Liverpool City Centre (Liverpool One) hotel

Centred for nightlife and shopping this is a well positioned hotel. The rooms were clean and large. We also ate there which was good for a large group as we had no booking elsewhere on a Saturday afternoon. Food and service was good.

Disappointed overall. First night was fine, although very understaffed and check in chaotic with machines not working. Staff were however friendly and all meals taken during our stay were good. The staffing issues came into play during the 2nd day with a blocked toilet. This was reported at 10am and not fixed for 8 hours!!!! This was also an accessible room so the alternative offered of using the one in reception was not acceptable. Had to follow up with staff 3 times and the man (manager?) was abrupt about sorting as maintenance team had gone home (despite us reporting issue 1st thing!) Eventually was plunged and other reviews show similar issues with the toilets so they need a better solution. Manager finally offered an apology after dinner but this was too little too late and no offer of compensation. (We took the matter up with Premier inn after and received a partial refund and acknowledgement of poor service from staff). I would recommend staying at the other Premier Inn in at the docks as previous stay there much better and reviews show recurring issues with this hotel which is a pity as good location.

Upon arrival I asked a staff member for help with the machine to check in as I've never used a machine before and was anxious about it, I later discovered her to be the Manager!! She dismissed me and told me the machine was easy to use and to follow the instructions. The machine wouldn't register the QR code so I clicked "call for assistance" on the machine. The same staff member approached with a male and I called out to them, he told me he wouldn't be a minute and disappeared with her through a staff door. Several minutes later he returned. He told me the QR code won't be picked up through a phone screen protector and walked me through check in. The bedroom smelt bad. The toilet and sink were blocked and we spent the night sweating. The air con didn't work. Reported the issues at breakfast the following day and asked for a room clean and fresh towels too. We stayed Mon to Thur. Came back Tuesday evening around 8 and the room hadn't been cleaned, no fresh towels and sink and more importantly toilet still blocked. Went back down and spoke to a male staff member, he apologised and I told him it was ok, mistakes happen sometimes, but I would like it sorted now. He said he'd fetch the manager and out came the same lady who dismissed us on arrival. She again was disinterested. She told me clean towels were behind her on a table. She told me they had no fans other than the two broken ones in the guest services rooms, but that she would TRY resetting the air con from downstairs (luckily this did work but nobody checked this with us, throughout the rest of our stay). She also flippantly said that she'd be up "later" to "TRY" and unblock the sink and toilet. It was already past 8 pm and I was staying with my 10 year old. I waited up until 10.30 pm and she never came. Therefore couldn't use the sink and more importantly the toilet in the room. At this point I was extremely disappointed and dissatisfied. I looked online how to make a complaint and it just said to speak to the hotel or call a phone number. I wanted an email address to make a formal complaint and ask for a partial refund as they weren't providing us with basic necessities like a toilet and I paid over £200 for the stay. So very different to our other stays at this hotel. Has there been a change in staffing or owners? I'm not sure, but couldn't have been more different to our last stay. Even the bacon at breakfast tasted awful and last time was lovely. Clearly a change in suppliers. A change for the worst. Regularly ran out of food too. Throughout or stay, only ONE member of staff was personable and welcoming and smiley. I didn't catch her name sadly, but she was a young Asian lady. She was kind to myself and to my daughter and actually engaged in a conversation with us. Going back to the issues with the room, on coming down for breakfast the second morning I told the male staff member about the trouble we had and that the manager still didn't come and sort the toilet despite saying she would and despite us staying up late to wait for her arrival. I told him at this point I really wasn't happy as I'd asked Tue morning and Tue evening. His first question was when we were checking out! I told him Thur (we were now on Wed) and he said that he'd make sure the room was cleaned and towels replenished and that the toilet and sink were working by that evening when we were back in the hotel. The dismissive lady manager the night before had already told me in a "matter of fact" tone that we wouldn't be moving rooms in this hotel if the blockage couldn't be sorted as she had no availability and she would have to start outsourcing to other hotels. The ONLY reason I booked this hotel is because it's a 2 minute walk to my daughter's father's work and the reason for our stay was for them to have contact over the school holidays either side of his shift pattern at work. We live in North Wales and her dad lives in Liverpool. So to be told we may have to move hotel really upset me as the location was the biggest factor in choosing the hotel and after this latest fiasco of a stay I doubt I'll book another Premier Inn again anywhere. I'm quite upset and this stay has really put me off. I've been singing that Hotels praises and recommending it to all my friends due to it's proximity to L1 and the high quality rooms / breakfast / staff attentiveness, etc. I won't be again. There are other places for the same price with cheerier staff and working toilets. I've previously rented a whole apartment closeby for less, I choose here mostly because of the breakfast option being great value (but then my daughter refused the bacon this time and usually that's all she eats at hotels, is pancakes and bacon), so it wasn't even worth staying for the breakfast. Last time the bacon was lovely and she enjoyed it. To be fair that last man I spoke to on Wednesday morning did get the sink and toilet unblocked and the replenish the towels, the room still didn't look cleaned though. Overall a very disappointing and shocking experience and not at all what I expected.

On arrival there wasn't a reception so we had to check in ourselves. It was quite straightforward to do. Very efficient. The room was very clean. Bed was comfortable. Extra pillows were available if needed. Bathroom was clean and shower worked well. Our room was on 5th floor and it was very quiet.

I travelled alone with my daughter and although I'm a big fan of a Premier Inn generally, I'm not sure I'd choose this particular one again. It was certainly convenient in terms of being literally across the street from Liverpool One shopping district and lots of pubs and live music around if that's your thing (again, not ideal when travelling alone with a child) but the hotel was quiet and we slept well. The room was clean and comfy and there was a nice deep clean bath. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful (and I'd rate them 10/10 in their attentiveness to myself and my daughter), but there was just not enough staff on at any given time. They were friendly but kind of had a harassed overworked tired look about them. I think they could do with 1-2 more staff on duty at any given time so things run more smoothly. They were serving a lot of tables and it was hard to get their attention because they just had too many tables to look after for the 1 or 2 members of staff running the check in desk and dining room at any given time. I didn't feel comfortble in the entrance off the street, as you go into the grotty entrance and lift straight on the street and go up 2 floors to get to the reception. The reception is fine and I received excellent help getting checked in, as there was a glitch on the machines. But the hotel hallways and communal areas are tired, splodged with bleach stains on the carpets and I felt uncomfortable about security at this particular hotel, as someone could follow someone off the street and go up to a residential floor quite easily, seeing as the main lift totally bypasses reception. I also didn't like that there are no chain locks inside the rooms for additional security at night. Breakfast was delicious and - very suprisingly - so was the dinner that I had on the night that we arrived. They do a very good value meal deal of dinner and breakfast, with children eating free. So I ended up paying around £46 for 2 x cooked breakfast buffets (vegetarian and GF friendly - with a couple of coeliac safe options in packages from Schar) and an adult full 2 course meal and a children's meal with drinks. So we will definitely return to Liverpool and a Premier Inn but we might give this particular one a miss in favour of one with a little bit less of a stag & hen vibe and maybe more family friendly feeling.