Original Beatles drummer opens Airbnb at site of famous Liverpool club where band used to play

Beatles fans now have the opportunity to vacation in the very building that housed one of the band's first venues in Liverpool, UK: the Casbah Coffee Club. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best and his family, who own the building, have converted it into an Airbnb.

There are five rooms available to rent, each named after a founding member of the Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, founding bassist Stu Sutcliffe and Best himself. A room named after Ringo Starr, Best's successor in the group, is conspicuously missing.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1962: The Beatles Replaced Their “Lousy Drummer” With Ringo Starr]

Best's late mother, Mona, bought the building with money she won from a horse racing bet. Wanting to bring live music to her neighborhood, she opened the Casbah Coffee Club in the building's basement in 1959. The Beatles' predecessor band, the Quarrymen, played at the club 13 times, while the Beatles eventually became regular performers at the venue, giving more than 40 concerts there.

The Casbah Club closed in 1962, but the Best family later turned the building into a tourist attraction. In 2006, the building was declared an English Heritage Site and listed as a Grade II* listed building.

More about Airbnb

According to BBC News, Pete and his half-brother Roag began converting the building into an Airbnb in 2020. Roag's father was Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall, who later took a senior position at Apple Corps.

“I became not only the on-site supervisor, but part of the workforce,” Roag told the British newspaper The Guardian“I had plaster in my eyes, a nail through my foot and a scaffolding pole on my head – now I’m a fully-fledged construction worker.”

Roag also mentioned that he was born in the room now known as the Paul McCartney Suite.

“I was introduced to… John, Paul and George, who were here that night. They had played at the Cavern. [club in Liverpool],” he said. “Some of the first people I ever saw in the world were the Beatles.”

Each suite features Beatles memorabilia, including photos, posters and guitars hanging on the walls.

Room rates start at £150 (about $196) per night and so far the suites have been booked by people from Canada, the US, Scotland and of course England.

Why there is no Ringo Starr Suite

Pete Best was fired by his Beatles bandmate in August 1962 and replaced by Starr. Roag told The Guardian that wasn't the reason they decided not to name a suite after Starr.

“Everything we do is about being authentic and the Beatles who performed and celebrated here were John, Paul, George, Pete and Stuart,” he stressed. “Ringo was never a member when he was here.”

Pete, meanwhile, told the newspaper that he had gotten over any bad feelings he may have had about being fired from the Beatles.

“I still don't know the reason, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest,” he said. “As far as I know, it happened a good 60 years ago and I lived my life, I had a great life.”

Pete added: “It caused me grief and resentment at first, but that's show business.”

The best brothers believe their late mother would approve of the Airbnb

Mona Best died of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 64.

Pete told The Guardian He believes his mother would be “thrilled” with how he and his brother are using their old home.

“I think if she were still here today – and she's watching from above, I can tell you that now – she would be very proud of the legacy that has been left to us and the legacy that we are building,” said the 82-year-old musician.

He also noted: “She had a dream… she brought music to the children of Merseyside.”

Roag added: “My mum would be absolutely delighted with how this property looks now, so it's nice to make her proud, you always want to make your mum proud.”

Roag Best also opened the Liverpool Beatles Museum, several miles from the site of the Casbah Coffee Club.