Murray T.
Yelp
This place is covered in purple velvet and dripping in footballers' wives bling, but that's no bad thing. After all, this is Liverpool, so when in Rome...
The lobby is pretty imposing, with high ceilings and luxurious decor. The reception staff were incredibly helpful and friendly, making the check-in a lot easier after a nightmare 6 hour drive.
The entire hotel is dark and brooding, including the rooms. This is really the only bad thing I have to say about the place - the lack of lights in the room. It seems there was a lack of thought given to the actual practicality of the room design - the small window (in our Mersey-view room) didn't let in heaps of light so we had to rely on the sparse lighting dotted around, which really came to the fore when my girlfriend was trying to do her make-up. There was no light anywhere near a mirror! The bathroom was an enormous wet room with a rainfall shower in the corner. Now while I bloody love these "drench" showers, it could have done with some kind of screen - the water was free to splash all over the room, making it difficult to navigate when wearing socks!
On the upside, the bed was very comfortable we barely woke up in time for checking out.
The Plum Bar was adequate, but felt like a bit of a token gesture. There is no actual bar, but rather they mandate table service. I walked into the bar to be informed of this, but had to go and ask a member of staff to actually get any drinks.
The breakfast was hands-down amazing. A great selection of continental treats, including La Fermiere yoghurt in clay pots, fresh juice, pastries and honeycomb. The hot food was ordered from the waiter rather than a buffet and there was a good selection. During our visit we ploughed through various dishes (including waffles, bacon and maple syrup...yum), all of which were made with top quality ingredients and tasted great.
Whilst not the cheapest hotel going, I was pleased with the value offered by Malmaison and would definitely recommend it.