it was dark, dingy and smelly but that was the least of our problems. On our first nite after returning from a great nite out in Liverpool we went 2 the residence bar which was not all that bad. However when we woke up in the morning it turned out that 4 -5 of the rooms had been robbed while we were asleep. money ranging from ?70 -?400 were taken from peoples wallets. No evidence of break in's were found at any of the rooms by the police. Therefore we reckon keys must have been used to get in to the rooms. The whole thing stinks of an inside job. The staff told us it was our own problem!

Liverpool is a brilliant city what a shame its most famous hotel is an absolute hell hole. I go to Liverpool a lot and made the mistake of trying this hotel for "something different"! On arriving the staff were ignorant & unhelpful, we were given a room at the furthest end of the hotel, only accessible by a set of dirty back stairs. The room was tiny, dirty and in need of a visit from Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen & Handy Andy!! The "window" (a slit in the wall) over looked a scruffy back lane & taxi rank (which didnt do much business as the drivers sat and talked/shouted at each other all night). All in all its an absolute disgrace of a hotel. Stay in the Travel Inn instead, its a zillion times better!!

We have stayed at the Adelphi a few times whilst visiting Liverpool. Our last time there was October of 1999 when we were attending Paul McCartney's Working Classical premier at the Philharmonic Hall. Upon arriving, the Hotel manager told us that we had a room for that night, but we were going to have to find other accomodations for the next night. There was a Liverpool Football match at Anfeild that day and the footballers obviously bump all other guests out of their rooms. I told the woman behind the desk that, although I understand that Liverpool has a great following, and that I can appreciate that, but I would like her to find me a room either at the Adelphi, or (at least) someplace else. She laughed and suggested I get a rental car and look for myself. (The entire city was booked because of the game and the concert -- and she knew it.) The kicker to the story is when I relayed my story to the two lovely ladies standing behind me at the desk, they informed me that the hotel had done the same thing to them, and that they really needed a room for the next night as well. I could see that they were even more upset than we were and I offered to let them in on anything that I would be able to find. It was then that one of the ladies noticed my McCartney pin on my coat. She asked me if I was in town to attend the premier and I told her I was. She then told me that she and her friend were not only in from New York to attend the premeir, but THEY WERE IN THE QUARTET perfoming that next night and they were without accomodations!!! When I told the manager who they were and that Mr. McCartney wouldn't be too pleased if the quartet performing was to be only a duo unless she changed her horrific attitude and found them a room, she was miraculously able to find them a room (not us, though). Alls well that ends well though. We found a GREAT little hotel across the Mersey in Wallasey -- The Grove House Hotel. Great little place in a great little town -- some of the nicest people I have ever encountered. (We found this with the help of the kind lady at the Merseyside Welcome Center in Clayton square). All this was terrible experience with the Adelphi, but after reading some of the other reviews, I can say that my story pales in comparrison.

Just back from the Adelphi after arranging a meeting for 25 people to include meeting facilities and accomodation. The hotel offered a reasonable rate. The bedrooms are dated but clean and tidy. The food at breakfast time and lunch was lovely and well worth a try. Whilst I may not recommend the hotel as a romantic get away it is perfect for those on a budget or business.

...it's downhill all the way. It's a shame really; the hotel ostensibly has everything going for it, viz. its architecture, its location, its history yet the owners have let it all go down the pan for want of serious investment.

I had the misfortune of staying in the Adelphi as myself and my boyfriend had decided on a weekend away at the last minute. We saw the rating of 4 star and figured it would be ok....When I got there I got the shock of my life, it is easily the worst hotel I have ever stayed in,and we normally stay in 3 stars. It is fine if you are over 60 with a lot of time to spare and you are fond of afternoon tea because thats about as exciting as it gets. There are 6 floors and two lifts that are ancient and just about work, staff were very unhelpful, the decor is out of the last century and it is just screaming out for a makeover, Its a pity it is such a dump because the location is good. It is also over priced - Never again!