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If you’re hoping to watch a Liverpool match and you aren’t from the area, there is a very good chance that you might want to stay over and soak up the city. After all, this is the home of the Beatles, as well as being where you’ll find the likes of the Liver Building, the Liverpool Port Authority and the Cunard Building. It is a city that has amazing shopping in addition to two different cathedrals, plus a pair of top-class football clubs in Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves. If you wanted to, you could extend your stay enough in order to pop over and see the Wirral; home to Port Sunlight, Lady Lever Art Gallery and the Wirral Transport Museum.
What you’ll want to do whilst you’re on Merseyside will also dictate where you’ll want to look for a hotel. If you plan to simply walk to Anfield, watch the football, go for a few drinks in the local area when then head back to your hotel, you’ll obviously want to stay as close to the ground as possible. If, on the other hand, you would like to enjoy some culture whilst in Liverpool, perhaps going to see a play at the Empire Theatre or watch a band play at the Cavern Club, just like The Beatles did in the 1960s, then you’ll be better off staying in a hotel closer to the city centre. I have looked at all options to make it easier for you to decide.
Staying Near Anfield
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The reality is that Anfield is located outside of the city centre, with not a huge amount to do in the area other than go to see a football match or have a wander across Goodison Park. As a result, the hotel options in the vicinity of the stadium are fewer and further between than you’ll find in the city centre. It would be untrue to describe it as the richest part of town, but there are still a good number of decent places for you to stay. As you might imagine, some of them are simply rooms in people’s homes or the entire house that can be rented out, but there are also some actual hotels that you can find that will be more than suitable for the needs of most people.
The Sandon Hotel
166, 182 Oakfield Rd, Anfield, Liverpool L4 0UH – Check Rates
In the 1870s, Everton were the team that played their games at Anfield. The ground was owned by John Houlding, a brewer who owned numerous pubs around Liverpool. When he decided to put the rent up on the stadium, Everton’s members decided that they would leave and play their matches at a different location, Goodison Park. As a result, Houdling was left with a stadium and no team to play in it. The result was a decision to set up a new football club, the name of which was Liverpool. As part of his enterprise of pubs and other areas around Liverpool, Houlding had built the Sandon, which was also used as a Masonic Lodge.
Houlding and his friends met in the Sandon in order to discuss the formation of the new football club, meaning that it is, as the pub’s website says, ‘where it all began’. If you want to stay in a pub close to the ground, therefore, you’re going to struggle to find a venue with more history than the Sandon. It lies just 400 metres from the stadium, providing guests with a shared lounge, free Wi-Fi and a bar area. Downstairs, of course, is the pub itself, where you can enjoy the match day experience, mingling with other supporters in the hours before kick-off. You will struggle to find somewhere to stay for Liverpool better suited to the supporter’s needs.
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Hotel Anfield
23 Anfield Rd, Anfield, Liverpool L4 0TE – Check Rates
Hotel Anfield might have less to do with the history and formation of Liverpool Football Club, but it has plenty of links to the supporter experience. It is where many fans gather in the hours before kick-off, with well-known names like Jamie Webster effectively beginning his career playing LFC-themed songs to huge crowds in the outdoor area of the hotel. The rooms themselves are modern and comfortable, coming in different sizes depending on how many of you are staying. It is a stone’s through from Anfield itself, hence the name, and you can enjoy a brilliant atmosphere both before and after the match before heading to bed.
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Brownlows Inn Guest House
55 Blessington Road, Anfield, Liverpool, L4 0RY – Check Rates
This was formerly known as the King Harry Accommodation, which is important information because the King Harry is a pub with connections to Liverpool’s supporter base. It is where vast swathes of supporters gather in the build up to kick-off, so offers another opportunity to experience what the fans do whilst also being able to head upstairs to your bed if you drink too much too early… The building was built in 1900, with the accommodation providing you not only with a bar and a shared kitchen, but also free Wi-Fi and all-day long security. There is a shared bathroom with a shower, which might put some people off.
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Flat Iron Anfield
377 Walton Breck Road, Anfield, Liverpool, L4 0SY – Check Rates
There are many people that feel as though there are similarities between Liverpool and New York, which might help to explain why John Lennon swapped one of them for the other. There is a flat iron building in New York, with Liverpool having one of its own. It is not far from Anfield and some fan-run shops can be found close by, meaning that you can buy some supporter-led clothing rather than going to the club shop. There is a bar and a terrace as part of this 19th century property, which is close enough to the stadium to mean that you’ll be able to walk there but not so close that you’ll feel as though you might be picked to play in goal.
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The Cabbage Hall Hotel
20 Breck Road, Anfield, Anfield, Liverpool, L4 2RB – Check Rates
Whilst most of the other pub-hotels I’ve mentioned so far are very Liverpool FC-themed, the Cabbage Hall Hotel is a little closer to Goodison Park and tries to walk the tightrope between the two clubs in order to attempt to appeal to supporters of both. It is about ten minutes’ walk to Anfield, with the rooms batting en-suite showers and widescreen TVs. The venue itself is something of a cross between traditional British and a more contemporary style, whilst there is a restaurant downstairs to allow you to get a bite to eat before or after the match. Offering limited parking, it is an ideal place to stay when the Reds are playing.
