Hotels in Liverpool

Liverpool is compact, and the most useful thing to know before booking is that almost nowhere central is more than twenty-five minutes' walk from anywhere else central. That takes a lot of pressure off the decision. What varies between districts is noise, price and the character of the streets outside the door.

The commercial district around Dale Street and Castle Street is the safest default. This is where the big Victorian bank and office buildings have been converted into hotels, so rooms tend to be generous and the architecture is part of the appeal. It empties out in the evening, which means quiet nights and a short walk to both the station and the waterfront. Ropewalks, the warehouse grid running down from Bold Street, is the opposite proposition: independent bars and restaurants at street level, Chinatown at the bottom, and a real noise problem on Seel Street and Concert Square at weekends. Book there for the convenience, but ask for a room away from the front.

The Georgian Quarter around Hope Street is the prettiest place to base yourself, with the two cathedrals at either end, the Everyman and Philharmonic Hall between them, and several of the better kitchens within a few hundred yards. It is uphill from the shops, which matters more on the way back. On the waterfront and out at Stanley Dock, converted warehouses offer the largest rooms in the city and slightly lower rates in exchange for a fifteen-minute walk into the centre.

Further out, the leafy streets around Sefton Park and Aigburth suit longer stays, and Waterloo and Crosby to the north put a proper beach and the Gormley figures on the doorstep with a twenty-minute Merseyrail run into Lime Street. Both make sense if you are driving, since central parking is charged separately by most hotels. One warning applies everywhere: Grand National weekend in April and big match days empty the city of rooms and double the rates, so check the fixture list before fixing dates.