I grew up suffering from prolonged Beatlemania so I don’t miss any opportunities to visit Liverpool. In this occasion, the invitation came courtesy of Pullman hotels, for the opening of their new property in this city. Liverpool is much more than a football club and Brookside. In fact, the city has a very rich history and culture, to the point that in 2008, Liverpool was declared European Capital of Culture.
An area that I have always loved is the Royal Albert Dock, a complex of dock buildings and warehouses designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick. It was opened in 1846 and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood. Nowadays, it is home to many thriving bars and restaurants, like the Maray, inspired by Le Marais, in Paris’s 4th arrondissement. Maray specialises in small Mediterranean dishes to share – you must try the Disco cauliflower- and gorgeous cocktails.
The Royal Albert Dock is also home to the Tate Liverpool, which houses works by incredible artists such as Lowry, Picasso, Andy Warhol and Dalí just to name a few. If you want to dance the night away, I’d recommend you to go to the The Cavern Club in Mathew Street, where John, Paul, George and Ringo started their plans for musical world domination.
After such a day, I was quite ready to go back to my room at the Pullman hotel. On the 6th floor, with three floor to ceiling windows, I had wonderful views of the city. To properly unwind, I took a shower, rainforest style and wrapped in a soft fluffy dressing gown, ready to chill out for a while.
In the morning I had the pleasure to attend a presentation by Alex Hardcastle, an amazing sensory installation artist who works closely with companies like Chanel and the Pullman Hotel Liverpool.
For lunch we stayed at the Pullman.
Their restaurant Wheeler’s by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White is not one to be missed. We enjoyed a fabulous seafood platter with oysters, dressed king crab and lobster, accompanied by a perfectly chilled Pouilly Fumé. For those in our group who were not fish lovers, there was fillet steak to be wash down with a rich chocolatey Malbec. A must do in Liverpool is The Beatles Story museum, which contains recreations of The Casbah Coffee Club, the Cavern Club and Abbey Road Studios among other historical Beatles memorabilia and exclusive photographs. The story takes you all the way to the tragic day in which John Lennon was shot and killed in New York.
A little gem that I found in this street is the Bluecoat, the oldest Grade 1 listed building in the city, which has become a destination in itself, thanks to the many artisan and jewellery shops housed around its stunning courtyard. The Baltic Triangle is a fast-growing edgy area of Liverpool. Once the centre of the slave trade in Liverpool, now it is a thriving and cutting-edge destination, the heart of independent Liverpool, raw and exciting with some stunning street art thrown into it. If you are foodie like me, then you can’t miss Bold Street. Full of restaurants from all over the world, Bold Street offers the visitor a real multicultural taste journey: Peruvian Chica, Love the Neighbour (with their famous Buddha Bowls), the Italian Club Fish with their wine tasting experiences… and many more!
My time to go back home came around far too quickly but, with direct trains from Euston to Liverpool taking just over 2 hours, its easy to go back again and again. Now, if you are doing the trip the other way around then you will be delighted to hear that Pullman have an equally stunning hotel next door to St Pancras Station. Perfectly located, with an AA Rosette Award Winning Golden Arrow Restaurant and Bar. This is a hotel perfect for a business or pleasure.
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