"Built on a hill with killer city views, and right across the street from the Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hope Street is a near-perfect renovation. Carved out of a former carriage works, all 89 rooms are painted white, with waxed-oak floors and exposed-beam ceilings that create a Nordic ambience and reference this port city’s shipbuilding past. Each is graced with loads of natural light, under-floor heating, Egyptian-cotton sheets, big TVs, DVD players, and oversized beds. The bar is the most happening spot in town, and the London Carriage Works restaurant is a great bet in a city where the food scene is an unappetizing snapshot of life before the U.K. went gourmet."