How to stay on the ball: football themed hotels

A room detail at the Hotel Boca Juniors hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Courtesy Hotel Boca Juniors

People walk by a room with the door decorated with a painting of Diego Maradona in a suite on the 11th floor of the Boca Hotel on April 19, 2012 in Buenos Aires. The five star football hotel --the first of its type in the world-- opened this week and is scheduled for mid-year to host the football team, which will concentrate there with two floors tailored to their needs. AFP PHOTO / DANIEL GARCIA / AFP PHOTO / DANIEL GARCIA

Football boots are on display in the hall of the Boca Hotel. AFP

The lobby at the Hotel Boca Juniors hotel. Courtesy Hotel Boca Juniors

A door decorated with a Diego Maradona mural and the indoor pool at Hotel Boca in Buenos Aires; Hotel Football in Manchester. Courtesy Hotel Boca Juniors; Rex / Shutterstock

Bar area at Hotel Football, Old Trafford, Manchester. REX / Shutterstock

Hotel Football, Old Trafford, Manchester. REX / Shutterstock

A new wave of football-­inspired accommodation is cropping up around the world, aiming to cater for fans who want to live, breathe and sleep football. But are they worth giving a sporting chance?

Hotel Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The trend started in 2012, when Argentina’s most revered football club, Boca Juniors, had a hotel dedicated to them. Designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott, the Hotel Boca is, confusingly, not particularly near the stadium. But the theming runs throughout, sometimes more subtle than others. Downstairs there are glass tubes containing all manner of Boca memorabilia, while the club’s blue-and-yellow colours are artfully blended in throughout. If it wasn’t for the images of players emblazoned on the doors, it could easily pass for a design hotel with no overt theming.

Double rooms cost from US$108 (Dh397). For more information, visit www.hotelbocajuniors.com

Hotel Football, Manchester, England

The next to kick-off on the ­beautiful-game hotel trend was the Hotel Football in ­Manchester, which is part owned by ­Manchester United players Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. A short stroll from United’s Old Trafford stadium, the rooms are fairly timidly themed, although you might find “Dreaming of Victory” embroidered on the pillows and a massive picture of a goal net across the back wall. It’s the public spaces that really work, though. What look like grey-black walls turn out to be made up of hundreds of collectible football stickers, while there are framed contemporary photos of everyone still alive who has scored in a World Cup final. The images of sporting heroes as old men are quite touching.

When there's no game on, rooms can cost as little as £68 (Dh306). For more information, visit www.hotelfootball.com

CR7, Lisbon, Portugal

Real Madrid star Cristiano ­Ronaldo has teamed up with ­Portuguese hotel empire Pestana to open his own ­micro-hotel chain. It started on Ronaldo’s home island of ­Madeira, with the newest addition opening in Lisbon in ­August. For Pestana, it’s an opportunity to open a lifestyle brand with immediate name recognition. The target audience is young – 18 to 35 – with a strong emphasis on technology and public spaces. The style has a touch of art deco to it, while the football theme is woven in with big images of celebrating players by the staircase and photos of illuminated stadiums behind the bed. And if you want a game of foosball, tables are happily provided.

Double rooms cost from €160 (Dh644). For more information, visit www.pestanacr7.com

The Shankly, Liverpool, England

While the CR7 goes for a current superstar, the newly opened Shankly in Liverpool pays homage to a legend from the past. Bill Shankly was the manager who set Liverpool FC on the way for success and world renown, and the public areas are full of memorabilia linked to him. This ranges from his football boots to match tickets from the 1960s. The rooms have a strongly but classically masculine feel – all brown leather and padded walls.

Rooms cost from £72 (Dh324). For more information, visit www.shanklyhotel.com