Tales of the Urban Explorer: The Hotel California
I see 'Revolver' and 'The Royal Castle' emblazoned on the front, anything other than 'The Hotel California' which it was popularly known as.
The Facebook page is still active with the owner spamming some event that happened five years ago, almost daily. Maybe the owner has a screw loose or something?
There's little doubt 'The Hotel California' was a hit once and not the same hit with Don Henley on vocals that even my unborn pet hedgehog has heard several thousand times on the radio. It was once known as the 'Cal' to locals.
In 2018 it hosted its last night and just a year later was scheduled for demolition. Fast forward four more years and there's still plenty of room at 'The Hotel California'.
As usual, the demolition has been postponed likely due to old-man politics giving the likes of us pause to visit.
Originally built as a private residence, ‘The Hotel California’ is said to have been occupied in 1795 by Benedictine monks expelled from France. The building was licensed from the early 1800s, at least since 1817.
It has been known by various names, Tranmere Inn & Ferry House, Castle Hotel, and became the Royal Castle by 1870. Acquired by Threlfalls in the mid-1890s and selling Whitbread beers into the 1980s. Later known as Hotel California, Mr. Davidson's Bar then Revolver before closure in 2018.
Source
…'the Hotel California was named the Royal Castle Hotel once, and has acquired many names over the last several hundred years'…
'The Hotel California' is completely surrounded by roads, and while this is not metaphorically speaking a castle containing a deep moat with man-eating crocodiles we still needed to make a mad dash across busy roads and anyone looking would think..., 'those two bastards are up to no good'.
What the fuck, we have stopped caring, become brasher, and upped the success rate. It seems to be working.
We hit the back and found a large chunk missing which was probably a door frame. Someone has tried to seal up 'The Hotel California' and made a shoddy job of it. Navigating the undergrowth was more of a challenge than walking in through one of the several access points.
The outside view was kind of telling. Inside was going to be a mess and we were hardly shocked by the vision bestowed upon our eyes when inside.
Sitting in there must have been special once, the pillared surround is stunning, but someone chose the wrong colour down at the local paint shop.
Fireballs seem cheap even at 2018's prices, though I am sadly out of date when it comes to bar-style alcoholic drinks.
The mandatory very expensive photocopier that nobody cares to steal, you have to expect to always see one of these.
Sections of 'The Hotel California' were sadly missing much of the roof. In summer during nice weather, you could still enjoy a beer while drooling at the poor-quality graffiti.
We would be going up there soon, oh yes.., floors or no floors.
At 1795 this must be one of the oldest derelict pubs I have ever visited, and they are planning on flattening it. Fucking terrible and shocking I say.
It must be the old stage; it’s a little more raised than everywhere else.
If nothing else, it's a colourful place and though I quite like red, it doesn't really fit the interior of a pub. That colour is better suited to cars.
It’s a long long bar, and you could slide cool iced beers down there if only it wasn’t full of fresh crumbling roof.
I did try to take a piss, but the damn Budweiser dispenser was in the way.
Sometimes you have to find alternative locations to drain the lizard. I was hardly going to get arrested.
Oh…, look at that staircase; it makes you want to climb by just gazing at it. If there's no floor up there you can simply worry about all that later.
These old buildings are made so well, even when they are falling to bits you can climb with confidence.
One of probably several arson attacks. It’s Liverpool and well known for it.
The floor was a little dodgy but I have walked on much worse.
A little hop, skip and a jump is much needed when you see such sights.
What remains of the owner’s kitchen and upper living quarters?
Halfway up we had the chance to exit onto an outside metal stairway. It was filled with rust but that is quite normal. This appeared to be the easiest way to climb to the very top and we ascended.
Up here was decidedly worse underfoot. You can get some amazing unique shots depending on your bravery level (or stupidity depending on your point of view.).
Most of the time edging your way past a rotting floor may simply yield you shots of burnt rooms such as these.
I do try and get as high as possible, one doesn’t want to miss all the action.
We descended looking for the cellar knowing from other explorers' posts that it was flooded and required jumping on overturned crates to get around.
Slipping past the overturned shopping trolley I could see this was the case, but did I really want to get in that far room jumping for the next crate while balancing?
There looked to have been a small bar in this basement area, containing yet another way into 'The Hotel California', albeit a soggy entrance.
Not being remotely related to frogs, neither of us fancied hopping around down there and instead headed back up the squalled stairway and out of the building.
… and yes I am humming ‘Hotel California’ while writing all this. How could I avoid it?
…‘Such a lovely place (such a lovely place), Such a lovely face’…
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I was humming Hotel California whilst reading! Quite the grand place, mad that it is to eventually be demolished
How can they justify trashing something from the middle ages? 1795.., its almost from the time when knights were bold and that!
I know. They should be restoring the damn thing!
This size of this kind of photocopiers has never been reduced :)
All of them give you a hernia if you try and move them, it's a case of hospital treatment or leave the fucking thing behind.
