NI Travel News’ PATRICK DIXON and his wife, Louise, took a stroll through history at the luxurious Titanic Hotel in Belfast for a short break…
On A cold and blustery late January evening, we made the short journey from our East Belfast home to the Titanic Hotel Belfast. The darkness and cold of the season are instantly forgotten as we are met with the warmth and soft light of the hotel lobby, with an equally warm welcome at reception. The check in process is fast and friendly, within minutes we have been issued with our keys and given instructions on how to get to our room. It is here where our adventure begins.
The white-walled corridors are adorned with pictures, captions and memorabilia from the White Star Line. Our feet tap along the tiled corridors, pausing to stop and look at each display. The majesty of Belfast’s glorious ship building, and the tragedy of the Titanic’s maiden voyage are so interwoven into the nature of the people of Northern Ireland that they constitute part of the Ulster condition. I am no exception to this and could spend hours taking in each memory, while looking into perfectly set side rooms each contributing to the early 20th century atmosphere.
My wife, Louise, and I have been allocated a King Executive Room on the top floor overlooking the world-famous Titanic Museum. The purple lighting bounces off the silver shards, cutting through the darkness to display the four giant hulls that make up the exterior of the museum. The room itself is spacious, immaculately turned out, with a king size bed to die for. The ensuite bathroom is equally luxurious with the black and white décor reminiscent of the era. The high ceilings and mood lighting add beautifully to the surroundings. It doesn’t take long to begin to feel at home.
We have had the pleasure of dining in the Titanic Hotel previously, so we were looking forward to our food immensely. We walked through the lively Harland Bar in order to get to the Wolff Grill. The hotel is so cleverly designed that you get the sense of when passing through each area that you are walking through the cabins of a ship. In contrast to the general murmur of the bar area, the dining area is much more reserved. Here you can sit and enjoy your meal with conversation, each diner respecting the privacy of the next. A long window on the starboard side of the restaurant allows you to see the hard work of the kitchen staff as they toil tirelessly to prepare the evening feast for you.
Being that well matched in life, both my wife and I order the same meal. The Wild Mushroom Soup with Celeriac Salad is delicious and sets the taste buds tingling prior to the main event. In between courses we are well attended to and the service is first class. We get to enjoy a glass or two while taking in our surroundings. The door opens to a private party in a room and for a moment the sound of laughter and singing hang in the air before the door closes again returning us to the privacy of our meal. The beef fillets arrive beautifully presented. They do not look overly big, but they certainly are filling, and taste divine. The sumptuous taste will stay with me for a long time and by the time they are gone, I am full. Louise opts for an Apple Crumble that also looks superb and I am assured this was indeed the case. Well fed, we retired to bed for the evening but not before taking in some more memorabilia as we charted our course back to the room.
An excellent evening’s rest allows us to be up bright and early for breakfast in the morning. This is presented in a buffet format and is as good as can be imagined. Having restricted myself to a regime of porridge and brown bread throughout January, this is the perfect opportunity to have my first cooked breakfast of the year. My full fry tastes delicious and I consider briefly going back for more before my brain overtakes my heart on the matter.
Over my final cup of tea before checking out, I ponder our brief stay in this fantastic hotel. The real triumph of the Titanic Hotel Belfast is its ability to bring all the strands of 1912 life together and transform it into a celebration of all that was great about that time in our history. It does so while maintaining the high standards of 21st century luxury. In truth, the Titanic Hotel Belfast offers more than a hotel stay. It offers an experience, mixing the glory of our past with the melancholy of human suffering. The hotel is a record of our memory and there are few hotels in the world that can lay claim to such an achievement.
