Staying in Birkenhead to visit Liverpool?

[Bernadinetta]

Looking at a weekend away in Liverpool with partner and kids. Hotels are so expensive! Birkenhead is much cheaper and on the map is less than 2 miles to Liverpool City Centre. Obviously across the water. Ferry? Is it doable? Just as a base to sleep and spend whole day out and about. Or worth it to splash out on Liverpool hotel prices? Have never been to either before. Thanks!

Birkenhead in the 1800s was a very wealthy area. There is some stunning architecture there and Central Park is lovely.
Over the decades though, it slowly went downhill and now it's absolutely filthy and destitute.
While a lot of the people will be lovely, there is a high number of thugs, druggies, homeless people and offenders.
The town centre is mostly just shuttered over and is nothing like it once was.

Birkenhead is horrible. Have you looked at options in Liverpool but further out? If its liverpool you want to visit you'd be much better staying over here than in some of the wirral places people are suggesting. There's a travelodge in Aigburth which is directly on an excellent bus route, also the airport travelodge is on the same route but will take a little longer. Both very safe areas.

Ha ha I hear you all loud and clear!

As some have guessed yes, it’s the Premier Inn. Easter weekend (Good friday night and Saturday night) so not a specific event but a bank holiday. Liverpool city centre premier inn £348, Liverpool Albert dock premier inn £355, Liverpool One £339, Liverpool Lime Street £368. Then Birkenhead £174. Which still isn’t cheap cheap for the description you’re all giving!

Will look into some of the options suggested here, thanks.

the biggest issue for that weekend is that lots of hotels are going to be booked out due to Eurovision which will be just over a month away at that point!

No avoid Birkenhead.

Try Chester ( we once had relatives stay near Hawarden and go in through the tunnel every day)

Or as PPs have said New Brighton.

There are also some cheap apartments you can rent in Liverpool - much cheaper than the hotels.

Also when you book ensure its not a weekend when one of the football teams are at home - that pushes the price up.

A new exhibition at the Anglican Cathedral opens today called Coalesence. The cathedral exhibitions are always stunning (as is the cathedral itself of course)

And the reason I visit Birkenhead is the fish market

Liverpool are at home to Arsenal that weekend so that's always going to ensure high prices.

Yes Birkenhead is what everyone says it is but the Premier Inn would be fine if you just want to use it as a base and no more. Some of the cheaper hotels in Liverpool are not in the nicest of areas so in that respect there wouldn’t be that much difference.
Birkenhead is run down but the waterfront at Woodside and Hamilton Square is worth a look if you decide to stay in the Premier Inn. There is a train station at Hamilton Square which is about a 10 minute walk a way but the bus would be equally convenient and better coming back as there is a stop just up the road from the Premier Inn
New Brighton would be fine to stay too as the travel inn is right on the water front. Journey time is longer to Liverpool but in terms of price the cost of getting there if you use the bus would be exactly the same as a single journey costs £2 so it would cost each adult £4 for there and back
OH goes bananas when he hears people describe Birkenhead as a shit hole, even though nowadays it’s hard to disagree. It was his home town and in past times was far nicer than it is now. If you do decide to stay there you will have no need or time to go into the town centre. The furthest you’ll need to go is the bus station about 10 minute walk in the opposite direction to Hamilton Square and coming back because of the road layout there is a bus stop just up the road from the Premier Inn if you choose the right bus.
if the travel lodge in New Brighton is the same price I’d go for that but if Birkenhead is cheaper save your money.

Novotel Liverpool normally comes up quite reasonable and has a pool plus is between city and the docks.

@IntheSnowySnowyMountains
Wallasey is a very different place to Birkenhead! Still the grammar school system in Wallasey and some fantastic areas and expensive housing.

Birkenhead is going to be eye opening for you OP, I suggest you do it so you get the real experience of Liverpool.

Avoid Birkenhead centre. It's not particularly safe at night.

If you have a car, you're right next to the tunnel and there's paid parking at the hotel, but I'd get the ferry/train into Liverpool as parking in Liverpool is crazy expensive.

It's about a 10 minute walk through Hamilton Square to hotel. There's a train from Hamilton Square to Liverpool every 5 minutes, stopping around midnight, I think. I've attached the Merseyrail map, and there will also be regular bus services across the river (any three digit bus which starts with a 4).

On a warm day, I'd definitely recommend a ferry 'cross the Mersey!

There's a night bus that drops off from Liverpool to Hamilton Square or thereabouts, but (and I haven't been on it for 25 years), it's pretty rough!

I think you might actually be closer to Birkenhead Central station from the Premier Inn. There are trains every 15 minutes from there, it's only about 10 minutes to Liverpool.

What do you mean eye-opening? I’m from Middlesbrough, is it worse than there?

We've just paid £100 for 2 nights for 4 of us in an ensuite room in the youth hostel at the docks in half term. You can buy meals in ( food is good) or make your own/ get a takeaway if you're looking to save money. Free parking too.

Seriously you'd think Birkenhead was a no-go zone. It's quite poor and run-down but it isn't that bad! People are generally lovely. However the Travelodge is in an odd part of town that is pretty deserted in the evenings so would agree Oxton/New Brighton might be better

Honestly, OP, it’s fine. People are making it sound like a war zone! It’s not - it needs investment and a lot of shops have closed down, and it’s not a place I’d pick for late night drinking / clubbing, but that’s all. It’s not dangerous!

God no, don’t book a hotel in Birkenhead. I live on the Wirral and there are some very lovely parts, but Birkenhead and the immediate surrounds are not any of them. It’s worth paying the extra to not stay there really.

A few years ago, we stated at the Birkenhead Premier Inn to visit Liverpool. The Premier Inn was about £35/night - a good £100/night cheaper than any Liverpool hotels. It's a 5-10 min walk to Hamilton Square train station, and a 10-15 min train journey into Liverpool. The bits of Birkenhead we saw were fine, rather nice looking actually, but we only really saw that walk from the PI.

It's actually only 3 minutes from Hamilton Square to James St, which is the station nearest to Liverpool city centre and the Albert Dock etc

What are you on about? As they are literally next to each other, both Birkenhead and Wallasey share the same grammar schools.

And they are both shit holes unless you have money to live in the (very limited) rich areas.

I've stayed at the Birkenhead Premier Inn - like you say, half the price of hotels in Liverpool and we knew we wanted to do the ferry, so seemed obvious. We arrived late after a horrible journey and looked for somewhere nearby to eat - had one of the best Chinese meals of my life just down the road from the Premier Inn, my daughters still talk about it! Ferry over the next morning, train back in the evening. Absolutely fine.

I stay in Hale village or at the Airport, it's much cheaper.

I would stay here nice area and a 20 minute bus ride to the city centre.