Next door is a claustrophobic “wedding chapel” - an airless mirrored room accessed only by a highly impractical spiral staircase. Mike Dewey, the hotel’s general manager, said: “The chapel is called the Two of Us, named after a Beatles track. The only other star with enough global appeal to have a chapel is Elvis Presley.”

Sadly, even the Wall of Fame, where celebrities have been captured in home-style snapshots holding their favourite Beatles album, is a nice idea poorly executed. Guests will, though, enjoy spotting the stars (Elton John, Bryan Ferry and Tom Jones among them) and it might spark a favourite Beatles album conversation back in Blakes.

All that said, I’ve not slept there and I’ve not eaten there. Many of the mostly locally recruited 118 strong staff team that I ran into seemed young, smart and ready to add a Scouse spark to the whole PR veneer of the launch experience.

“Every time a Beatles record is played anywhere in the world it’s selling Liverpool for us,” says Dave Jones, owner of the Cavern Club, where Brian Epstein first heard the Beatles play in 1961. The same “publicity by default” applies to the global broadcast of Liverpool’s football matches.

As well as the Cavern Club (a rebuild of the original) and the Magical Mystery Tour, which takes in song sites such as Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, the Beatles Story visitor attraction at Albert Dock has an audio tour narrated by Lennon’s sister Julia and is soon to double in size. Fans can also visit the childhood homes of McCartney and Lennon - the duo wrote Please, Please Me in Lennon’s bedroom at Mendips - meticulously kitted out by the National Trust in 1950s’ decor.

“The music scene is a huge deal for Americans in particular,” says Kris Donaldson, the Californian chief executive of the Culture Company overseeing the events of Liverpool08. “The Beatles appeal to all generations and to see the houses where John and Paul grew up and wrote their first songs is akin to visiting Graceland for some tourists.”

Visitors like the Chinese party from Liverpool’s twin city Shanghai who were recently taken to the Beatles Story only to ask “who the hell are these mop tops?” will presumably check into the Marriott or the excellent Malmaison. Beatles fans, though, and there’s no shortage of them (the city’s tourist office claims that more than half a million people a year come to Liverpool because of the Fab Four), will no doubt love it... or hate it.

Need to know: Hard Days Night Hotel, North John Street, Liverpool (0151 236 1964; www.harddaysnighthotel.com) Opening weekend packages start from £460 for two people sharing a luxury room for two nights and include champagne, dinner and a Beatles tribute band.

For more information: www.visitliverpool.com; www.liverpool08.com; www.enjoyengland.com/culture

Liverpool hotels and restaurants

Stay at the hip Hope Street Hotel (0151 709 3000; www.hopestreethotel.co.uk; doubles from £140) and eat at its restaurant the London Carriage Works where chef Paul Askew picks up ingredients specially grown for him from a farm garden on his way into work. Other excellent places to repast on the same cobbled Georgian street include the bistro-like Side Door (0151 707 7888) and 60 Hope Street (0151 707 6060; www.60hopestreet.com), which serves confident modern european cuisine on a seasonal menu.

The purpose-built but elegant Malmasion (0845 365 4247; www.malmaison-liverpool.com) has a waterfront location that catches the sunset and is close to the business district. The “Mersy Mal” has soccer suites named the Kop and the Toffee Shop, dedicated to Liverpool’s two great football clubs and huge murals of the Beatles in the lobby and the brasserie. Rooms from £99.

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