Description: I didn''t stay at the Adelphi on this trip, but I have used it before and I wanted to include it because it is such an amazing building. It is supposedly Liverpool''s premier hotel. It is where all the rich and famous stayed before embarking for America. The passengers of the Titanic danced here the night before their fateful voyage. But now, of course, there are no liners, and the Adelphi is a tired and decrepit old lady with little to recommend her but her fabulous and fast fading clothes.
My friend Kevin and I stayed in the Adelphi in 1999 during a convention being held at the hotel. Our room was amazing, all dark wood panelling. It reeked expensive, even though it was not. We were blown away by the lounge. We both agreed that if we had the money we''d buy it, take it back to America and build a hotel round it. But, but, but…
These days the Adelphi is shabby. It is badly in need of restoration. A couple of the convention attendees had their rooms burgled, and we were told that meant it was a good year because it was only a couple. The food was awful, the staff unco-operative. If there were prizes for faded opulence, the Adelphi would win them with ease.
I think every traveller ought to stay at the Adelphi once. And if you happen to be into melancholy poetry perhaps you will decide to stay. For the rest of us, however, it is enough to say that we have been there.
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