✓ Impressive art collection
✓ Warm and informal hospitality
✓ Generous details
✓ Artisanal breakfast

Sitting quietly behind the neighbourhood’s main thoroughfare of Hope Street is a Grade II listed, late-Georgian terrace flanked with handsome lampposts, mature lime trees and iron railings. Incongruously grand, perhaps, for the Toxteth postcode – and even more so inside the townhouse at number two.

These are bijou lodgings for those in the know and with the budget – rates are considerably higher than the Liverpool average here. Architecturally, the property has been sympathetically renovated. No expense has been spared in the careful restoration of the shutters, plasterwork and other period features. Owners Glenn and Sarah have thoughtfully decorated communal spaces and four bedrooms with antiques, contemporary art from their own collection and bespoke home fragrance throughout. 

Who stays here?

Blackburne Terrace is intimate, luxurious and discreet, making it a perfect weekend hideaway. It attracts couples visiting the Philharmonic Hall, Everyman Theatre or the celebrated Art School restaurant (all just a few minutes’ walk away).

Rooms 

Each of the four bedrooms has been individually designed in a classic style. The details are thoughtful and markedly luxe – as they should be at this price point. Sheets are 500-thread count Egyptian cotton and beds are dressed with cashmere throws. There’s a Sonos music system and a silver welcome tray laden with homemade sloe gin and blush pink macarons. In the bathroom, towels and bathrobes are heavy, and toiletries are Noble Isle.

We stayed in Room Four, which had wonderful nighttime views of the Anglican Cathedral.

Food and drink

The breakfast at Blackburne Terrace is something to behold. The purple lacquered table, communal among guests, is laden with flakey pastries, organic granola, sourdough toast, fresh fruit and jugs of freshly squeezed juice. Every dish and receptacle is precious-looking and mismatched, from the smallest shell-handled spoon to the shiny deco teapots (of fresh leaf tea, strained at the table). Sarah pops in to take breakfast orders: full English with meat from the city’s most excellent Edge Butchers, or smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. It’s hands down one of the best hotel breakfasts around.

Design details

Jewel-coloured sofas and a tangerine velvet ottoman draw you into the sitting room, which overlooks the leafy terrace through huge shuttered windows. Antiques sit comfortably next to contemporary art pieces, heavy art books and curiosities. Nothing matches, yet everything is just right.

Service 

You might feel like a private houseguest of a particulary stylish friend, here. Glenn and Sarah greet guests warmly in the porch and their service tone is bright, polite and familiar throughout.

Things to do

Bookended by two iconic cathedrals, Hope Street is home to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and the Everyman Theatre. It’s also replete with Victorian pubs (The Philharmonic is a must-visit), old Beatles haunts (Ye Cracke, The Pilgrim – proper British pubs) and a broad food offering. Try the stone baked pizza at Frederiks; coffee and generous wedges of cake at The Quarter; small plates at Papillion; and modern British cuisine at The Art School.

Packing List

Cashmere jumper, skinny jeans, tall flat boots. Stylish, warm and comfy – perfect for walking around the Northern city.

Getting there

By rail, Liverpool Lime Street is just over two hours from London, and easily accessible on Midland Trains, Transpennine Express and Northern Rail from all major UK cities. Blackburne Terrace is short uphill walk from the station, or under a fiver in a taxi. 

2 Blackburne Terrace, Liverpool
2blackburneterrace.com