Anyone who has visited the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin will feel at home right away at this five star hotel beside the Grand Opera House in Belfast city centre. You’ll find the trademark chic Fitzwilliam modern classic style and great attention to detail throughout.
It’s an enviable location, and the hotel impresses from the outset with its friendly concierge (valet parking) and the understatedly sumptuous foyer. Designed to look and feel like a (very classy) living-room, it has an aura of calmness and serenity, with comfortable contemporary leather chairs where you can relax while watching the passing street parade through the floor to ceiling windows.
Offering comfort and style, this Belfast Hotels foyer sets the tone for the remainder of the building – and who could fail to be impressed by the glass walled boardroom suspended above it? Like its Dublin sister hotel, The Fitzwilliam Hotel Belfast is one of the city's most desirable business destinations, offering caring service, a choice of four meeting rooms suitable for small to medium gatherings - some with excellent views of the city and all with natural light, air conditioning and the latest technology - and complementary business centre.
Public areas of this appealing hotel include a stylish and friendly bar that (as in Dublin) is firmly established as a fashionable meeting place for lunch or a drink after work or shopping – helped by the central location, near the famous Crown Bar Liquor Saloon (owned by the National Trust) and only a couple of minutes walk from the main shopping and business areas. Be prepared to spend time perusing a drinks list offering 700 spirits and liquors – where, happily, even the best bubbly is available by the glass.
Modern and design-led, an air of relaxation prevails in the bedrooms, where comfort is the order of the day. With luxurious beds (Egyptian cotton sheets, duck down duvets), plenty of nice little extras (fresh flowers, VOSS mineral water, Fitzwilliam umbrella, complimentary newspaper), and sumptuous bathrooms with separate bath and shower, mist-free mirrors, quality toiletries, robes and slippers, your room will be hard to leave - especially if you’re lucky enough to get a corner room, with windows on two sides overlooking the city.
And, with in-room amenities including desk, laptop size safe, broadband access (free), great hair dryers, iron/ironing board, coffee/tea/mini-bar bar unit with cafetière for fresh coffee, sound system with CD library, LCD TV and electronic checkout, the rooms are equally suited to business or leisure guests.
The Restaurant
You can take the lift from the foyer but there is also a separate street entrance to the first floor dining room, which is an impressive and accessible highlight of the hotel.
An attractively priced all day restaurant, it offers (a particularly good) breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner, in an informal atmosphere.
The surroundings are the essence of casual chic - communal lightwood tables sparkling with polished glassware have runners and striking deep pink high-back chairs, while subdued lighting makes the booths along the walls perfect for intimate dinners - and the emphasis is on simple quality food, at affordable prices.
Pleasing surroundings, good cooking and slick service make this a popular dining destination for non residents as well as guests staying in the hotel.
