Malmaison Liverpool

Malmaison’s expansion continues apace, with this, its tenth installment, and its first ever new build, a big deal for a chain whose specialty has been renovations, some in unlikely neighborhoods. This one’s a big deal, impeccably located in the booming waterfront district at Princes Dock, and opening just as the city of Liverpool is undergoing a bit of a renovation of its own.

Once inside this sparkling new building, though, you’ll find the familiar Malmaison style very much intact, all rich woods and deep, masculine colors, from the soaring lobby lounge all the way on up to the sumptuous black-and-violet bedrooms. In them you’ll find all the boutique trappings, from entertainment centers to custom-branded robes to ultra-high-end bath products in the gleaming black-and-white bathrooms.

Again, in classic Malmaison style, you can expect a well-equipped gym, a rather good brasserie, and a hotel bar that’s something of a focal point for local celebrities, media types, and assorted well-heeled hipsterati. Best of all, though they must have raised the money for the building from somewhere, they didn’t get it by adding on to the room rates — actually they did it by selling luxury apartments upstairs, if you’re wondering, and the result is that the prices are well in keeping with those of the rest of the budget-luxe Malmaison empire.