Hotel offers are spilling into my email box every day – one of the regulars at the moment from Pigsback.com is for the Ramada in Belfast’s city centre.
They are offering €75 for one night B & B or €99 with dinner, €129 for 2 nights etc……
We stayed on a Friday night with meal included.
What we saved on the deal…
Looking at Friday night prices on hotel sites etc., I’d say the offer equates to almost one free dinner and 2 free breakfasts. We were staying in Belfast that night anyway so in our case we gained a bit by using the voucher…..
(I know it seems seems a bit of a cop out to eat in your hotel when away but we’d been on the go for five days, didn’t know what time we’d arrive in Belfast and it suited us to eat in. There are plenty of dining options close by….. just remember to book ahead).
Getting There
If arriving into Victoria train station or Europa bus centre for the first time then you might like to get a taxi. Otherwise, its a 20 minute walk.
Parking
Once you get over the ‘no free parking’ panic, there are lots of reasonable options. There are on street parking spaces close by which are free overnight. You can then either put money in the meter or move the car to a car park. There are local signs advertising Saturday / Sundays rates at £5 for the day.
Location
We have stayed here before and have found it to be central and within walking distance of the shopping district and most attractions. Its close to the motorway exit which is great for a quick getaway back to Dublin.
Arrival
The desk staff were very welcoming and Covid aware. We were given an information sheet with the expected points re use of lifts, social distancing, etc……
There was a kettle in our room but no cups / coffee etc due to Covid (there were some facilities available at reception).
(A sofa instead of another bed gave the room a more spacious feel…)
Dinner
We were able to change the time of the booking no problem when we reached the hotel. There were still tables occupied when we arrived at 9.00pm but the place wasn’t busy.
Our package included a main course and a glass of wine which was fine by us…. My piri-piri chicken is listed at £13 and glass of wine is £5.50 [€22.70]. As we paid €24 extra on the voucher for dinner, the other main and glass of wine cost €1.30!
(Piri-Piri Chicken and Lasagne)
Residents were ordering drinks at the bar – they could take them to an outside seating area (or to their bedrooms) but only diners could sit in the bar / restaurant area. (I see from some reviews that people objected to having to take their drinks away from the bar. No point in getting angry with staff who are just trying to follow guidelines. Here in the south we don’t even have that option – no food, no alcohol).
Breakfast
There were no designated time slots for breakfast (which suggests to me that the hotel wasn’t full). There were plenty of tables in the restaurant / bar area for people to spread themselves out.
Very well organised – we queued (at social distance) for hot food which was served by a staff member (usual fare – bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, tomato, hash brown). We helped ourselves to juices, beverages, cereals and breads. Everything was individually wrapped – sliced bread, danishes, pain au chocolat, muffins, etc.
Verdict? Its not 5* but good value for a city centre hotel on a Friday night. Its convenient for shopping, sights and night life. Would definitely stay here again.
Note (27/08/2020) : The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFA) is advising against all non-essential travel overseas until further notice. This includes Great Britain but not Northern Ireland.
You do not need to restrict your movements if you are returning South from the North.
Have ventured out for meals during our staycation but no hotel stays.
We’ve made the most of the past month here – spent a few days in Kerry and Donegal – I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to endure another lockdown soon so glad we got away as much as we did. In general, everyone was very Covid conscious in all our accommodations – we were in 5 in total. I’d love to think that we’d manage maybe one or two nights away every month or 6 weeks from now on … just to preserve the sanity!!! But unlikely to happen. Any restaurant we visited for dinner was fine but some questionable social distancing practices in several coffee and lunch venues. I’m still finding the whole eating out scene very strange indeed….
We’ve just gone « red » again here as France is using a traffic light system. Waiting to see what new measures are going to be introduced.
Yes – like ourselves, your numbers are going the wrong way aren’t they. Covid is definitely going to stick around for another while!