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Posts Tagged ‘belfast’
Hotels in Belfast news
November 11th, 2009
So i was reading today on http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1105/ibis.html that a new hotel chain is opening in Belfast with a £12 million investment by the hotel chain IBIS and the creation of 50 jobs here in Belfast. This is great news for anyone looking for new hotels in Belfast in the near future because as we all know the more choice the better. It’s actually two new hotels that are being built and it’s thought one of them will be going into the Queens quarter. Ive always wondered if Belfast has had enough hotels to cope with the sudden waves of tourists and visitors we get from time to time and also if we really have enough competition in the hotels market to keep prices down. On the whole i think prices are quite good compared with the rest of the UK like Cardiff for example but prices in the city centre can still be very expensive depending on where you want to stay.
Many people these days are plumping for out of town guesthouses as a cheaper alternative to a hotel in the centre of the city. For instance i recently stayed in Parkview guesthouse on the Cave Hill road (outskirts of Belfast) because it was so cheap. I think its actually one of the cheapest places to stay in the whole city if you discount hostels etc as the room was only £35 for the night with en-suite which i thought was really good value. Compared to most accommodation in the centre of Belfast which would be twice or sometimes three times the price i thought it was a bargain. I know some people may resent having to travel to get back into the city but it was only a 5 minute taxi ride. Also you have to consider that most people end up getting a taxi back to their hotel anyway even if it is in the centre they are off seeing the sights or are on a night out and dont want to/cant walk back. Very few people want to just stay in the area around their hotel anyway so i often don’t see the sense in paying extra just for location.
Also i have to keep in mind i was only in the guesthouse for a very short time. I mean that i literally went there got dressed and then hit the bars. So for me as long as it was a comfortable place to sleep it didn’t matter the location or any of the facilities that they had as i wouldn’t have had time to notice anyway!
On another note im wondering how busy many of the hotels around here are going to be over the holiday season. I know from insiders (i have spies everywhere) that hotel bookings for December are down compared to last year which i suppose in many ways is not surprising given the present economic climate. At the same time i know many tourist dependant businesses are hoping for big things in the New Year. One thing i hope to see a lot more of are the big discounts to the more exclusive hotels like The Merchant et al as i really think they need to do more to tempt people into these places in the first place. I know for alot of hotels in Belfast that the biggest problem is getting news about their offers out there so people can book. Word of mouth still seems to be one of the best ways to get the message across and in today’s social network world why don’t we see more hotels announce deals and run competitions on twitter and facebook? Still im sure they will catch up with the rest of us soon. Until next time 
Belfas hotel review : Europa
March 24th, 2009
The Europa is one of the premier hotels in Belfast both due to its history and its amazing location right in the centre of the city. Its location really couldn’t be better as it is situated right next to the Grand Opera House and some very famous bars. The most famous is one of Belfasts oldest bars “The Crown” and also “Robinsons” which is right across the the street. The Europa also has the very dubious honour of being the most bombed hotel in Europe!
The Hotel also features a Brassiere which is open for around 18 hours a day to the general public. There is also a piano bar and great bespoke entertainment on certain nights of the week. One of the most stunning things about the hotel is also the architecture which is recognisable from the very second you see it. Even though this hotel looks really expensive its actually considered reasonably cheap accommodation in belfast by most people as your only talking about £80 per night which is very good for a hotel in the centre. The hotel really lends itself well to the overall theme of the city and is usually somewhere lots of tourists visit even if they are not staying there.
Using google maps to find hotels
January 31st, 2009
One thing that i hear all of the time when people are looking for hotels in any city is the location and how you judge how close to the city centre the hotel is. After all if you do not know a city that well then you really don’t know where the real city centre is or even where the main hub of the town is at. This doesn’t just apply to cheap hotels in Belfast but hotels in any major city. Check out the map below to get a better idea of the local area.