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Harrow Lodge – Anfield Apartments
3 Harrow Road, Anfield, Liverpool, L4 2TH – Check Rates
Built in 1900 and offering a terrace for guests to use, Harrow Lodge is an entire apartment that would be ideal for someone coming with their kids to watch a Liverpool match. That is because there are two bedrooms, a bathroom with a walk-in shower and a kitchen. That includes facilities to cook your own food in addition to a washing machine, allowing you to treat it like a home from home, all whilst being located around 700 metres from the stadium. Having been renovated relatively recently, it is a modern-feeling venue that you can use as the perfect base for when you want to watch the Reds play or head into the city centre.
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The Arc Hotel
95 Anfield Road, Anfield, Liverpool, L4 0TJ – Check Rates
With a location as good as The Arc Hotel has, it is little wonder that the owners have decided to take advantage of that by making it all about Liverpool FC. Even the stairs are adorned with a picture of the gates that say ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, whilst you’ll also find quotes from Bill Shankly and other greats of the clubs past plastered on the walls. There is a 24-hour front desk here, whilst rooms have a safe and a TV as well as a private bathroom. There is little doubt that the hotel’s main appeal will be its location, though, owing to the fact that you will be able to hear the roar of the fans from your bedroom if you don’t have a match ticket.
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Staying in Liverpool City Centre
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Whilst the convenience of being close to Anfield and the opportunity to soak up the match day atmosphere will appeal to many, the reality for some will be that they will be trying to persuade their partner or a friend to join them for a weekend and football might not be the biggest appeal. If that’s the situation that you find yourself in then you’d be well-suited to a stay in one of the many city centre hotels around Liverpool, each of which offers something different. Whether you want to be able to walk to the Museum of Liverpool, go to have a look at the Williamson Tunnels or keep your eye out for things related to The Beatles, there will be an option for you.
The Shankly Hotel
Millenium House, 60 Victoria Street, Liverpool, L1 6JD – Check Rates
You might be staying in the centre of Liverpool a few miles from Anfield, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up any and all connections to the club itself. The Shankly Hotel is, as you’ll almost certainly have guessed from the name, designed to honour the life and times of Bill Shankly. In the bar downstairs, where you can get some decent food as well as drinks, you’ll find some of the founding father of modern day Liverpool Football Club’s memorabilia. There is private on-site parking, which isn’t always the case with city centre hotels, whilst each of the rooms offers a private bathroom and some of them have a spa bath.
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Radisson RED Hotel
7 Lime Street, Liverpool, L1 1RJ – Check Rates
This time the RED in the name of the morel is more to do with the chain of hotels than LFC, but at least you’re unlikely to see any Evertonians staying in it. As well as rooms with flat screen TVs, bathrooms and a coffee machine, the Radisson in Liverpool also has a business centre and a fitness centre. It is located close to Lime Street Station, which means it is ideally locate for those arriving by train. There is a restaurant on-site, which caters to pretty much everyone’s needs. If you’re the sort of person that likes your luxury and is keen to known exactly what you’re going to get, you’d be hard-pushed to do better than a chain hotel.
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Hard Days Night Hotel
North John Street, Liverpool, L2 6RR – Check Rates
Liverpool is the home of The Beatles, which is a fact that you’d struggle to forget once you spend any time there. Given that they are the greatest band that ever existed, it isn’t exactly a surprise that Scousers like to talk about them. Hard Days Night Hotel is themed after the band, complete with The Beatles memorabilia found around the bar and restaurant areas. There are luxury bathrooms in each of the rooms, which are each individually decorated with artwork related to the band. The hotel can be found inside a grade II listed building, whilst the Cavern Club on Matthew Street is literally just around the corner.
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Hilton Liverpool City Centre
3 Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool, L1 8LW – Check Rates
There is a fair amount of good shopping to be done in Liverpool, so if your plan is to take advantage of that then you’d struggle to find a better location than that offered by the Hilton in the city centre. Literally located on the edge of the Liverpool ONE shopping centre, it has a 24-hour gym and stylish rooms, many of which have floor-to-ceiling windows. Liverpool’s Arena is around five minutes’ walk away, as is the Albert Dock. Given the fact that it is part of the Hilton hotel chain, most people will know what to expect from the rooms and the linked bar and restaurant, which tends to meet a certain level of quality.
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Mercure Liverpool Atlantic Tower Hotel
Chapel Street, Liverpool, L3 9RE – Check Rates
Overlooking the dock front and boasting views of the River Mersey and the Wirral in most rooms, the Mercure Liverpool is located inside the unusual looking Atlantic Tower. Its visually arresting look comes from the fact that it is shaped like the front of a boat, which ties in nicely to the city’s maritime past. There is a restaurant on-site, whilst the rooms are air-conditioned and promise both a flat screen TV and a work area. Where the hotel is located will be a major draw for most people, thanks to the fact that it is just a short walk along the water front to the shops, pubs and clubs of the vibrant city of Liverpool itself.
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Adelphi Hotel
Ranelagh Place, Liverpool, L3 5UL – Check Rates
You can tell just by looking at the hotel that it was once a grand and impressive venue, having been built in 1826 and still boasting some of the features from the period. Nowadays it isn’t quite as luxurious as it once was, with locals often making it the butt of their jokes. It certainly promises an experience for those brave enough to stay in it, however, and whatever else happens you will definitely be able to tell a story or two after your visit. There are a few restaurants on-site, from Cromptons Restaurant that serves French cuisine through to Jenny’s Bar & Carvery and the Overstuffed Pizzeria. A hotel for those looking for a tale to tell.