Hard Days Night Hotel

The hotel’s owner, Millennium Hotels, claims that the Hard Days Night Hotel is that world’s only Beatles-inspired hotel. This seems like a bold claim considering that half the hotels in Liverpool have some sort of Beatles theme and guests staying in many of the city’s other hotels are just as likely to have massive pictures of the Fab Four adorning their rooms. Despite this, a stay at the Hard Days Night Hotel is a must for Beatles fans who have come to Liverpool to trace the steps of the Fab Four.

The hotel has 100 guest rooms over five floors. All rooms have comfortable Hypnos beds, a work desk, a flat-screen television, ironing facilities, complimentary water, tea and coffee making facilities and en suite bathrooms.

The hotel’s two fanciest rooms are the McCartney and Lennon suites, which are both on the top floor. These suites are much larger than the hotel’s standard rooms and they have separate living and sleeping areas and also feature complimentary minibars. The Lennon suite also has a white baby grand piano.

Unlike several other Liverpool hotels, the Beatles theme here is rather understated so as not to detract from the elegance of the Victorian-era heritage building. Subtle nods to the band abound, for instance, the ‘do not disturb’ signs you can place on your door simply say ‘Let It Be’.

The hotel’s central spiral staircase is a delightful Beatles-themed gallery with black and white photos of the band organised chronologically starting on the ground floor with photos of their early days and more recent photos on the fifth floor.

Some of the Beatles’ references are rather subtle and only dedicated Beatles fans would notice the band’s connection with the name of the hotel’s Blake’s Restaurant (it is named after Sir Peter Blake, who designed the Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover artwork). Rather than being adorned with photos of the Beatles, the restaurant decor features photos of people who appeared on the album’s cover art. The restaurant serves traditional British cuisine for lunch and dinner and afternoon tea is served here every day between 2pm and 6pm.

The hotel also has two bars: Bar Four and the Lounge and Bar.

Bar Four is a cosy cocktail bar with wood-panelled walls and comfy leather armchairs and it also features artwork by Paul Ygartua, who went to Liverpool Art College with John Lennon. There is live music in Bar Four every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Lounge and Bar is a larger bar that serves light meals throughout the day. This bar is the central focus of the hotel and it features photographs and memorabilia relating to the band.

Room service is available 24 hours.

Free Wi-Fi wireless internet access is available throughout the hotel.

For a hotel of this standard, rooms are a tad small and it lacks some of the extras (such as spa facilities or a fitness centre) that you normally expect to find in a four-star hotel.

The hotel has a brilliant location on the corner of North John and Mathew Streets and you can even see the Cavern Club from some of the hotel rooms. This central location means that you are only a one-minute walk to the Cavern Club and the Magical Beatles Museum and most points of interest in the city centre (and the northern end of Albert Dock) are no more than a 10-minute walk from the hotel. It is a little farther (around a 13-minute walk) to the Beatles Story and the departure point for the Magical Mystery Tour and the National Trust tour of the Beatles’ childhood homes.

Both Moorfields and James Street stations are only a four-minute walk from the hotel. Liverpool Lime Street railway station is a nine-minute walk from the hotel and Liverpool One bus station is a six-minute walk away.