Crime-hit Adelphi told: Sort it out - or get out.Byline: BY ADRIAN BUTLER Daily Post Staff LIVERPOOL'S most famous hotel could be thrown out of Merseyside's Tourism Board if it does not clamp down on thieves. The warning comes after it emerged four in five city centre hotel burglaries are taking place at the Adelphi. The 402-room hotel, made nationally famous by the 1990s BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. documentary Hotel, has been the scene of a mini-crimewave. But managers last night defended the hotel's record, saying its size meant the ratio of thefts to guests was still low. Martin King, director of tourism of the Mersey Partnership, gave a veiled threat to owners Britannia Hotels Britannia Hotels is a UK based hotel company with 33 hotels across the country. They are currently the largest privately owned hotel chain in the UK. Overview Britannia Hotels started in 1976 with the purchase of a hotel in Manchester. to sort out the problems. He said: "There are significant issues with the Brit Adelphi that need to be accepted and addressed. "As a tourism board we are offering help and support to the hotel to meet quality standards required by Merseyside as a tourism destination. "Following a planned meeting with the management we will review the position and their membership of the Merseyside Tourism Board." Police believe management at the Adelphi have failed to follow crime prevention advice. But managers insisted the figure reflected its status as the largest hotel in Liverpool. Crime figures from May 2005 to May 2006 show that 81% of room burglaries across all the city centre's hotels happened at the Adelphi. Since January 1 this year, there were 72 crimes at the Adelphi Hotel
In the other 14 city centre hotels, there were only seven bedroom thefts out of 62 crimes. Leaders warned the hotel was putting visitors to the city, which becomes European Capital of Culture in 2008, at an unnecessary risk of crime. Dave Antrobus, Liverpool City Council's executive member for community safety, said: "During the past five years the Adelphi has had more room burglaries than most city centre hotels put together. "It is time to say enough is enough. The Adelphi has a large number of rooms but the high number of room burglaries at this hotel is a real cause for concern. "Liverpool is a safe city but the apparent lack of adequate security at the Adelphi is adversely affecting our crime figures." Visitors to the hotel have not been shy of posting their complaints about it online. Comments include: "Dirty", "Like the Shining", "Makes Fawlty Towers Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Only twelve episodes were produced, but the series has had a lasting and powerful influence on later shows. look good", "Need a good sense of humour Noun 1. sense of humour - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humor, humor, humour " and, simply, "The worst hotel I have ever stayed in." One visitor said: "We have just returned from an overnight stay at the Adelphi in Liverpool. My husband booked it on line and was informed that the hotel, which was in need of some refurbishment, had lots of character. "The fact that the character in question was Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the major character in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made. was not mentioned." Another unsatisfied customer added "The rooms are drab and more reminiscent of a hotel you would expect to find Rodney and Delboy trying to sell to you". One compared it to a horror film horror film n → película de terror or miedo horror film horror n → film m d'épouvante horror film horror n , saying "The corridors are spooky and are a more dimly lit version of the corridors in the Jack Nicholson's film The Shining, while another said staff were "rude, cruel and sadistic sa·dism n. 1. The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. 2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. ". "This hotel should be paying its customers to stay in it," a guest added. One guest, however, had no complaints, enthusing: "I loved the look of this hotel. I loved the charm, the character and the history. The rooms are large, the facilities are great and I can't complain at all about the staff." Police last night said they had offered to help the Adelphi but had been frustrated by their response. "The Adelphi is a very big problem for us, said Inspector Damien Walsh. "The security concerns at the hotel are not problems which have arisen in recent months - they have been going on over a long period of time. "It is particularly frustrating because there seems to be inactivity or a lack of desire by Adelphi management to do something about it. "We have offered to do covert and uniformed operations in the hotel and offered specialist security and crime prevention advice, particularly concerning the hotel entrance and room doors, which are a weak point." What do you think? Email us with your views at letters@ dailypost.co.uk, or write to us at the address on Page 10 adrisn.butler@liverpool.com CAPTION(S): The Adelphi Hotel which was revealed this week as a city burglaries hotspot |
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