The long and winding road eventually led us to Liverpool, a city that spawned a whole musical revolution and contributed greatly to it becoming a popular tourist destination.

I say eventually, because it was a tortuous journey in driving rain on a Friday. sat nav predicted it would take us about four-and-a-half hours from Kent but the wretched weather and the vagaries of the M25, M1 and M6 dictated it would be nearly double that time.

With great relief we arrived at the Ibis Styles Hotel and the warm welcome from Pedro at reception soon dissolved the stress of the journey.

Here we would spend the first of two nights of our all too short first-time visit to the city. The second was at the Ibis Liverpool Centre at Albert Dock.

The Ibis Styles is aptly named. It’s hard to escape The Beatles in their birthplace and this hotel is no exception.

The theme is very much to the fore on entering. First you notice the retro furniture in vibrant purple, blue and pink colours and then the large mural of a walrus (as in I am the…), moustaches and John, Paul, George and Ringo in silhouette running down the road.

The 123 rooms have various Beatles designs. Ours was Abbey Road with black and white walls to reflect the crossing used for the eponymous album cover.

We barely had time to settle in and take advantage of the tempting bar in this boutique budget hotel before we were back out in the rain heading for the famous Cavern Club which was, fortunately, just around the corner.

It opened in 1957 as a jazz club but was well and truly put on the map in the 60s when the mop tops and other exponents of the Mersey Sound shot to fame.

It closed in 1973 and was filled in during construction work on the Mersey underground rail loop. It reopened again in 1984 after being rebuilt using many of the original bricks at the same famous address – 10 Mathew Street.

Tribute groups abound but it was entirely fitting that we would see resident group The Cavern Club Beatles replicate those iconic songs that appeal to all age groups.

The next morning we moved on to the 127-room Ibis at the impressively rejuvenated Albert Dock. Again, check in was painless and our room faced out to the dock opposite Liverpool’s version of the London Eye.

We had barely set foot inside when we had to cross the road to the dock to hop on a bus for a two-hour Magical Mystery Tour taking in the houses where The Beatles grew up, Penny Lane, Strawberry Field and ending at the Cavern.

Liverpool, of course, has much more to offer than just The Beatles experience. Both hotels are conveniently located for visits to the Liver buildings, museum, Tate Liverpool, the cathedral, Mersey ferries, Liverpool One shopping centre and not forgetting two Premiership football teams, Liverpool and Everton.

As The Beatles might have sung: “I’ve just seen a place I can’t forget...”