Upon entering the bright, attractive lobby of room2 hotel in downtown Belfast after a day’s drive around Northern Ireland’s scenic coastline, melodic mood-uplifting music swept through my senses.
On a small stage was Mark Graham, a local guitarist-singer-songwriter, performing some old classics, as well as - in fact, the highlight of his two-hour show - some of his own fine compositions. Mark was just one of several performers entertaining guests every evening during my short stay at this attractive 175-room hotel.
I couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome on a damp, chilly winter evening, an all-embracing hug for me after returning to the city of my birth.
Centrally located on Queen Street, a two-minute walk from City Hall and other historic highlights, room2 is one of the newest modern additions to a city rapidly becoming ‘the hospitality success story of Ireland’ with the number of visitors travelling to Belfast and excellent hotels to welcome them rising fast, all spurred by the down-to-earth friendliness of local people and the diverse arts, culture and cuisine scene.
The lobby of room2 is colorful and decorative, with a simple yet inviting reception-cum-welcome desk, beside which is a generous complimentary display of fruits including apples, plums and oranges for guests, with water flavored with orange and cucumber slices as refreshing drinks. Behind the reception desk are shelves of snacks from potato crisps to salted caramel popcorn and peanuts, as well as drinks of all kinds, for purchase. One the other side is an open bar with comfy, cushioned barstools and beyond that Winnie’s, a two-sided cafe filled with chairs and tables where live music was being performed and where breakfast is served buffet-style, though guests can also order specific dishes.
Each morning I enjoyed a traditional Irish feast of sausages, bacon, black pudding and grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and onions. I also ordered poached eggs separately. For a healthier breakfast version, there’s also yoghurts and a range of fruits, from strawberries to pineapples, as well as cereals, breads, croissants and roasted vegetables at the hot counter.
Staff are extremely friendly and enthusiastic at room2, a tribute to the leadership of general manager, Aine Finnegan, who by sheer coincidence is from the same part of the world as myself, meaning Andersonstown, a working-class neighborhood of west Belfast.
Kudos to the hotel chain founders, Robert and Stuart Godwin, who support the burgeoning hospitality industry by giving important work experience opportunities to many students at the city’s hospitality schools. Staff wear stylish black T-shirts with the symbol of a tortoise in its shell, indicating both eco-friendliness and the concept of the hotel as a home-away-from-home.
room2, like many of the other hotels in the fast-growing group which already stretches from the heart of west London to the harbour side of Southampton, is an eco and pet-friendly hotel. My medical herbalist companion was delighted to see a vast array of plants in pots as natural decoration. In addition, in a cosy room on the other side of the lobby featuring soft sofas and shelves of books on subjects ranging from travel and art to food and photography, is what’s termed a ‘plant cutting propagation station,’ as many as a hundred plants in transparent vials with a temperature monitoring device beneath. Here an explanatory sign states the hotel’s support for a healthy sustainable environment and this dedicated space as its way to help nurture new plants from cuttings thus contributing to ‘a continual cycle of growth.’ Reflecting its environmental policy further, this Belfast hometel runs on 100% electric and low carbon renewable energy.
Aside from the many plants, other furnishings included lanterns that look like mini-ghosts hanging from the ceiling of Winnie’s and colorful wall tiles separating the breakfast room from the lobby.
The bar is well stocked with local liquors including a myriad of local gins such as Jawbox and Gunpowder and the international classics, Hendrick’s and Tanqueray, as well as various draft micro beers and ales. Cocktails by creative mixologists while I was there included the intriguing ‘elf’s delight,’ comprising peppermint schnapps, Baileys Irish Cream and a splash of milk. There’s also a range of Irish whiskeys, from Bushmills to Redbreast.
Room2 also has it very own art gallery. Located in a compact room at the side of the lobby, it features the works of local artists. During my stay, the exhibition featured floral designs as well as colorful sketches of Belfast’s Botanical Gardens and the city’s former Harland and Wolff shipyard where the doomed Titanic cruise ship was built.
The hotel also caters for events, both personal and professional, offering a collection of versatile rooms suitable for small to medium-sized meetings and events for up to 120 people, from brainstorming and creative sessions to workshops, yoga classes and supper clubs.
One of the many advantages of staying at room2 is its convenient location within an easy five-minute walk to the city’s main shopping street Royal Avenue and the CastleCourt and Victoria Square shopping centers. It’s also only a mere 10-minute walk to what is termed ‘the Cathedral Quarter’ featuring a plethora of cafés, restaurants and pubs, many with live music. Transport options to and from the hotel are also convenient, with buses and taxi stations a minute’s walk away.
For international travellers, an airport express bus leaves literally from the hotel’s doorstep. In terms of art and culture, the nearby Opera House, an ornate century-old building, hosts a range of events from music concerts and theatrical productions to pantomimes and dance performances. Buses for Queen’s University, the Botanical Gardens and the Ulster Museum, Northern Ireland’s leading museum, leave from City Hall, just around the corner from the hotel, as is the nation’s oldest library, The Linen Hall, featuring a cozy cafe where you can enjoy tea and freshly-made scones. Two of the city’s best chocolate places are also (delightfully) temptingly close.
As for our room, 60, it was surprisingly quiet, with no sound of traffic, a welcome realization considering the hotel lies in the very heart of the city. Two windows permitted an abundance of natural light to flow in and also clear views on to Queen Street and an old disused stonewall police station what is over a century old. There was also a panoramic view across to the Black Mountains and a geological feature known locally as ‘Napoleon‘s Nose.’ Immediately below was a pedestrian shopping street leading on to Royal Avenue.
All rooms are designed to be self-catering and mine featured all the facilities necessary, including a small cooker, microwave oven, toaster, kettle to make hot water for tea and coffee, and all the utilities such as knives, forks, spoons and cups. Furnishings included a big wall-screen TV, a small wooden table, an armchair and two comfy sofas for lounging on. Interestingly, intricately designed wallpaper illustrated the stories of legendary figures from Celtic mythology. A framed wall painting, Impressionist in nature, depicted a coastal area reflecting Belfast’s rich maritime history while two items of cloth encased in frames highlighted the history of the textile industry in Belfast.
My bathroom featured a tiled floor, rustic in style, with glazed tile walls and what is termed a ‘jawbox,’ a traditional square-shaped enamel sink (thus the name of the gin mentioned earlier). Echoing the eco-friendly philosophy of the hotel owners, a large box helped maintain a ‘zero waste’ policy with separate food and general waste containers inside. A little round box sitting on the table in the room with the title ‘Bits and Bobs’ inscribed on top contained a pencil, a deck of cards, a three-minute egg timer and two sets of a game called XO or tic-tac-toe. Granting an industrial style demeanour to the room, part of one wall was of bare concrete with enclosed electricity conduits.
For friendly, enthusiastic service, colorful and uplifting decor and utter convenience in terms of central location, room2 is certainly a choice for Belfast hotel.
