The Municipal Spa

First Impressions

The Municipal is a recently converted five-star hotel in the beating heart of Liverpool, a 10-minute walk from Lime Street Station. Once home to council offices, the 1806-built, caramel stone building weeps character, with original parquet flooring, sweeping staircases, Victorian wall tiles, corniced ceilings and tall oval windows.

As well as spacious rooms and suites, the hotel has a jaw-droppingly impressive bar – Palm Court - with 20-ft ceiling (held up by pillars), two restaurants, a beautiful tea room, meeting rooms and a spa housed in a modern extension.

What's on offer?

The building is a bit of a maze; finding the correct lift to head down to the spa requires some avid sign-following – luckily helpful concierge will take you where you need to be. Once down, the putty walls, grey marble-effect floors and pale wood shelves – along with the huge plants – are shoulder-sinkingly serene.

We were warmly greeted in the open-plan reception area by spa staff sporting gorgeous fern-green uniforms, and shown around the spa. Shelves of tempting TRIBE517 and Elemis products are attractively displayed behind the desk; the seats opposite are where you’ll wait for treatments.

The spa’s relaxation room is separated from reception by flowing curtains. Inside, four comfy beds, blankets and block candles ensure you unwind. Help yourself to fruit-infused water and magazines. Beyond reception, you’ll find an open-plan mani/pedi area for all things nails.

Changing rooms are petite with 13 half-height lockers operated by four-digit code. Inside you’ll find a branded bag with flip-flops and a comfy grey waffle robe. Four dark wood doors push open to reveal three private changing cubicles with single benches on which to change, and a loo; your sink – with huge back-lit mirror – is opposite.

The vanity bar is around the corner from here with a stool, another oversized mirror, hairdryer, a pair of straighteners and a tray of amenities such as cotton pads and buds, skincare products and wet costume bags. This is a one-at-a-time affair but - as the spa facilities are limited to 20 people at a time - we are assured that post-spa preening isn’t a bun fight.

The spa’s three showers, with huge rain heads, are outside the changing rooms beside the pool; bottles of Cult Milano amenities are attached to the wall. If you would rather shower in private, nip into the accessible changing room.

The pièce de résistance is the attractive 16-metre pool which has full-height windows at the top end showing Liverpool off nicely.

Post-swim relaxation is afforded via 12 squishy loungers or one of the four grey rattan egg chairs, each with its own white rolled up towel, and side table adorned with jugs of iced water, glasses and full bar menu to order drinks from passing staff.

The far side of the pool has two powerful swan necks fountains to pummel your neck and shoulders and bubbly Jacuzzi jets, operated at the touch of a button.

The spacious, modern thermal facilities are tucked neatly away behind the pool. We began our heat journey in the gentle Laconium with its jasmine & honeysuckle scent, dark grey mosaic-tiled warm curved bench and foot stools for five. Can’t stand the heat? This is the room for you.

Heat-lovers should opt for the steam room next door - with its white seats accommodating five to six spa goers and heady amount of steam - or the Himalayan salt sauna which has walls of orange salt bricks at either end, separated by dual-level wooden benches.

Too hot? Brave the ice bucket, grab handfuls of ice from the fountain or walk into the monsoon shower, select ‘cold mist’ or ‘Atlantic Ocean’ and enjoy the Ceylon Mango & Alaska Mint Scents

Tell us about the treatments

We tried a Signature Master Peace (100 minutes, £180).

My therapist, Eliza, met me in the relaxation room and led me to a stylish treatment room decorated in natural stone tones. Here, she invited me to take a seat on a tub chair where she performed a welcoming foot cleanse in a beautiful cooper bowl filled with bubbly warm water and petals.

Covering my ears and closing my eyes – to help me focus purely on the scent - it was time to smell two different TRIBE517 oils. I’m usually drawn to the most lemon-y scent but this day I firmly chose the ‘Heal and Health Oil - containing sweet orange, fennel and patchouli.

