Travel Report: Hard Days Night Hotel.

Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool.

May 2019. As a diehard Beatles fan who’d come to Liverpool to conduct as much Beatlesy business as I could, there really was only one place to stay. It just had to be the world’s only Beatles inspired hotel.

When I was planning my trip to Liverpool, I simply couldn’t see past the Hard Days Night Hotel, a four-star joint located on North John Street. That’s just a hop, skip and a jump from the city’s legendary Cavern Club, where the band used to perform in the early 1960s.

Photo courtesy of John Bradley. 

There’s no denying what a grand looking building it is. Constructed in 1884, it was known as Central Buildings, home to a number of merchant’s offices and private businesses. In World War II it became the backup location for the Allied Command Headquarters during The Battle of the Atlantic.

Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool.

Surviving the heavy bombing Liverpool sustained during The Blitz, this Grade II listed building became the Hard Days Night Hotel in 2008 after a four year renovation project.

Gaze up at the classical facade and you can pick out all four Beatles in various locations, each pinned to a stone column. In truth the likeness of these sculptures is a little questionable. That’s George pictured above, apparently.

When I first saw the hotel’s logo I was a bit nonplussed. But on closer inspection, and with the help of some accompanying info, I realised it’s actually pretty clever. It represents the famous opening chord of the 1964 track the hotel takes its name from.

Few chords in the history of rock ‘n’ roll are as instantly recognisable as the twang that rolls through the open strings of George Harrison’s Rickenbacker at the beginning of Hard Days Night. The dots in the logo show where a guitarist’s fingers need to be to recreate his famous G7 suspended chord.

Where to Stay in Liverpool.

When Steppers and I trotted up the steps of the Hard Days Night Hotel with our baggage, our initial impressions were good. From the moment you walk into the grand foyer The Beatles vibe washes over you. And for the most part they’ve succeeded in keeping things stylish rather than kitsch.

Happily, there was no messing around at reception, with its leather chairs, John Lennon painting and hanging music sheets. Swiftly checked in, we headed straight for our double suite on the second floor.

It’s possible to take the elevator up and down the different floors. But its way more fun to stroll up the winding, carpeted staircase with its giant archive photographs. Each connecting passage showcases photos from a different Beatles era.

I stayed in Room 209. All the suites have a unique painting that represents a specific moment or story in Beatles history. The painting in room 209 shows drummer Ringo Starr and a man called Jimmy Nicol, virtually unknown to casual Beatles fans.

Nicol joined The Beatles quite suddenly in 1964 when the band was in the middle of a world tour at the height of Beatlemania. It all began when Ringo found himself hospitalised with acute tonsillitis and pharyngitis.

Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool.

It was producer George Martin who suggested Jimmy, a respected session drummer, fill in for Ringo. As luck would have it, Nicol was already familiar with numerous Beatles songs.

Following a two hour audition, Martin and Beatles manager Brian Epstein agreed that Jimmy was their man. Thus Nicol had just hours to pack his bags and jump on a flight to Denmark to join John, Paul and George.

Jimmy Nicol played eight concerts with The Beatles before a recuperated Ringo eventually returned. He received £500 for his work, in addition to a gold watch. It came with the inscription: “From the Beatles and Brian Epstein to Jimmy – with appreciation and gratitude.”

According to McCartney, Nicol unwittingly supplied the inspiration for Getting Better, a song that went on to make the track listing for Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band. Nicol uttered the words in response to how he thought he was doing on the tour.

After his brief period of fame, Jimmy Nicol returned to life as a session drummer, before finally working as a painter/decorator. To his enormous credit, he never looked to cash in on his Beatles experience and even refused to sell his story to the British newspapers.

Where to Stay in Liverpool.

Keen to explore the hotel, I soon left the room to see what I could find. A natural starting point is the main lounge and bar across from reception.

An unapologetic 1960s vibe prevails throughout with plenty to investigate, including framed posters, a John Lennon sculpture and all manner of Beatles artwork. There are numerous local artists featured, along with Beatles pop art titan Klaus Voorman, who designed the album cover for Revolver.

If you’re lucky you can settle down at one of several themed booths running across the back of the lounge. Pictured above is the excellent Astrid Corner with its collection of iconic photographs from the Beatles’ early Hamburg days.

The German photographer and artist Astrid Kirchherr took the shots in 1960 after meeting the band and falling in love with original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. Furthermore, she was widely credited with creating their mop top haircuts. Though she herself dismissed this, explaining “lots of German boys had that hairstyle”. 

