Fitzwilliam International Hotel, Belfast

The Fitzwilliam has been taken over now by the Park Plaza Hotel group, and if you want to book it, that's how you will have to do your search.

I have stayed there for conference purposes, and that's the experience on which I make my review..

1 Location.
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For years, visitors to Belfast who arrived at the International Airport, had quite a drive to the nearest hotel.
Dunadry Inn ...
...easier to spot.
The Hilton in Templepatrick has been added as well, so there is a bit more choice. ( It was the Stakis previously, so that's confusing too! )
But for travellers who are used to arriving at International Hotels and having somewhere really close to stay before an early morning flight, there was no option.

Now the Park Plaza fills that gap. 50 yards from the entrance to the terminal, it could not be more ... more

The Fitzwilliam has been taken over now by the Park Plaza Hotel group, and if you want to book it, that's how you will have to do your search.

I have stayed there for conference purposes, and that's the experience on which I make my review..

1 Location.
************

For years, visitors to Belfast who arrived at the International Airport, had quite a drive to the nearest hotel.
Dunadry Inn was the closest, and the newer Templeton in Templepatrick the easier to spot.
The Hilton in Templepatrick has been added as well, so there is a bit more choice. ( It was the Stakis previously, so that's confusing too! )
But for travellers who are used to arriving at International Hotels and having somewhere really close to stay before an early morning flight, there was no option.

Now the Park Plaza fills that gap. 50 yards from the entrance to the terminal, it could not be more convenient.
It means you do not have the most wonderful views to look out on, but it does the job.

It is worth reminding visitors to Belfast, that we have two Belfast Airports. The City Airport is very close to the city centre - walking distance if you are energetic and not too cluttered with cases.!
The international Airport is about 20 miles away, with the nearest town being Antrim, and that's 6 miles or so distant.
So if you are pondering the Park Plaza for a conference, thinking you could always pop out to see Belfast's night life in the evening, you should think twice.!
There is a shuttle bus from the airport to Belfast Centre and there are taxis, but it will lead to a very expensive evening out.!

2 Description
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The Park Plaza boasts 106 rooms and has been classified as a 4* hotel. It claims to be Northern Ireland's 'premier' 4* hotel, but I am not sure who decided that, or who could prove it.!
It is comfortable, and the rooms are reasonable in size and reasonably equipped. But I have stayed in four star hotels in other parts of the world that would make the Park Plaza look like a 2* in comparison.

Having said that, the rooms comprise superior, executive and suite levels of accomodation, and I reckon our conference organisers would have used the cheapest and most basic of these options.

Dining facilities are pleasant rather than opulent, and I actually prefer that in a hotel - I want to feel comfortable when eating, rather than feeling that I have to be dressed up and on my best behaviour. ( Yes I can do that, when needed!!??)
Food was on the top side of acceptable. And we were there both years as conference delegates. Breakfast and lunch were good by conference standards experienced elsewhere, and the dinner at night was superb.

Admission to a local health club facility is advertised, but I am not sure where this is situated... I think it may be at the Hilton.

The conference facilities are good - they can accomodate 250 delegates and have a number of rooms for the task. Staff seemed eager to be helpful, and when something went wrong with microphones, say, there was immediate help from the hotel staff.

The hotel has a good deal of car parking for its guests, and since you can't park along the roadside in an airport area, obviously, this is pretty important.

3 Costs :
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Conference delegates had a special rate of £70 per person, but the rates presently available are a bit more than that.
£198 will get you a double room for two nights with breakfast and dinner included in a 'special' at the moment.

Other special rates go from £81 to £105 per room with no meals, per night.

You pay for being this near to the airport, and need to make your own decision whether the cost is justified.

4 Sleep?
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Can you really sleep this close to an airport?
Well, I found the rooms were pretty well sound proofed from outside noise - I guess triple-glazed windows, - and aircraft noise was not noticeable.
However, the internal soundproofing was not so effective! Conference-goers who did not need to work or study late into the night, were bopping around until at least 2.00 am, and the noise was unmissable !
I actually felt sorry for any travellers who had booked in for a good night's sleep prior to the first flight out in the morning.!
Had I been in such a situation, I think the room telephone would have been very hot by 1.00 am!

5 Conclusions.
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If you are returning a hired car and leaving on a flight with a 5.30 am check-in time, this is worth every penny - just check those conference delegates.!??

If you have work to do and no desire to see the sights and sounds of Belfast and beyond, then an exec room here will please you, I'm sure.

If you need to be reasonably close to the airport, but plan to use some spare time to drive aroung the Province, then this is very central and you can avoid Belfast traffic.

But if you want to see the city and are arriving in Belfast City airport, this is NOT the hotel for you - you have been warned.!

 

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