Hotel Review: Malmaison Liverpool

This weekend I traveled up North to Liverpool for the very first time, to visit the brand new exhibition on Belgian artist René Magritte at the Tate Liverpool, and explore this city I heard so much about.

I stayed at the quirky Malmaison Liverpool, conveniently close to the the Tate Liverpool (and the lovely Albert Dock), on a quiet location on the waterfront. The Malmaison Hotels are a chain of 12 edgy boutique-style hotels all over the UK, often built in great historic buildings (the Oxford one is actually inside an old prison, which is where I first got to know about Malmaison!). Surprisingly, the Liverpool Mal is in fact the first purpose built hotel of the chain, but once again, the design is quite dramatic and fitting for what is to be discovered on the inside.

Once on the inside, it’s all plush and very plum-coloured, full of unusual design features in the double-height lobby, like a giant penguin, eclectic sofas and a dramatic fireplace. In our room, the dark, plum theme continued, with splashes of neon pink to brighten it up. The bathrooms operated a more black & white theme, and lots and lots of yummy-smelling products (enough to take home afterwards, and that’s what counts, right?).

The Plum Bar is a popular pre-and-post-going out haunt (I was there for both, ahem), and offers original cocktail creations and good old classics. We also had a rather scrumptious 3-course dinner in the Brasserie next door, which made sure we were unable to actually go anywhere else but our room afterwards.

Barely recovered from our massive dinner, breakfast was yet again another winner, I had one of the best Eggs Benedict I’ve ever had (and I should know), whilst my other half munched on some much-needed egg and sausage rolls.

The charm of the Malmaison Hotels – not just Liverpool, but all of them, from what I’ve seen so far – is that they’re one of those rare hotels where it’s actually fun to stay in, for food and drinks, so I do recommend checking out the bar or restaurant, because they’re usually great places to be, even if you’re not staying at the hotel. Also, if you are planning on going, do check out their cracking packages, like Girls’ Night In or Out, “All you need is love”, and many more…

Although it’s easy to be wowed by the obvious glamour of the hotel, what really excited me most about the hotel were the little touches everywhere: candles everywhere to create a great atmosphere in the evening, cheeky little texts instead of your normal Do Not Disturb and Clean Room signs, a really, really good house wine, the unusual decoration everywhere, a tiny Beatles museum on the first floor and a gigantic Yellow Submarine, suspended 5 floors high – because it’s Liverpool after all. If you’re after individual style with a boutique service, great food and drink but without the expected price tag, I guarantee you Malmaison Liverpool is absolutely your place to be!

Malmaison Liverpool
William Jessop Way
Princes Dock
Liverpool L3 1QZ

P.S. Although my stay was very kindly offered, all my opinions are 100% honest and genuine.



The Room: