INNside Liverpool occupies the former offices of the Liverpool Echo newspaper.
check in
Home to Liverpool daily Liverpool Echo for 45 years, the building’s transformation into a hotel began in 2018 as the paper moved to new (smaller) offices a block away. INNside sits just behind the city’s Town Hall, just a short walk from the main shopping and entertainment precinct and the iconic seafront on the River Mersey. INNside is part of the large Melia hotel group, which is little known in our region but which owns more than 300 hotels (including 160 in Spain).
Exterior
sky bar.
The original infrastructure remains, with the first three floors still housing office space and the remaining 15 floors with 206 rooms. A short staircase leads to the lobby, but the large open space is dominated by the hotel’s restaurant, Gino (see Dining section below). Painted black, looms over the trending exposed pipes and beams. There is a gym and terraced garden on the ground floor, while the aptly named Sky Bar is on the top floor.
Room
The room is simple yet effective, with contemporary grays and blacks providing contrasting yet understated tones. My twin room had a breakfast table hooked up to a wall outlet so it could double as a desk. The wardrobe-cum-sideboard has ample storage space. As with many modern hotels, the room is defined by a few things it doesn’t have – no doors on the wardrobe (helps keep you from forgetting your clothes) and the bathroom has no walls, just a divider and sink that doubles as a bathroom mirror.
food + drink
Gino D’acampo Old Hall Street.
This is where the hotel really stands out. Gino D’acampo, an Italian chef and a major British celebrity, has both the restaurant and the hotel’s two bars named after him. Gino D’acampo Old Hall Street Restaurant offers a wide variety of Italian dishes, mostly from the chef’s personal recipes, which are included in his many cookbooks. I enjoyed a delicious main course of stewed clams and mussels, followed by an easier veal steak with rosemary, garlic bread crumbs and truffle fries.
The hotel’s location outside of the city’s main nightlife district makes its two bars more suitable for a drink than the bustling area around the famous Cavern Club (just a short walk away). That’s not to say they aren’t popular spots in their own right. The Sky Bar’s panoramic views of the city and river mean that table reservations are a must, while the outdoor secret garden terrace with sofas and artificial turf (and ping-pong table) is a great spot for a drink in the summer heat (which by British standards during my visit is extreme).
out + about
It’s a short walk to the seafront and the city’s ‘prestige trio’, three iconic waterfront buildings – Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building. Beyond that is the Albert Dock area – once a working waterfront, now a very popular tourist destination, full of restaurants and important cultural attractions, including the Maritime and Slavery Museum, the Thai Liverpool Art Gallery and The Beatles Story, one dedicated to the Fantastic Four. As a Melburnian, it is astounding how Liverpool has managed to revitalize its docklands compared to the cultural wasteland of our own.
judgment
With two bars, great views and a restaurant, the INNside offers one of the coolest accommodations in the city. Being out of the center of the city’s entertainment district is not a disadvantage as it allows you to easily escape the city’s intense nightlife, especially on weekends.
main point
Rooms at INNSide Liverpool start from £99 per night.Look melia.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/liverpool/innside-liverpool
Our rating (out of five)
★★★★
emphasize
The Sky Bar has some of the best views in town.
low light
A twin room can be a bit cramped for two guests.
The author stayed as a guest of INNSIDE Liverpool and Visit Liverpool.Look Visit liverpool.com
