Marine deal offers royal welcome

Marine unveiled the Evo-Stik NPL club’s first ever official hotel partner today [Wednesday].

In a two year deal running until May 2014, the Waterloo based Royal Hotel is now the official hotel partner of the Mariners.

The first deal of its kind in the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division club's history offers fantastic facilities and savings for home and away fans, players and officials close to the Arriva Stadium.

The Royal Hotel is a privately owned 25 bedroom 3 star hotel situated at Marine Terrace in the Waterloo area of Liverpool overlooking the Marine Gardens and the Mersey estuary.

Marine Chairman Paul Leary, pictured left alongside the hotel's owner Brian Tartt, believes the deal is sure to go down well with supporters while offering visiting clubs a great option for staying close to ground.

He said: "This is the very first time we have come to an agreement with an official hotel partner. The three star Royal Hotel is well situated for the players, officials and supporters of visiting clubs attending games at The Arriva Stadium.

"They often visit Liverpool to see the many tourist attractions or sample the nightlife so the charm, elegance and history of the Royal Hotel makes it an ideal place to stay for that weekend or midweek visit to Merseyside and its many attractions."

The Royal Hotel's Brian Tartt also hailed the official link-up after the new season finally got underway at the weekend.

He said: "We are delighted to become the first official hotel partner with Marine FC which is without doubt Liverpool’s premier Non-League club. As a life long resident of Crosby I and my co-directors are fully aware of the long and proud traditions of Marine over many years.

"We’d like to congratulate all connected with the football club for not only maintaining the highest of standards but also for the fantastic recent refurbishments at the ground including their new lighting system that was installed.

He added: "I'd also like to wish them the best of luck in their fundraising for the planned further upgrading of their facilities. We feel sure that they will be much appreciated by their many fans and visiting teams so we at the Royal Hotel are proud to be associated with the club."

Originally named the Crosby Seabank Hotel, the Grade II listed building dates back to 1815. Just one year later on the first anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo the name was changed to the Royal Waterloo Hotel. The district, in which Marine Football Club was founded, adopted the name of Waterloo soon after the hotel. In fact during Marine’s early years the club was often referred to as Waterloo Marine.