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Review: the Aloft Liverpool hotel (Part 2)

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Here is part 2 of my review of the Aloft Liverpool hotel.

In part 1 of my Aloft Liverpool review (click here) I looked at my room, gym and meeting spaces.  Part 2 focuses on the restaurant and bar and how you can use Starwood Preferred Guest points to get a fantastic deal at this hotel which can be very expensive at times.

aloft liverpool hotel review exterior

Breakfast at Aloft Liverpool

Breakfast is served in the NYL restaurant. The buffet has a good selection of different breads, cold cuts and full English.

aloft liverpool hotel review breakfast

There were three different juices

aloft liverpool hotel review breakfast juice kitchen

and various cereals and mueslis.

aloft liverpool hotel review breakfast cereals

Dinner

NYL’s menu is inspired by the food and culture in New York.  The menu ranges from soup over salad to burgers and steaks at what I considered very reasonable prices (it’s not London!)

It’s worth mentioning that Starwood Preferred Guest members can receive a 20% discount and earn loyalty points when dining at NYL even if they are not guests in the hotel.

aloft liverpool NYL

At the weekends you can (well, have to) listen to live music whilst dining.  I personally enjoyed it especially as I was dining on my own and that can get a bit boring sometimes.

aloft liverpool restaurant NYL live music

My healthy option for the evening was the NYL Burger. It was one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time. Just the right seasoning and cooking grade.

aloft liverpool NYL food burger

Here is a picture of the NYL bar (during the day).

aloft liverpool nyl restaurant bar

The second evening I went down to the WXYZ bar and did some work on my laptop.

aloft liverpool wxyz bar

I ordered a steak from the bar menu which was really good.

aloft liverpool hotel review wxyz bar food steak

This is the Re:mix lounge with lots of sitting spaces, a pool table and a work station with two computers:

aloft liverpool hotel review bar chill out area

Just to give an impression of the integration of new contemporary elements whilst keeping the right amount of old, here is a picture of one of the hallways that resembles an old train station.

aloft liverpool hotel review hallway train station style

The Aloft Liverpool is known for supporting local artists. They arrange music competitions and this artwork which you can find on every floor was chosen through a competition with local art students.

aloft liverpool hotel review artwork local artist

Conclusion

I really liked the Aloft Liverpool. The interior designers have done a great job creating a contemporary hotel inside a hundred year old building.

The staff were super friendly and seemed to really enjoy their jobs – always a plus.

As the hotel has got two bars and a restaurant with live music, you can start your night right in the hotel, or even stay there if you don’t want to go to one of the many bars in the surrounding area.

My room was super quiet, the bed very comfortable and the only problem I had was the amount of chlorine in the water.

If you have some Starwood Preferred Guest points, this hotel is an excellent deal.  (If you don’t have any, you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points at 2:1 or get the SPG American Express Card which is reviewed here.)

Starwood offers ‘last room reward availability’ which means that you can book a standard room for a reward stay if one is available for cash, however expensive the cash rate.  On the weekend I was there, rooms started at £169.  On Saturday 17th September, you would pay £209 for cash but just 3,000 SPG points!  This gets you 7p per point compared with Rob’s usual valuation of 1.5p.  Other weekends see Saturday prices hit £229.  These prices are inflated by football matches and other events.

During the week you will usually pay around £85 or you can use 4,000 SPG points.  Even then, you are getting 2p per point which is a good deal.

The hotel website is here if you want to find out more.


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(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (32)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Brian says:

    So last-minute reward availability is cheaper (3,000) than normal reward nights (4,000)? That’s a good deal!

    • AndyR says:

      No I think it is 3000 on weekends, 4000 during the week.

    • Scott says:

      So, as long as there is any weekend availability, a night can be had for 3,000 SPG pts, equivalent to 6,000 MR points at a transfer rate of 2:1? That seems very cheap, given a MR point is usually valued around 0.75p-1p

      • Rob says:

        Yes (needs to be standard room availability but at an Aloft most rooms are standard rooms).

  • James67 says:

    Thanks for a great review Anika, I’m currently looking for a hotel in Liverpool for a break and we seem spoiled by choice. Ideally, I’d like to try 3 over 3 nights but my partner hates switching hotels. When doing hotel reviews it would be great if you and Rob could ask and report on availability and pricing of car parking at the properties.