But it's Budweiser. The piss is about the same as the booze! Let it go, let it gooooo.
I am no fan of this American beer either. I struggled to find good stuff over there during my short living period.
It can be tricky. In Canada we have a few I enjoy... but honestly, if I'm going to be drinking, it's going to be rum and coke or white russians. It's rare I drink beer.
Man that place has really gone to crap in just a few years...
Yes, you could say that!
The fact that someone is planning on destroying an edifice that is almost as old as the American government really speaks to the mindset of today's idea of "progress". Shame to see some remarkable building lost to our selfish human ways.
I could be the demolishers realised it was Grade listed and had a change of mind. This means one thing.. it rots.
It is shameful to tear this down but, it is much easier to destroy the past than fix the future. I hope they at least preserve the old wood, they can repurpose it if they gave a crap about history. Sorry for the rant.
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We will see, it could be they are not allowed to destroy it due to restrictions.
Is this really the Hotel California referred in the song with the same title? I really thought that hotel is still up and running until now. It kinda disheartening to see how the place turned out. 😞
Looking at the wiki, it's based around Hollywood and not Tranmere. I doubt the likes of Henley and Frey even know this exists.
That must have been a pretty fantastic place back in the day! Alas... it is no longer back in the day. And it is no longer a fantastic place.
It was a fun visit, you have to take what you can get!
Is your mind now Tiffany-twisted? Did you get the Mercedes-Benz?
Hope the Benz is red, someone like gaudy colours at this one.
What a shit-tip. The vandals have done a pretty good job in just 5 years - jeez !. Nice red brick structure though. What a shame. At least you got to leave.
It's Liverpool, and should be expected. Most things there have a dozen locks attached, this one had none.. and yes.. we managed to leave 😀
Amazing captures
Incredible images and an exceptional narration, I simply lived each image through your lens, simply imagining each step in my mind, each image is a visual delight, I love the beauty behind each debris and the great clarity that you capture, excellent work, worthy of sharing.
Okay I get that a place might not be doing the business it used to and that the doors has to close.. But what I don't get is how the places are jist left to rot away?
I mean that is an insanely beautiful building, I don't get why they want to demolish it? It's almost a piece of history, that building was built in the ages of black and white 🤣😎
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Long before the motor car, there could have been jousting knights when it opened looking for the favour of the local good looking tart.
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Nice, but why this place looks so ugly like being distracting.
if don't mind can I comment on your personal photo why you looking so in anger?
Its an avatar, not the real me!
oh ok
it's disheartening to think that such a beautiful and historic building will soon be gone. we should preserve our historical landmarks and find a way to repurpose them for modern use.
While the front side of the hotel is not that scary if we don't take into consideration the broken windows, the back side and the interior are complete chaos I'd say. I don't know if I should laugh or feed bad for the owner who still spams the events even these days but perhaps he's still trying his best to gather attention and maybe some potential investors to save this and make it what it was a while ago? Either way, you never stop surprising me with these discoveries :)
You saw that.., he must be off his rocker.. and every day!
I thought your blog post about "The Hotel California" was a good read. It's always interesting to learn about an old building's history and the different names it's had over the years. It's sad to hear that the building has been vandalised and set on fire. It's sad to see a place that used to be special turn into a crumbling mess, but your photos show the haunting beauty of the ruin. Hopefully, a solution can be found that will show respect for the building's history while also keeping the people in the area safe. Thank you for telling me about your experience with "The Hotel California" and what you think about it. It's clear that this building has a lot of stories to tell, and your blog post adds another one. I really liked reading your blog, so if you're interested, I'd like to invite you to read mine and vote on it.
Holy shit what a place. It is a wonder you don't have to go in those places with a suit of armor on. You risk your life for the entertainment of your legions of fans and we love it!
You can check out any time you want, but you can come back through the open doors!
Oh you get used to it, and where to place your feet. I did come a cropper last year and fell through a floor, and was lucky. It happens.
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Wow... A place with the name of that song!... When I was young in the 90s, I used to drunkenly drive my Toyota FJ40 while listening to "Hotel California" at high volume... I even got thrown a couple of bottles along with curses for doing that!...
It's a lovely place, quite gaudy with all those red brick walls... It looks like it could only be in Liverpool!... who knew it's a place where you can pee in the ladies' room!... And you always find retro-technology like that old photocopier awww!... (Here, this country is plunged into crisis, some very old ones like that are still being used)...
As always, the photographs are a delight... This time the outdoor ones take my applause, it's a great place to look from the outside!... It's always a pleasure to see your articles dear friend!... I imagine that Liverpool will be full of forgotten places, falling down and burning!...
Greetings to all @slobberchops friend!!!
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Was there no drink drive laws then? I did it and got away with it a few times. If you were caught even this, it was a mandatory ban and fine.
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It's such a shame that such a beautiful building is left in a complete state of disrepair. I understand, however, that to keep things in order, money and someone has to spend it. !LOLZ
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