Merchant Hotel

Too often overshadowed by near-neighbour Dublin, the Northern Irish capital is dusting itself off and is busy raising its profile as a first-class tourism and business destination, says Ben Lerwill

BELFAST carries with it several preconceptions – some of them good and some of them less so. This being 2008, there’s not too many folk who still expect to find some strife-torn badland sitting across the Irish Sea, but at the same time it’s a fact that the city’s charms aren’t generally sung from the rooftops. Whereas its southern counterpart, Dublin, enjoys a warm reputation for culture and hospitality, Belfast can often draw a flat response when it’s pitched as a business destination. This is to reckon without a city that, in recent years, has seen more than £300m of investment poured into its visitor offering. The iconic Harland and Wolff cranes that loom over the port are emblems of an industrious past, but there’s plenty to make the present an impressive proposition too. Facilities are world-class, costs are competitive and hotel stock has burgeoned in the past decade. 

Wow Factor
Name: Merchant Hotel
Address: 35-39 Waring Street, Cathedral Quarter,
Belfast, BT1 2DY
Tel: 028 9023 4888
Email: info@themerchanthotel.com
Web: www.themerchanthotel.com

Undoubtedly one of the leading properties in Northern Ireland, the Merchant Hotel opened two years ago and rapidly found itself ensconced on Condé Nast Traveller’s prestigious global Hot List. It’s a high baroque pleasure-pile occupying the former headquarters of the Ulster Bank and still boasts a wealth of period fittings and 19th -century architecture. The listed building offers just 26 rooms and suites, but its potential as a city-centre business retreat is bolstered by its smart on-site meeting spaces, which can cater for up to 40. One feature that certainly shouldn’t be missed is the hotel’s Great Room, formerly the main banking hall and now a sumptuously ornate restaurant complete with Corinthian columns and Ireland’s largest chandelier – and the food’s not bad either.       

Quirky Venue
Name: Ulster Folk & Transport Museum
Address: Cultra, Holywood, Co. Down, BT18 0EU
Tel: 028 9039 5106
Email: events@magni.org.uk
Web: www.uftm.org.uk

The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum sits seven miles east of Belfast. In cultural terms, however, it’s a lifetime away – literally. The attraction showcases life as it used to be, with recon-structed buildings and costumed actors giving an impressive insight into the Ulster of a century ago. On the same site, the award-winning Transport Museum houses enough cars, carts and locomotives to keep groups absorbed for a good hour, and there’s also an exhibition on the Titanic. Both parts of the museum offer venues for hire, so they’re well accustomed to corporate events, whether hosting a black-tie do or a daytime team-building activity – it’s even possible to arrive by steam train.   

New Kid On The Block
Name: Europa Hotel
Address: Great Victoria Street, Belfast, BT2 7AP
Tel: 028 9026 6010
Email: Contact form available on website
Web: www.hastingshotels.com

The Europa Hotel itself might not be new – it became a well-known name during the Troubles and has welcomed everyone from Bill Clinton to Kate Adie – but it drew fresh attention in March when it inaugurated a £7m conference and exhibition centre. The freshly unveiled venue provides 7,000ft2 of floor space, comfortably holding between 40 and 50 exhibition stands and offering a separate entrance. It comple-ments the hotel’s existing function spaces, which include an 800-capacity Grand Ballroom and a rooftop banqueting area. There are currently 240 guestrooms, but further expansion means an extra 35 will be opened by the end of 2008, making it the largest hotel in Northern Ireland. The Europa sits in the heart of Belfast’s main business and commercial district.    

Money No Object
Name: Culloden Estate & Spa
Address: Holywood, Belfast, BT18 0EX
Tel: 028 9039 3010
Email: Contact form available on website
Web: www.hastingshotels.com

As a traditional five-star hotel perched above the waters of Belfast Lough, the Culloden has its fair share of fans. The inaugural HotelClub Awards proclaimed it the Best Business Hotel in the UK last June, and the accolade comes as no huge surprise when you see the facilities on offer. Its Highland Business Centre has a number of different boardrooms for groups of up to 60, but it’s the Stuart and Cumberland Suites that offer the most group appeal, accommo-dating 800 and 200 respectively. There’s also a stress-sapping spa on site, while the hotel’s Mitre Restaurant has an AA Rosette to show for its locally sourced dishes. The property has 70 guestrooms and sits six miles east of Belfast. 

On A Shoestring
Name: Queen’s University
Address: Queen’s University, Belfast, BT7 1NN
Tel: 028 9097 5185
Email: h.stewart@qub.ac.uk
Web: www.qub.ac.uk

Standing a mile from the city centre in a leafy Victorian suburb, Queen’s University is accessible, attractive and affordable. As with most other large academic venues, there’s a vast range of available space. The Peter Froggatt Centre in the university quadrangle offers everything from seminar rooms to 300-capacity lecture theatres, while the striking Whitla Hall can host up to 1,250 delegates for a plenary session. The Queen’s Visitors’ Centre provides exhibition space and the Great Hall acts as an impressive option for gala dinners. Close to the main campus, the Queen’s Elms Halls of Residence have more than 1,000 bedrooms for hire during student holidays.

Wired Up
Name: Belfast Waterfront
Address: 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3WH
Tel: 028 9033 4400
Email: conference@waterfront.co.uk
Web: www.waterfront.co.uk

The city’s flagship venue has more than cemented its worth since opening in 1997, staging over 2,000 national and international conferences and welcoming more than 90,000 overseas delegates. Its main auditorium can accommodate an audience of up to 2,223 and offers cutting-edge sound, lighting and communications equipment. Adjacent to the auditorium, the Studio provides a more intimate event space for up to 380, while a range of 14 other meeting rooms are also on hand for break-out purposes. There’s also more than 26,000ft2 of exhibition space on site. Another selling point is the location – nowhere in Belfast is overly distant from elsewhere but the Waterfront’s position on the banks of the River Lagan place it firmly in the centre of affairs.   

Small But Perfectly Formed
Name: Ten Square
Address: 10 Donegall Square South, Belfast, BT1 5JD
Tel: 028 9024 1001
Email: sales@tensquare.co.uk
Web: www.tensquare.co.uk

Just 23 bedrooms here, but boutique hotel Ten Square makes up for its diminutive size with a critically-acclaimed mixture of Oriental décor and modern soul. Its first-floor Porcelain Events Suite can cater for up to 100 theatre style and is also suitable for launches, parties, dinners and exhibitions. Away from the boardroom table, however, the real appeal lies in the feel of the place itself – it’s cool without being snobby and luxurious without being fawning. An on-site restaurant, The Grill Room & Bar, was decreed the Best Eating Experience in Ireland in 2006.

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