The Liner at Liverpool is a bold transformation of the famous Gladstone Hotel into an ocean liner and is a fitting commemoration of the impact Liverpool has made on the maritime heritage of Great Britain. This is more than a whimsical makeover however, for the £6.5 million programme of refurbishment and redevelopment has turned the Gladstone Hotel from a pleasant but unremarkable hotel into one of Liverpool’s most striking and memorable hotels. Liverpool’s successful bid to become the 2008 European City of Culture added to the long lasting euphoria of Liverpool FC being crowned European Champions has noticeably lifted the spirits of Merseyside and The Liner at Liverpool typifies the mood of a city looking forward to a bright future.

Liverpool’s maritime history is fascinating and compelling; the city has been at the forefront of Britain’s seafaring ways for centuries. Liverpool’s location on the Mersey made it an ideal deep water port, and the pre-eminence of Liverpool’s Docks was second only to that of London. Goods such as textiles from the booming Yorkshire and Lancashire mills were exported from Liverpool to every corner of the globe, while raw cotton came the other way by the shipload. Liverpool’s Docks expanded at a tremendous rate to cope with the tonnage of goods, and some have been preserved as World Heritage Sites to this day. A slightly more sinister side to Liverpool’s past was of course the city’s role in the slave trade; black slaves from Africa were traded and shipped off to the West Indies from Liverpool’s docks, an integral part of Liverpool’s history that quite rightly refuses to be brushed under the carpet. By the early 20 th Century, Liverpool served as the key port in the UK for people leaving and entering the country. Many thousands sought a new life in America and Australia, and the era was a boom period for the great ocean liners, many of which sailed from the Mersey. The Liner at Liverpool is a celebration of all aspects of Liverpool’s connections with the sea, and promises to be a unique experience for Landlubbers and Sea Dogs alike!

The transformation of The Gladstone Hotel into The Liner at Liverpool is complete. After more than two years and millions of pounds, the hotel now resembles an ocean going luxury cruise liner, with the whole hotel taking on a distinctly nautical feel, from the 152 refurbished cabins to the conference rooms and suites that have been named after famous Liverpool shipping liners.