PARTY ANIMALS
HUGE, massive, noisy and inexplicable, The Shankly Hotel in Liverpool is a full-on party hotel like you have never seen before. “If you’re not shocked, then I’ve failed,” says hotel owner Lawrence.
Guests turn up in their hordes to celebrate weddings, hen dos, baby showers and birthdays, in Instagrammable themed multi-bedded suites named everything from ‘OMG’ to ‘WTF’.
But spare a thought for the housekeeping team, which has just hours to transform postparty chaos into pristine rooms.
Housekeeper Nicola says: “The state the rooms are left in is shocking.
“There are spillages everywhere, broken glasses, the women guests are really messy.”
Meanwhile, the maintenance team is in high demand with complaints from guests creeping up as they fix leaky ceilings and
peeling paint.
Down in the lobby, staff from guest services crack open the bubbly to distract waiting visitors.
Owners Lawrence and his wife Katie actually live in the hotel with their twins, who are about to turn four.
Katie rallies the events team to brainstorm its ambitious circus-themed birthday party for 150 guests. There’s mention of stilts, a ferris wheel and a ‘child friendly human claw machine’.
Then, taking a different tone, cameras follow bride-to-be Kaylea and groom Mark, both 33, who have been together 14 years and have two children.
A last-minute booking, staff must whip up the perfect wedding day for them – the event has been brought forward because Kaylea has terminal cancer.
“I don’t take anything for granted anymore,” says Mark.
There are rose petals, a violinist, an impressive bridal suite and plenty of tears.