Seat Loader Review

Part of the Anfield Road redevelopment, this space offers a premium matchday experience, but with a more casual atmosphere compared to Anfield’s high-end lounges. Seating is at the front of the Upper Tier in the Anfield Road Stand. So while the view of the pitch is clear, it’s still a shortside stand, which is worth keeping in mind if you want broadcast-style views.

In keeping with the laid-back theme, Brodies Sports Bar offers complimentary street food as opposed to a multi-course meal. There are complimentary half-time refreshments, as well as a pay bar if you want more. You also get a free match programme, and can expect a visit from a Liverpool legend.

Like Brodies Sports Bar, The Anfield Beat is a premium experience with less of an emphasis on luxury. The lounge itself has a stripped-back look, with decor paying tribute to Liverpool’s rich musical heritage. The seats meanwhile are in block L16 of the Main Stand, which is about level with the penalty area towards the Kop End.

Back in the lounge, the perks are similar to Brodies Sports Bar. There’s unreserved seating, with counter-service dining available pre-game. You get a free drink at half-time, while a cash bar is open throughout. A matchday programme is included in the price, an LFC former player will make an appearance.

Seeing as Liverpool FC is the sole partner, it’s not like you have to navigate many fixtures. There’s a search bar on the landing page, or you can use the menu above.

We picked the home game against Chelsea in 2024-25. We opted for the Brodies Sports Bar Gold Ticket, and there’s a clear seat plan, showing where in the Anfield Road End these seats can be found.

Clicking on the package gives you extra details about its various benefits. Note that in this case the ticket is in your name, which isn’t always the case with resold tickets.

Next you get the option to book a hotel room. Thankfully this isn’t tied into this package, but as a rule accommodation/transfers are baked into the cost of a hospitality ticket, as we’ll explain later.

And then you reach the payment screen, with a 15-minute countdown to secure your tickets.

Throughout, notice the chat icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. It’s one aspect of Seat Loader’s ever-present customer service.

To check their customer service, we emailed Seat Loader with a query about how they combine football tickets with accommodation.

The response was almost instant, and very detailed, especially given the short turnaround.

It’s set in stone that all packages offered by official hospitality resellers have to come with accommodation or travel as part of the package.

So we’re wondering, if you do opt for accommodation, are you getting a good deal with Seat Loader? The answer is perhaps not.

Seat Loader charged us £480 for a two night stay in a double room at the Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village.

Going through the hotel’s umbrella company, Accor, the equivalent room was between £322 and £388 for the same stay, depending on extras (breakfast, free cancellation, payment method).

A quick search on Booking.com gave us a price of between £358 and £458, also depending on the same choices

The benefit of rolling accommodation into the package is mostly about convenience. However, if you don’t mind taking the trouble to seek out better deals, it’s worth your while to accept a voucher for travel, and book your accommodation separately.

The listed ticket price was £525, which makes the booking Fees (including tax) of £94.50, for a £619.50 total a little hard to swallow. We had a click around, and found that this fee 18% is standard for all of the tickets we checked, although it may be dynamic depending on other factors such as demand.

So how do Seat Loader’s fees compare to other official hospitality resellers? Other brands like P1 Travel and Circuit Hospitality pride themselves on not charging “Hidden Fees”, but will incorporate fees into the ticket price rather than adding them to the transaction at checkout.

With some extra research, the same package on rival Liverpool hospitality sites came to £569 (Circuit Hospitality) and £508 (Club Sports and Events). That is significantly cheaper than Seat Loader’s price of £619.50.

At the same time, you get what you pay for, and these fees go towards details like customer service, ensuring that the experience is as smooth as possible. One thing’s for sure, they were extremely prompt when we got it touch with a query.

A few Seat Loader users explain that they had some doubts about using a 3rd party company. However, these were quickly eased with almost instant and helpful email and chat communication. Seat Loader receives overwhelming praise for its professionalism and efficiency, and the customer service team is a key part of that.

Many reviewers mentioned customer service members by name. This is a big positive, compared to dealing with anonymous accounts, as is common with most ticket resellers.

Having attempted to get tickets via other official partners, a few reviewers appreciated the fact that they weren’t obliged to buy hotel tickets as part of the hospitality package. We should point out that this is a big plus for an official hospitality reseller.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that many people using Seat Loader are getting to see Liverpool in the flesh for the first time in their lives. This experience, combined with a seamless transaction and the high-end hospitality perks, leads to glowing reviews across the board.

As a company with a relatively limited footprint, Seat Loader doesn’t have a lot of reviews to check out. Since negative reviews make up only 8% of a small total, there are only a few people expressing any dissatisfaction.

Still, a topic that does come up is Seat Loader’s pricing and fees. The price of resold hospitality tickets varies greatly from game to game, and depends on factors like the opponent, the team’s form, and whether it’s a midweek or weekend fixture.

Along those lines, some customers complain about booking fees. Now, additional fees are common when you buy resold tickets, and these apply to Seat Loader. What’s more, some customers complain that they feel a little misled, having selected the tickets and price they wanted, only to be hit with fees of £100+ per ticket at checkout.

Another issue is a matter that was out of Seat Loader’s hands. Brodies Sports Bar was slated to open at the start of 2023-24, but wasn’t actually ready until February 2024. Of course, this caused some disruption to the company.