North West Property Richard Frost

The £20m Shankly Hotel in Liverpool city centre, which is named after legendary Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly, has been officially unveiled.

The development, a joint venture between Signature Living Developments and the Shankly family, is Liverpool's first football-themed hotel.

An 83-bedroom football hotel situated on Victoria Street, the building includes a luxury 150-seat restaurant called The Bastion. The name derives from a quote the manager once said about making Liverpool a "bastion of invincibility".

The arrival of the hotel's first guests on Saturday, 15 August 2015 marked the first stage of the hotel's development. Phase two, which will include a rooftop bar and restaurant, swimming pool, conference facility and 100 ft slide, is expected to be ready in time for the spring of 2016.

Although the concept has been in planning for over two years, work only began on the development in February. It has seen the complete transformation of Millennium House, which was once home to Liverpool City Council.

The 145,000 sq ft site includes a museum dedicated to the football icon, which will contain never-before-seen family memorabilia covering his glittering reign at Anfield. The project has created in the region of 200 new full-time and part-time jobs and a number of apprenticeships.

Lawrence Kenwright, co-founder of Signature Living, added: "The Shankly Hotel is the first accommodation of its kind in Liverpool, a city synonymous with football. Given the popularity of the Reds legend with football fans the world over, it has the potential to become an international tourist attraction in its own right.

"Visitors to the hotel and museum will be able to see, first-hand, the special features that are dedicated to the life and times of the great Bill Shankly."

Christopher Carline, Bill Shankly's grandson and director of the Shankly Hotel, said "visitors will be in for a real treat".

He added: "Unique, unseen pieces of memorabilia from my grandfather's time as Liverpool FC manager will be on display for the first time. I think we will create an unforgettable experience for guests."