I'll be spending two nights in Liverpool when I teach at the The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. L.I.P.A. is located on Mount Street and I'll also want to tour the Beatles sites. Is there a centrally located area where I should stay?

The Liverpool Institute is at the SE edge of the city's central core - a semi circle of at most half a mile radius , with the river the straight line that makes its diameter.

The core is now fabulously walkable: there are very few hotels outside the semicircular core, and there's no particular reason for staying especially close to the Institute. There's been a boom in hotel building over the past decade, with most close to the river, especially in the NW edge of the central semicircle.

The area round the Institute is mostly very handsome 19th century houses of the style usually, though inaccurately, called Georgian, with a couple of spectacular cathedrals, a couple of not very distinguished-looking university campuses, a few theatres, lots of adequate (just) eateries and the finest example of a men's lavatory in a pub anywhere in the world (seriously: women can book to see it). But few hotels, apart from the Hope St hotel and the (OK in my memory, but...) Feathers. You're actually quite close to the world-famous Adelphi, which I quite like (and our dog absolutely adores) but no other human has a good word to say about. You're also close to a strip of very cheap, clean, plastic chain hotels (google Campanile) along the southern part of the dock road

But nowhere's that distant from anywhere. When we need a hotel there, we always just Priceline, and normally find ourselves in the clump of places at the NW bit of the core. From where it's a fine walk, along the river, through Britain's most visually impressive recent shopping mall (I'm not being ironic: it's almost the only decent bit of new streetscape Britain's built since WW2) and then past a few Georgian terraces, to the Institute.

The real point about Liverpool as a tourist destination is that it's far, far more interesting and enjoyable to walk around than our much-touted medieval cities (one of the reasons it gets more tourists than Oxford or Stratford, though being the best place anywhere for a stag or hen do helps too): it's just got more great buildings to look at.

Ignore the junk touted as "attractions" in the brochures and just walk round with your eyes open, giving thanks that Hitler's bombers were such rotten aimers and that the city's postwar redevelopers ran out of cash so fast.

You don't say when you are going, but I'm looking at a couple of nights in Liverpool the week after next, and there are some really good deals on

http://www.laterooms.com

We're just really looking to stay somewhere in the central area.

Another vote for http://www.laterooms.com or try www.lastminute.com

Thank you for such excellent and detailed information! You've got me quite looking forward to seeing Liverpool. I'll be there for only two days at the end of a U.K. trip that begins February 18th-- and ends March 13th. I'd like to have this final detail out of the way before leaving -- but that's not mandatory.

Does anyone know how far in advance one can book at www.laterooms.com to get the best prices? I often use wotif.com for lodging in NZ and Australia -- and the real bargain prices are only available two weeks prior to check-out.

Thanks again!

FYI, I decided to try a very low price at Priceline. I bid $65/night for a 4 star hotel -- and got the Liverpool Marriott City Centre. It looks great. The total cost with all fees is $161 for TWO nights.

PS. At laterooms.com this room was $172 for ONE night.