Eliza then stepped out of the room so I could disrobe and get comfortable on the treatment bed, lying face down. The treatment began with a body scrub - a blend of butters, oils, Himalayan Salt and Palmarosa - which Eliza applied to my back with large circular movements.

She then used my chosen oil to facilitate long, gentle strokes on my legs, introducing Himalayan salt rocks periodically to warm the muscles. This steady, calming massage was then repeated on my arms.

Eliza personalised my treatment and returned to massage my feet again (yes, please) before applying a powder to my soles to encourage improved sleep quality. A face and scalp massage followed using a fragrant warm orange, vanilla and helichrysum for intense skin health. 

At the end of the treatment Eliza suggested I take a moment to think of something that I am grateful for before escorting me to the relaxation room and handing me a cooling orange drink.

The Municipal Spa offers a range of massages, facials, wraps and body polishes from TRIBE517 and Elemis, as well as Mii manicures and pedicures and treatments for pregnant ladies. The latest launch is the in-bedroom Sleep Bath butler service – the first of its kind in the North West - a member of the concierge team draws your bath for you at a chosen time, to your ideal temperature, drizzles oil into the water, hands you a leaflet featuring a QR code to download the meditation sounds and leaves the room for you to unwind.

Food Facts

After our spa treatment, we adjourned to the Botanic Tearoom with its comfortable curved seats and elegant table settings. Abby, our waitress, brought a Jing tea trolley to our table, explained the different teas and allowed us to smell each one: we chose the hibiscus and blackberry. She then made our teas and brought them back in small glass tea pots each with their own glass timer so we would know when to pour the tea.

The first course, called the welcome platter, featured a cup of warming butternut squash and coconut soup, a trout bon bon and a homemade Cumberland sausage roll. Next, a three-tier cake stand complete with sandwiches, scones and pretty cakes on top.

As we were staying overnight, we were booked into Seaforth, the hotel’s open-plan restaurant just off from the Palm Court bar; check out the hypnotic statement ceiling light and live hanging fauna. The bar itself is a central square, making it a sociable space; seating around the perimeter is vast and varied. To the side is a cosy library filled with velvet armchairs and shelves heaving with books.

The menu of British classics includes fish dishes, lamb and steaks, as well as starters such as chicken liver parfait and seared scallops. With room for only a light meal, we choose a starter of Thai crab cake risotto: a crunchy spicy crab cake atop a creamy risotto, served with a side dish of prawns cooked in harissa butter. We completed our meal with a glass of white wine and just enjoyed lingering in the beautiful Palm Court.

We loved / we didn't love

We loved

The pool feels spacious and bright with a wall of glass at one end.

The location: close to shopping and entertainment areas but nicely private and quiet

The sense of Victorian grandeur: having languished as council offices for many years, it has been restored beautifully and is an elegant setting for a city centre spa.

We didn’t love

The relaxation room is located next to the spa reception, separated only by a curtain, so your relaxing may be interrupted by new arrivals. We’d like to see two separate areas here: one pre-treatment and one post-treatment for snoozing. 

The small changing room - there are three individual changing rooms but the main area is rather small with just one bench in front of the lockers. Using the mirror and hairdryer has to be done one by one.

Who do you think would like it?

City workers: who can pop in for the day and top up their wellness deficit.

Foodies: from afternoon tea to evening meal and breakfast the next morning, everything is delicious.

Smart spa goers: spend the day relaxing and preening, then dress up in something slinky and order a cocktail in the amazing Palm Court.

Those who like to be pampered: to have a bath butler run your bath for you is the ultimate pampering treat.

What bubble rating did you give this spa?

We awarded The Municipal Spa a Good Spa Guide Bubble Rating of 5 Bubbles for its chic design, fantastic pool, lovely thermal facilities and well thought-out treatment menu.

Sybaritic Spy visited in November 2025 and awarded it 5 Bubbles.