The story of her involvement with The Beatles and her relationship with Sutcliffe, who tragically died in Hamburg aged just twenty one, form the plot of the 1994 movie Backbeat.

Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool.

Take the staircase running down from the lounge and you’ll find a permanent photo exhibition called The Music Was the Thing by Zara Jones. Jones interviewed a whole host of famous people over a ten year period, asking them to name and be photographed with their choice Beatles record.

I can’t imagine many fans, famous or otherwise, choosing Yellow Submarine as their favourite Beatles album. And yet that’s exactly what Liverpool Football Club legend Kenny Dalglish did. #fairenough

I could have spent longer exploring, but it was dinner time and our stomachs were rumbling. Hence we made our way to Blake’s Restaurant, tucked away behind reception. In fact, our two night package came with a complimentary dinner, to be taken on the night of our choosing.

The restaurant name-checks Sir Peter Blake, the celebrated pop artist who co-created the album cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In a long and illustrious career, Blake also designed two album covers for The Who, as well as the artwork for the 1984 monster hit Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Where to Stay in Liverpool.

As you would expect, Blake’s Restaurant offers up a stylish range of artwork, including a stunning 60-panel centrepiece dedicated to the iconic people who appear on the Sgt. Pepper’s album cover.

Apparently Lennon and McCartney went crazy for the project, competing with each other to get as many of their choices included as they could.

Naturally all the Indian figures came from Harrison, who was exploring the Hare Krishna tradition. In contrast, a noncommittal Ringo said he was happy to simply “go with the flow”.

In the end 58 people made it onto the cover, including Edgar Allan Poe, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Monroe, Oscar Wilde and Albert Einstein. Lennon’s original idea to save spots for Jesus and Hitler was voted down in order to avoid controversy.

Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool.

Our dinner that night was a three-course affair and, in all honesty, we were a little underwhelmed. For my starter I went for the pan fried scallops with pea puree and black pudding. It was quite bland.

For my main, I had the marinated lamb shank with creamed potato and red wine sauce. It was tasty, but nothing spectacular. So I’m not sure I’d have been too pleased had I walked in off the street and paid the £20 listed on the menu.

It was a relief then when my sticky toffee pudding arrived. It was decent and helped to end things on a positive note. And yet, it was our decision to order a cocktail that truly saved the day. I went for the hotel’s signature Strawberry Fields cocktail, another complimentary offer with our package.

Normally priced at £7.65, it’s an absolutely delicious concoction of strawberry puree and fresh lemon shaken with Zubrowska Bison Grass Vodka. Finished with a twist of black pepper, don’t you know.

The Strawberry Fields Cocktail had given me a taste for more, so post-dinner Steppers and I crossed the hotel’s ground floor for some drinks at Bar Four.

Where to Stay in Liverpool.

Here, there was more Fab Four artwork, this time by the artist Paul Ygartua. Amazingly, Paul attended Liverpool Art College at the same time as John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe. Chilling out to the lilting melodies of I Me Mine, I ordered a Beatles Bakewell cocktail, a winning mix of amaretto, cherry brandy and cranberry juice. Priced at £9.65.

Our package also included breakfast on both mornings. Unlike dinner, I could have no complaints here. On our first day I had a wonderfully cooked English breakfast, while on our second morning I went for the buffet, a handpicked mix of fruit, pastries and cereal. It was all delicious.

Overall I would definitely recommend Hard Days Night Hotel. Our stay was far from perfect, and not only because of the aforementioned patchy dinner. My biggest disappointment was that we were without hot water for 24 hours of our 48 hour stay. Indeed I was not impressed at having to take a freezing cold shower after a full day’s exploring.

Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool.

Nevertheless, the staff was really apologetic and did their best to placate us with a £40 discount and a couple of free beers. You can’t say fairer than that.

All in all Steppers and I paid £240 for the 2-night package, inclusive of the room, breakfasts, dinner and complimentary cocktails. Obviously, with the £40 discount applied that ended up as £200. I guess the hotel’s ethos is, whatever the problem, We Can Work it Out.

For more information on Hard Days Night Hotel, take a look at their website.

For more on the greatest rock band in history, check out my other articles on The Beatles In Liverpool. Alternatively, have a read about my visit to Abbey Road in London. Maybe check out my review of The White Album.

Like these? Have a read of my travel reports from around Liverpool.

Or maybe search further afield with my articles from all around England.

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