A Titanic Stay In Belfast’s Most Unique Boutique Hotel

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Last updated: 20th July 2022

Looking for luxury hotels in Belfast, Northern Ireland? We’ve got you covered in this post, as we share our experience of staying at the glamorous Titanic Hotel Belfast. Located in the building where Titanic was designed and next door to where Titanic was built. It’s the perfect place for a heritage stay and added sparkle for a long weekend visit to Belfast as we did. Watch the video above to experience staying at the world’s most authentic Titanic hotel in 60 seconds. Or keep reading to learn more about this amazing Titanic Quarter hotel.

 

About the Titanic Hotel Belfast

The boutique Titanic Hotel Belfast is located in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter – the city’s waterfront neighbourhood where Belfast’s maritime heritage is celebrated. The area has been regenerated over the last 10 years into a leisure and business destination.

Titanic Hotel Belfast is housed in one of Belfast’s landmark buildings – the former headquarters of Harland & Wolff. They were the shipbuilders who designed and built the world-famous Titanic luxury ocean liner and the entire White Star Line fleet. The hotel is loaded with history in a prime location just a few steps away from the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction – Titanic Belfast.

We chose Titanic Hotel Belfast on a friend’s recommendation and we can tell you this place is fabulous! It is one of the most unique places we’ve ever stayed in because it’s like a cross between a hotel and a museum. Titanic Hotel Belfast oozes authenticity with over 500 Titanic artefacts, photographs and artworks. We loved the elegant displays and the way the hotel celebrates the building’s heritage whilst striking a balance honouring the legacy of Titanic. Garth being a graphic designer loved looking at all the old posters for inspiration.

 

 

Art & Heritage Trail of Titanic Hotel Belfast

The best way to learn about the history of the Titanic Hotel Belfast is to explore the building’s heritage rooms with a free guided tour which can be arranged at the concierge desk. Or do it yourself as we did, just ask for a map from reception. It’s totally worth exploring to get a sense of what it would have been like to work here in the golden days of shipbuilding. Also, look for chests of drawers that say “Open me” to discover more interesting artefacts.

 

 

Drawing Office One

The hotel has two spectacular ‘Drawing Offices’ which are their stand-out feature. Inside Drawing Office One is where the famous Titanic ocean liner was designed in 1908, today it’s now the function room. The drawing offices were built in 1885 when there was no electricity, so huge windows in the ceiling were designed to flood the room with loads of natural light to illuminate the draftsmen’s tables. Check out the interesting case of objects on the wall in there, found during the restoration of the hotel.

 

 

Drawing Office Two

Inside the bright and airy surroundings of Drawing Office Two, you’ll find the hotel’s classy cocktail bar. Be sure to check out the tiles that decorate the bar. These are the exact same tiles used in Titanic’s swimming pool and the first class bathrooms. The 200-year-old original parquet flooring has been beautifully restored. Also, look up and see a motif of a flax flower around the ceiling windows. This was a nod to Belfast’s linen past, which was the city’s main industry before shipbuilding.

We loved lounging on the velvet sofas around the bar, the professional and attentive staff make sure you are looked after. Garth ordered a ‘Punch Romaine’ cocktail, which was one of the last cocktails to be served on Titanic.

 

 

Original Entrance Lobby

At the back of the hotel, you’ll find the original entrance lobby used exclusively by senior managers back in the day. Stepping through the original Honduran Mahogany wooden doors past the etched glass H&W motifs and across the marble floor we felt transported back in time to a bygone era.

In the entrance lobby, you’ll see the telephone exchange – one of the most unique original features found in the hotel. It still has the original Victorian glass stencilled windows. This is where the company received telegrams and issued daily post to employees. It’s also the very office where they received the news Titanic had struck an iceberg and the tragedy that followed.

 

 

Heritage Staircase

Take the lift to the top floor and walk down the stairs of this elegant Edwardian staircase to the bottom. As you descend have a look at the photographs of fabulous passengers who took trips onboard various White Star Line liners. Phil’s favourite was Lady Douglas she’s located between floors 1&2 and strikes such a saucy pose for a lady of that era! Look out for another motif of the flax flower in the ironwork.

 

 

Presentation Room

This is where the H&W executives would impress prospective buyers like the White Star Line company with detailed models and oil paintings of luxury ocean liners. Take a look through the windows to see ‘Samson and Goliath’, the two famous yellow cranes of Harland & Wolff.

 

 

Our Executive Bedroom

We paid for an executive room as we both love a bit of lux now and then and this room doesn’t disappoint. Fluffy bathrobes, slippers, nice bathroom toiletries and a posh coffee maker make the room feel special and opulent. Oh, and the free wifi is strong in the bedroom.

