This hotel asks for ID to check in, which hasn't happened in any other UK hotel besides a few high end London ones.
The below Executive room (no meaningful upgrade was given) is severely in need of refurbishment as well as basic maintenance, with flickering lightbulbs and the tap could be almost pulled off. The sink level is higher than normal. The hallway is so narrow that you could barely push a normal-sized checked luggage through if you had one, and the "table" alcove is so small it barely fits a laptop. Could not get wifi to sign in with name and room number. The code is Liverpool30.
The evening food in the lounge (on the ground floor) was better than expected - barbecue wings and large vegetable balls (some real vegetables not just mush) as well as extensive salads and cheese + ham. Quality was average, but everyone gobbled it up and dishes were replenished 2 or 3 times. Drinks were mostly a red wine, Beefeater, Bacardi and a few others. 2 attendants who were attentive. During the evening, front desk staff kept coming in and taking bottles of water and coke from the fridge...
Regarding public transport, the hotel is right next to Liverpool ONE bus station which has direct services to the airport. But is awkward to get to / from Lime Street station as it's either a 17.5 minute walk, or Merseyrail train plus 5 minute walk (generally not included in long-distance tickets and need to buy additional paper ticket) or 5 minute bus plus a bit of a walk (not obvious which buses are appropriate and not easy to know where the bus stops are).
With Amex offer I only paid £69 so can't complain too much, but certainly wouldn't pay the typical rates of £150+
Now starting to look like a refurb is necessary, think it opened around Capital of Culture 2008, so 15 years worth of wear and tear…
I think there is a circular bus route (101?) that drops near Lime Street