A Review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool: A Historic UK Hotel

Settling into my train seat, with a steaming hot chocolate and a book I’d been trying to finish for weeks, I let out a sigh of relief. It was Friday lunchtime and the train was filling with people and suitcases; the anticipation of the weekend palpable. After a whirlwind three months of navigating the freelance world and the rollercoaster ride of emotions that comes with it, I was ready for a break – away from my cluttered desk and increasingly clingy cat.

Our train was headed to Liverpool, a place that’s quickly become one of our favourite UK cities.

Until a year ago, Liverpool hadn’t featured on our radars at all: our interests focused on cities and countries further afield. A weekend trip last summer, however, had us questioning why we hadn’t visited sooner – we loved it.  And so, when we were invited back to to review the Titanic Hotel Liverpool – a hotel recently awarded the title of the ‘Best Historic Hotel in the UK’ – we immediately accepted the invitation.

A Review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool

The Titanic Hotel sits on the Stanley Dock Village development, overlooking the Stanley Dock – around a twenty minute walk from the famous Albert Dock. Once an old rum factory built in 1848 and now a World Heritage Site, the building has undergone a £40 million restoration programme: transforming it into one of the city’s most desired hotels.

Walking into the lobby – greeted by stunning industrial chic  – we were immediately wowed. The red bricked walls and large warehouse windows retained a sense of the building’s past (the bar, decorated in various rums also provided a more obvious clue), whilst the long leather sofas and wrought-iron lamps placed it firmly in the 21st century.

History of Titanic Hotel, Liverpool

With a little notebook in hand, and before we’d even made it to our room, we cornered a hugely helpful member of staff to ask just why the hotel had received its name. What was its connection to the Titanic?

He explained that whilst the ship had been built in Belfast, it had in fact been registered in Liverpool, before setting sale from Southampton. Indeed, having been christened in Liverpool, the ship carried the city’s name proudly on its stern.  Furthermore, the Titanic’s managing company – White Star Line – also had its head office in the city. Perhaps most poignantly, however, was the final fact: ninety of the Titanic’s crew who died on that fateful night were from Merseyside.

It was clear that the city had – and still has – a strong connection with the infamous ship, both through industrial trade and personal loss. In keeping with the name, the walls throughout the hotel are therefore adorned with photographs and memorabilia from the Titanic Museum in Belfast.

Being history geeks, we found this fascinating.

Rooms at Titanic Hotel, Liverpool

With a notepad already bursting with facts and scribbles ready for our review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool, we hopped into a lift to the fourth floor, hurrying along a huge corridor that led to our room. Far from losing the sense of space and light found in the lobby, our room was enormous and replicated the industrial vibe found in the public areas.

Dropping our suitcases, we mindlessly ran around in circles, repeating the same observation back to one another: ‘this room is bigger than my house’. As hotel rooms go, this was by far the largest we’ve ever stayed in.

Satisfied that we’d explored every inch of the space (and now a little out of breath), our attention settled on the smaller details, including a nod to the hotel’s past in the form of a small bottle of rum – a lovely gesture that added a layer of detail.

The crowning glory of the room, however, was its huge windows: offering views over the hotel’s big sister, a former tobacco factory. Once the largest brick buildings in the world and built in 1901, the now unoccupied warehouse had a dark, eery beauty to it. In fact, as we found out later, the tobacco warehouse was used to shoot scenes from our much loved boxset – Peaky Blinders – and had even appeared on one of our (unashamedly) favourite shows: Most Haunted.

We must admit, we can see why the building found itself on such a show: looking into the countless windows of the deserted warehouse on a cold night was a little spooky. The tobacco factory hasn’t been forgotten, however, and will soon be undergoing a colossal redevelopment process of its own.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sat on our new favourite window seat, watching seagulls swoop past and the sun dip beneath the docks – trying to figure out how we were going to do this hotel justice when it came to writing our review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool.

After a frantic week, I felt far removed from my disorganised desk, empty coffee cups and wailing cat. If it weren’t for my rumbling tummy, I could have remained in that quiet nook for the entire evening. Reluctantly, however, we hauled ourselves back up and out to enjoy a walk along the docks, before venturing into the city for dinner.

It was a twenty minute stroll to the Albert Dock and the perfect opportunity to blow away the cobwebs after a week spent behind a desk.

The famous Dock looked picturesque as the sun set and the magical twilight hour took hold. We took a seat overlooking the Mersey and tried to decide on where to head for dinner. We settled on trying one of the independent, quirky restaurants on Bold Street, which was a hive of activity on a Friday night.

After a Friday night feast, we were eager to return to our quiet corner of the world and to complete our review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool. It seemed such a waste not to be enjoying such a beautiful room (it was also 8pm and we were shattered).

The final hours of the evening were spent hatching plans on our window seat (watching Crufts may also have featured), before finally clambering into our deliciously comfy beds – the type that swallow you whole.

Up early the next morning in order to make the most of our review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool, we ventured down to the basement to explore the Titanic Hotel, Liverpool’s spa and hydrotherapy pool (sitting within the arches of the old basement, it really is beautiful), before indulging in the hotel’s impressive buffet breakfast; trying one of everything.

After one final hour nestled in our window seat, soaking up the quiet surroundings of this monumental building, we understood just why this warehouse-chic hotel has been recognised for its history. A significant player in Liverpool’s industrial past and associated with one of the world’s most notorious historical tragedies, this vast building wears its incredible history with a stoical sort of pride.

A Liverpool sort of pride, perhaps.

Our stay – and this subsequent review of the Titanic Hotel Liverpool – may have been brief, but it provided us with everything a good hotel should: a sense of history combined with both luxury and beautiful aesthetics.