    • Oliver says:

      I stayed earlier in the year – it was £8/night for a nearby NCP when you picked up a validated parking ticket from the front desk.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:

      The Hilton is a very good choice in Liverpool with underground parking available in Liverpool One which is essentially under the hotel. Great location for shops and bars and as a new Hilton it is a good standard. It even has one of the better Exec Lounges in the UK.

      Liverpool is a great place to visit for a weekend. One of the more interesting and diverse cities in the UK and it has benefited from a ton of investment (EU and Private) over the past couple of decades.

      • Rob says:

        There is a Nadler as well which is well regarded.

        However, if you there on a peak weekend the high pricing for cash may mean 3 nights here is the best deal even if you have to buy the points.

        • James67 says:

          Thanks Rob, that’s what I was thinking because my parter will certainly not indulge my curiosity in switchng hotels which is a pity given the choices. Thanks to Oliver and Mr(s) for their feedback too.

          • mark1980 says:

            James67, dont forget the new Pullman is available for £60 nearly every weekend through the Accor happy mondays deal.

          • James67 says:

            Thanks, didn’t know that, and I need to do an accor stay in next three months to protect my points anyway. Given all the hotels and parties reported here I think I might just leave my partner home and go do a long wedkend hotel and bar tour by myself 🙂

      • trickster says:

        I stayed at the Hilton last month on a Saturday night redemption, upgraded to Club room on Diamond status. The lounge wasn’t at all busy despite the hotel being busy, which surprised me, and breakfast in the main restaurant was good too.

        Word or warning though, the bar turns into a club at the weekends and even on the 7th floor we could hear it!

    • the_real_a says:

      Agree with this. I always have a car outside of London and usually on the continent too.

  • krys_k says:

    Couple of years ago I had to be in Liverpool for work on and off for a few months. Really liked the city. Best place I Stayed was in service apartments in central Liverpool One (I think a good choice, Sam Neill was there too, and they cost £60 for two room flat). Just a word of warning Re. accommodation when Liverpool FC play – very difficult to find a room if you havent booked well in advance – fans come from the four corners of the globe and it seems the city has no vacancies.

  • MT says:

    Having stayed at the Aloft Liverpool a few times while what you say maybe true when gifted a room my experiences as an SPG Ambassador level is very different.

    The walls in many rooms are so thin, if the hotel rents out NYL which it does on manay ocasions a year the hotel has no restuarant, no food service in the bar or to the rooms. It also on my last visit stopped serving cocktails at the bar that was still available to house guests.

    Also the only publi toilets available are located within the restuarant and had broken bottles and not serviced for the entire night and people doing drugs at the sink.

    Management took no responsibility for anything and simply stated NYL has nothing to do with the hotel it simply rented the space. Then got told the duty manager that evening of the hotel was actually the manager of NYL, they failed to see any irony in that.

    This hotel is so 2 faced I would not risk staying there unless you really need a points night in Liverpool or get a cheap room to complete spg qualification. It can be very nice but you have no way of knowing what you will get as they don’t even tell you in advance about these events! Management hadn’t a clue about how to run a hotel and that is maybe why it’s so cheap even after being open best part of a couple of years now!

  • Brendan says:

    Another option is the Ibis Styles on Dale Street which you can get in the Happy Monday’s deal for £25. Well located too.

  • bill says:

    A note regarding this comment:
    “Starwood offers ‘last room reward availability’ which means that you can book a standard room for a reward stay if one is available for cash, however expensive the cash rate.”

    I have noticed that when there is a Liverpool match they have mandated a minimum number of nights for reward stays even through there is cash availability.

  • John says:

    Grab a £5 All Zones Saveaway ticket when in Liverpool for unlimited train & bus travel. Stretches to Chester, Southport, Ormskirk, New Brighton and St Helens. Even allows travel on the Ferry (and is cheaper than the standard stand-alone ferry tourist ticket).

    If galleries are your thing then the Lady Lever in Port Sunlight is a must.

    Gormley’s Another Place 10 minutes on train.

    • ankomonkey says:

      I used to buy Saveaways as a child. Think they were about £1.30 back then. Thanks for the trip down memory lane…

  • 'Lisa' says:

    Sounds like the male-dominated reviews on HfP extend to the dining now! Meat options on both days? How masculine! Couldn’t you have tried something a bit more feminine, like risotto or salad?
    Love the blog, but let’s have some gender balance, please!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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