The room decor has a nautical theme paying tribute to the building’s shipbuilding heritage, whilst offering USB sockets to charge all our travel gadgets. Garth loved the art deco-style furniture and the luxurious bed linen. Phil was fascinated for hours watching the hotel’s Titanic-themed documentary tv channel.

Views in our executive room were fabulous too! One window looked out to the impressive Titanic Belfast museum and the other window had a view of the iconic Harland & Wolff yellow cranes.

 

 

Titanic Hotel Belfast Food

The Best Titanic Afternoon Tea in Belfast

A Titanic afternoon tea is a must when visiting Belfast. Served in the Harland Bar set around the wonderful big posters, there’s a really nice ambience – this place is perfect for a special occasion, there were lots of celebrations going on around us.

Titanic Belfast Hotel offers a varied choice of afternoon tea, our server Matthew did a great job explaining everything on offer where nothing is a problem, or “no bother!” We chose the Prosecco afternoon tea (obvs!)

The oak smoked salmon on Guinness wheaten bread was to die for! Dunno what Guinness wheaten bread is, but we like! The lemon curd on scones was another first for us, sharp, but really nice. Our only complaint was there was too much! We were absolutely stuffed at the end of it.

 

 

Dinner At The Wolff Grill

The Wolff Grill is the hotel’s classy fine dining restaurant. We honestly felt like we were on Titanic – dressing up for dinner and then being sat in the wooden ‘bollocking booth’. Even though we were in the centre of the restaurant in a glass box it still felt very intimate and special, so make sure you try booking it for your dinner. Oh, and in case you were wondering the ‘bollocking booth’ used to be located in one of the upstairs open-plan offices where the manager could watch the employees and reprimand the naughty ones!

Emma, the maître d’ was a hoot, we had a good laugh with her and gave us some great food recommendations from the menu. Garth started with the cured salmon, gin jelly and wasabi, which is a really good combo and Phil went for Emma’s recommendation of the smoked eel, pickled apple and beetroot. The eel is locally sourced from Lough Neagh and has won a sustainable tourist award. It wasn’t chewy at all, as Phil thought it might be.

For mains, Garth had the hake, curry cauliflower and lobster hollandaise sauce – so nice. Phil chose the guinea fowl, bacon jam and beetroot, the stuffing tasted amazing. The portions might look fancy and small but by dessert, we were both full, so Phil had to ask for a small cheeseboard!

Overall service is excellent, and the food and ambience with the chilled-out tunes made such a memorable evening. The surroundings mean there’s always something interesting to look at, like the posters or lights which have a look of lifeboat hoists and the rope-styled chandeliers. Highly recommend.

 

 

Breakfast

Finally the breakfast buffet – which is a real treat. There’s a great selection of fruit and pastries (Garth’s fave) or why not try a full Ulster Fry? it’s like a full English but with white pudding, potato cakes and soda bread, Phil loved it. If you don’t want scrambled eggs from the buffet you can order from the kitchen off a separate menu.

The buffet did have the usual issue of hotel breakfast toasters – Phil reckons they only have two settings – warm bread or completely incinerated! But that didn’t distract at all.

 

 

Titanic Hotel Belfast Practical Information

Phil and Garth’s Top 5 Titanic Hotel Belfast Tips

• Tip #1: Book a free guided tour of the hotel with the concierge as soon as you arrive.
• Tip #2: Taxis from Titanic Hotel Belfast to the city centre cost £9.
• Tip #3: A bus to the city centre costs £1.60pp and the stop is just a few steps from the hotel.
• Tip #4: If you prefer to walk to the city centre it takes 25 minutes.
• Tip #5: Look for deals on the hotel’s website that include entrance to the Titanic museum next door.

 

Titanic Hotel Belfast FAQs

• What is the official website of Titanic Hotel Belfast? Hotel website link here.
• What’s the Titanic Hotel Belfast contact number? 028 9508 2000.
• Is there parking at Titanic Belfast? Yes just across the road, charged at £15 for 24 hours.
• What time is breakfast served? Weekdays from 7am – 10.30am and weekends 7am to 11am.
• What is the nearest airport? George Best Belfast City Airport is just 1.9 miles from Titanic Hotel Belfast.
• How far is Belfast city centre from Titanic Hotel Belfast? 1.2 miles.
• Where is Belfast located? Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland, UK.

 

Pin our guide to Titanic Hotel Belfast for reference

Disclaimer: We were hosted for afternoon tea and dinner, as always opinions are our own and this is not a sponsored post.