Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Reviews Summary

Venue Acoustics and Design

Pros:

• "The five stars is for the Philharmonic entertainment value which is wonderful, acoustics are fabulous - concerts here are always a wonderful experience."
• "Best music venue in Liverpool by some distance. Excellent acoustics."
• "Grand old art deco venue. Acoustics superb."
• "This is an amazing venue, especially when going to a music gig, sound is incredible."
• "A beautiful and fitting venue for classical concerts. It sounds incredible."
• "The Philharmonic has some of the best acoustics of any venue in Liverpool."
• "The venue had impressive acoustics and comfortable seats."

Cons:

• "A horrible place. It is not designed for Rock/Pop concerts."
• "Left at the interval - the music especially the drum drowned out Christopher Crosses voice - couldn’t make out the lyrics at all even if the 2 women backing singers."
• "Sound in the auditorium wasn't great."
• "The acoustics are terrible."
• "I went to see Khatia Buniatisvilli here... I struggled to hear her play, as the orchestra drowned her out at times."
• "The sound was awful, distorted and unbalanced to the extent that we could not hear much of the dialogue properly."
• "Boiling hot. No Aircon."

Customer Service and Staff

Pros:

• "Staff at the Philharmonic were very helpful and friendly."
• "A lovely theatre, great staff."
• "Love the Philharmonic. Regardless of what you're doing there, it's a really pleasant place with helpful, friendly staff."
• "The staff are very friendly and helpful."
• "Your staff were very helpful and caring."
• "The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly and the place looks wonderful."
• "Staff were very helpful and welcoming, directing me to my seat."

Cons:

• "Booked VIP to watch OMD who btw were amazing, but VIP service that we booked was shocking."
• "The staff in the venue proved wanting. In particular, those that work on the second floor bar - ignorant, ill informed and borderline rude."
• "I complained to a member of management who wasn't very helpful."
• "Customer service was shocking on our experience."
• "Terribly treated by staff was told to sit down each and every time I got up to dance."
• "But sadly I have to complain for the first time ever about a security lady standing outside after the Gilbert O'Sullivan concert. She was an out and out bully."
• "Some rude staff members telling people not to film etc but not saying PLEASE."

Seating and Views

Pros:

• "I was in the upper circle and had a good view of the event."
• "There are also no restricted views and the relatively small size makes it a very intimate venue."
• "Our seats in a box allowed for a great view of the stage."
• "Excellent views from all seats. Comfortable seats."
• "Comfortable seating area (taking into account a broken leg from 6 weeks ago), no obstructed views."
• "The seating is comfortable, all the staff were helpful and the whole event was well organised."
• "Wheelchair accessible seating is available in the boxes or on the front row of the stalls."

Cons:

• "So many phones blocking the views and one man was actually facetiming someone... Holding a loud conversation... So annoying."
• "Seating a nightmare. If you need leg space not much and seat not suitable if you are a plus 14 in size... Will be avoiding in future... Such a shame I had bruising on my hips and knees."
• "There's just no room anymore. People have visibly grown in stature since the last refurb."
• "A truly magnificent building, my only criticism is that the rows of seats are too tightly packed."
• "The seats themselves were a bit uncomfortable."
• "Terrible seating arrangement. Very small and cramped."
• "But they need to close the bar during the performances as people are constantly up and down going to the bar spoiling it for others."

Facilities and Amenities

Pros:

• "Great Art Deco styled building. Lift available. Disabled toilets."
• "The toilets are modern and are well maintained."
• "The wonderful, Art Deco interior has been sensitively brought up to date and now includes an excellent coffee shop, studio rooms and much more."
• "An elevator ascends up to the first floor and disabled seats in both corners of the upper circle."
• "Staff are attentive, facilities are great, bar is both well staffed and well stocked."
• "Great bar. Good to have priority booking."
• "Parking was very straightforward at the adjacent Caledonia St. car park."

Cons:

• "Archaic phone booking system. On hold for over 1 hour, never spoke to anyone."
• "Women's toilets only 2 out of 3 working when you think how many patrons visit."
• "They were very disorganized."
• "Small cafe on 1st floor but early booking essential if you want to eat before the performance."
• "Card only venue so no option to pay by legal tender."
• "Is the worst website ever? Each and every time I have tried to book my password has been rejected."
• "No car park close by; car parks in the general area though."