The Most Unusual Hotels in the UK

It’s really easy to test the appeal of this establishment to newcomers – if you don’t like The Beatles, or are even just indifferent to them, avoid at all costs. As the name suggests, this loving tribute to Liverpool’s most famous export is absolutely steeped in Beatlemania, with bright, Yellow Submarine-style colours, photographs of the four of them in every direction and their tracks playing in all the common areas. Happily, it’s done lightly enough not to be too obtrusive – the rooms have the odd painting but you won’t find any busts of John Lennon peering over you in the bathrooms. The beds have big comfortable mattresses, and there’s an unpretentious pub-style menu in the restaurant.

While the ill-fated Titanic famously set off from Southampton, it was registered in Liverpool, and would have certainly visited had it survived its maiden voyage. The Titanic Hotel honours this history in an old shipbuilding warehouse on the Stanley Dock. The building has been restored to show off its grand features, with big metal pillars supporting the high ceilings and maritime quirks such as cog patterning on the hallway carpets. The spa and pool area is especially impressive – picture a red-brick cellar straight out of a gothic novel. Even the smallest rooms feel first class at 56sqm (603sqft), and all are outfitted with enormous bathrooms to mill around in a fluffy robe.

Sitting in the shadow of the BA i360 tower, moments away from the beach, the Hotel Pelirocco is packed to the gills with quirks. The rooms are themed after Darth Vader, Dolly Parton and Betty Page among other icons and countries, with all the fixtures and fittings matching the style in question (Lord Vader’s suite has lightsabers; the Dollywood one has Stetsons). Downstairs, there’s a wackily-decorated cocktail bar which stays open until 3am at weekends, as well as a lounge with a karaoke bar. Adventurous couples might be interested to know that ‘toys’ can be ordered to the rooms, and those who make full use of the bar and dance floor will be glad of the hangover kits available at the front desk.

On almost the complete opposite end of the London hotel spectrum is The Rookery, which draws on the crime-ridden past of its home – Smithfield – as inspiration for its look. Smithfield meat market used to host the Bartholomew Fair until it was shut down by police in 1855 for being a “school of vice”. The hotel evokes this history with dark colour schemes, carved wood everywhere, red silk and gold leaf. There’s an honesty bar in the relaxed Conservatory bar, or you can sit and read in the well-stocked library. There’s no restaurant but you can order baguettes, crab tortellini and other dishes from the room service menu.