The Adelphi Hotel was once a gem in the crown of Liverpool.
When the current hotel building first opened, designed by architect Frank Atkinson, it was regarded as "the most luxurious hotel outside London". But today that description couldn't be much further from the truth.
For years now the famous old hotel on Ranelagh Street has been a source of scorn and derision in the city. The ECHO has run countless articles on complaints from guests who have stayed there in recent times. It is clear the hotel needs investment and improvement but there has been little sign of this from the current owners.
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Things have become more serious for the hotel and its owners in the last couple of months as it found itself at the centre of two separate investigations and facing growing calls for change. Here we take a look at the growing problems surrounding the Adelphi Hotel.
Investigations
On September 10, police were called to the doors of the Adelphi Hotel for what was clearly a serious incident. Tragically it would emerge that a young woman, 21-year-old Chloe Haynes, had died during a stay at the hotel.
Chloe's devastated mother, Nicola Williams, told the ECHO that her "beautiful" daughter had died after a wardrobe in the room she was staying in fell on her and crushed her windpipe.
Chloe travelled to Liverpool from Hafan y Mor Haven Holiday Park in Pwllheli, North Wales, where she worked, for a night out. She was sharing a room at the city centre hotel with her colleague, who found her body and raised the alarm.
Initially, three men who had come to try and help Chloe were arrested and quizzed by police before being let go when it became clear this had been a tragic accident.
At no stage since Chloe's tragic death has anyone from The Adelphi or Britannia Hotels made any comment, despite multiple requests from the ECHO. It has since been confirmed that Liverpool City Council's Environmental Health department is working with the police on an ongoing investigation into the events surrounding Chloe's death at the Adelphi Hotel.
But this is not the only council investigation the hotel is currently subject to. It was revealed by the ECHO this week that the Environmental Health team has a separate investigation into the Adelphi taking place.
This separate probe relates to an incident that happened at the hotel back in May in which a guest was injured. Commenting on this investigation, A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “Liverpool City Council’s Environmental Health Department is currently involved in an ongoing investigation relating to a guest who was injured at the Adelphi Hotel, in May this year.”
Food hygiene rating
It has been a bad couple of weeks for the famous Adelphi Hotel.
As well as the Environmental Health investigations, the Ranelagh Street site was also the subject of a food hygiene inspection in September. The Food Standards Agency website shows the hotel now has a hygiene rating of just two out of five following an inspection on September 7. Until recently the hotel had a rating of four out of five.
According to details on the website, the main area of concern found by inspectors was related to hygienic food handling, which includes food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage. The inspection found that improvement was necessary in this area. The inspection found the two other key areas - of cleanliness and condition of facilities and building and management of food safety - were general satisfactory.
Political pressure
Amid the problems facing the Adelphi Hotel and its owners Britannia Hotels, there now appears to be growing political pressure. This week, Kim Johnson, Member of Parliament for the area where the hotel is based, spoke in no uncertain terms about her views on The Adelphi.
She said: "There are clearly issues that Liverpool City Council and its environmental health team need to investigate. It is a real tragedy that a young girl has died."
"As a destination city, I think the Adelphi used to be a flagship hotel, now I think it is a blight on our city. It has seen a significant decline over the years and I think the ownership has let it decline, it could be such an amazing hotel for the city. For us as a city it is also about the reputational damage this does to the city."
"I think it is concerning, the group need to co-operate fully with the investigations and it would be far better for the city if the hotel was to be taken over by a different hotel group that would invest in it and make it the flagship hotel it once was for the city."
She was joined in her criticism by Liverpool City Councillor Nick Small, who added: "It’s an amazing building, but sadly not being run as it should be."
So what now?
It's not the first time the Adelphi has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons - it's also not the first time there has been political talk of bringing about some form of change.
Back in 2019, former Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said the hotel was 'tarnishing the reputation of Liverpool'. Two years before that the council had looked at the possibility of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of the hotel by the city council.
This was an idea raised by Cllr Small in his latest comments. A CPO is a move which allows a public authority to acquire land without the consent of the owner.
It was suggested in 2017 that the council could buy the hotel from Britannia as part of a masterplan for the area around Lime Street and Brownlow Hill, now referred to as Upper Central. But CPOs are expensive and complicated and with the council's current financial problems this could be seen as an expense it simply cannot afford at present.
Aside from a CPO, there is not a lot anyone can do about the Adelphi apart from put pressure on the current owners to either invest in the site or consider selling up.
Britannia Hotels has been repeatedly approached for responses in recent weeks.
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