The Municipal Hotel & Spa Liverpool - MGallery

About The Municipal Hotel & Spa Liverpool - MGallery

The Municipal occupies the former Liverpool Municipal Buildings on Dale Street, a vast French Renaissance pile completed in 1868 as the offices of the city corporation and topped by a clock tower and spire that remain one of the centre's landmarks. The conversion, which opened under Accor's MGallery label, kept the ceremonial staircases, the tiled corridors and the council chamber, so the public rooms have a scale that modern hotels rarely attempt. It is currently the only property in Liverpool rated at five stars.

There are around 179 bedrooms and suites spread through the original building. Ceilings are high, windows are tall and many rooms retain original mouldings; the better categories look out over Dale Street or into the internal courtyard. Fittings are contemporary rather than period pastiche, with air conditioning, good beds and marble bathrooms throughout, and the layout means room shapes vary considerably from one to the next.

The spa is the main draw and is adults-only. It has a 16-metre indoor pool with views out across the rooftops, a Himalayan salt sauna, steam room, sanarium, experience showers and a jacuzzi, plus four treatment rooms including a dual suite, using Elemis and Grown Alchemist products. Access to the pool and thermal circuit is charged separately from the room rate, which is worth knowing before booking. Eating is split between the Seaforth Restaurant, the Palm Court Bar and the Botanic Tearoom, which does a well-regarded afternoon tea.

The location is as central as Liverpool gets. Lime Street station is a ten-minute walk, the Royal Court Theatre is four minutes away, Liverpool ONE is around 700 metres and the waterfront is downhill from the door. It suits couples on a spa break, business travellers who want meeting space in the centre, and anyone who would rather stay in a historic building than a modern block. Families are less well served, given the adults-only spa policy.