Hotel of the week
WHERE AND WHY
Situated in the Municipal Building, home to Liverpool City Council’s offices for more than 150 years, the Municipal Hotel is stunning inside and out. Making the most of its Grade Ii-listed Victorian architecture and a £60million renovation, it is an exquisite mix of old and new. Think stone floors, original features and a healthy dose of Liver Birds.
From the grand arches of the hotel entrance, guests are swept into Palm Court, a colonialstyle airy atrium with a central bar surrounded by banquettes and, as the name suggests, towering palm trees.
To one side sits a woodpanelled, squishy sofafilled library – a stylish spot to enjoy coffee or cocktails.
Hotel rooms benefit from their Victorian design, with doubleheight ceilings and sash windows. Our Municipal Suite also had a sofa, marble bathroom with wet room shower and a separate en suite toilet.
ON THE MENU
All-day drinks and dining are on offer in the Palm Court, and to the rear of the bar sits Seaforth, the hotel’s restaurant.
Named after a district of Liverpool, the white and marble space is tastefully opulent.
The menu has dishes designed to celebrate Liverpool’s “connections to the land and the sea”. My husband and I started with the seared scallops (£15). Served with black pudding fritters, apple puree, crisps and almonds, they were a delicious mix of sweet and salty.
Liverpool’s signature dish Scouse makes an appearance (£26). Served as lamb three ways, it was sublime. My husband was equally impressed with his pan fried duck breast (£24).
For breakfast there’s a hot and cold buffet and a la carte options available. Afternoon tea in the Botanic Tearoom offers classic cakes and finger sandwiches from 12pm-5pm each day (from £33 pp Mon-thurs/from £39pp Fri-sun).
WHILE YOU’RE THERE
The hotel spa offers treatments from premium skincare brands Elemis and Grown Alchemist (access starts from £30). And there is so much to see in this city. Just a few steps from the hotel sits Beatles hotspot Mathew Street – home to the famous Cavern club. Shopping centre Liverpool One is nearby, as is the waterfront and the city’s two cathedrals.
WAKE UP CALL
Rooms start from £149 midweek and £189 weekend B&B. municipalhotelliverpool.com