Fantastic two night stay
Brilliant hotel. Stayed for two nights for a special occasion and the hotel couldn't have been better. Every member of staff were excellent, whether that was at checking in or out, at breakfast, providing a recommendation for dinner, or when we returned after hours after a few drinks. They accomodated a couple of special requests extremely well and far surpassed my expectations. I have never tipped at a hotel before, and struggle with it at restaurants sometimes, (think Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs). However, I gladly left a tip for the staff here.
In regards to the hotel itself, it does the basics to a level of perfection and then adds some lovely little touches. It's nothing crazy, has no pool and no fitness centre, but it does not need these things.
Location wise it is slightly out of the city centre. After a day of walking around the causeway and other areas of the coastline before coming into Belfast, we wanted to stay local for the evening. Ricky on reception gave us a few recommendations for beer and food within 5 - 10 minutes walk. Try The Woodworkers for craft beer, and Darcy's next door for decent more local cuisine. House was also a good stop off en route back to the hotel.
The next day we walked along the river up to the Titanic and Nomadic, this was a long and blustery walk, but very satisfying. The Glass of Thrones structures along the route certainly helped. After that head into the city and visit watering holes like The Dirty Onion (think Big Thunder Mountain crossed with a cosy pub), The Cloth Ear (attached to The Merchant Hotel).
20 plus minutes walk back to the hotel to freshen up. 15 minutes walk back into town. We ate at Yugo (great Asian food) and then had more drinks in the Duke of York (a Guinness memorabilia shrine) and The John Hewitt (good beer, very friendly, and great local acoustic music on the night we were there). Uber back to the hotel on a Wednesday night just after midnight from The John Hewitt was £4.44.
Also make sure you walk 5 minutes down the road to the Botanical Gardens.
All in all, perfect for a couple of nights break. Breakfast wise, very good. Porridge is delicious but we shared a portion so we could both have a fry up too. The veggie breakfast was delicious, although it doesnt have any meat substitutes, which could be something for the future.
Thank you, Tara Lodge
Luke B
Reviewed: January 17, 2020