Tara Lodge, Belfast

...tripadvisor.com, my husband booked the Tara Lodge, happy that it seemed 'OK.' In general we would take the Trip Advisor reports with a pinch of salt, but when almost all of them were glowing we had a good feeling about the stay. It may have only been for one night, but it was important that things were right and that we were comfortable there.

As we both work full time it was almost 8pm by the time we got to Belfast. The Tara Lodge ...
...for a top hotel. The Tara Lodge is only a B&B but like I say earlier I have stayed in hotels that could learn a lot from the lodge. Within a few moments I had my boiled eggs that I had ordered, my husband had his Ulster Fry which was delicious and our 1 year old was fawned over by the staff. I could have stayed there all day! At breakfast 2 of the other tables were occupied by business men with English accents who talked to the staff familiarly, ... more

During this week we had an early morning appointment in Belfast, and due to the fact that we would have had to left our house at 6am to get there for 9am, despite only living about an hour from the city we decided that the best bet for us, with our 18 month old was to book a room for the night in the city. As I am expecting a baby we wanted somewhere clean, central and with good service, but our budget is quite tight at the moment and so after a quick look on tripadvisor.com, my husband booked the Tara Lodge, happy that it seemed 'OK.' In general we would take the Trip Advisor reports with a pinch of salt, but when almost all of them were glowing we had a good feeling about the stay. It may have only been for one night, but it was important that things were right and that we were comfortable there.

As we both work full time it was almost 8pm by the time we got to Belfast. The Tara Lodge is based in the middle of what would be considered Belfast student area, and both myself and my husband are familiar with the city from the time when we were students ourselves. Although we had never paid much attention to the lodge, we knew it would be very central for the task in hand. What had changed was the one-way system on some of the narrow streets… it took us longer to get there than we thought it would! Only for the fact that we knew where we were going, it would have been rather difficult to get there. But a few wrong turns later and we made it.

Parking in Belfast is not the most friendly. Particularly in the Holy-Lands / University area when the students have brought their cars up to their digs and all the road side spaces are gone, but the Lodge had its own off-road parking. There were around 12 spaces in there, and even though we got there late there were still 3 spaces empty. We don't drive a fancy car by any means but to have off road parking was such a bonus as we were reassured that our car would be safe. The outside of the building was freshly painted and the wall had 'Tara Lodge' in large celtic letters. We were very impressed as it seems to have been renovated recently. Although without giving away our ages it has been a few years since we were students in the area.

The immediate outside double doors were open, but the internal doors were locked, with a bell to the side that said 'Please ring for assistance.' I suppose this is just a safety measure in a busy city and it only took a few seconds for the male receptionist to open the door for us with a welcoming smile. We didn't catch any of the staff names which was a shame as we would love to write and praise them, but I hope this review is read by lots of people considering the Lodge as I really am 100% impressed and I hope my review gets them more business! Not that they need any… while we were waiting to check-in we heard the man on the phone say that they were all booked up for the night, and he was helpfully reading out phone numbers to the person on the other end of the line.

We checked in, were give the keys to Room 9 on the 1st floor and shown to the lift. Our sleepy son was carried in my arms and the receptionist talked to him in a very friendly manner, and these things really matter when you are a parent. I accidentally went to the 2nd floor in the lift first, and when I stepped out the room numbers were 10-20 (I think) so that must be how many rooms they have in the building. When we got back down to our own room we opened the door and were delighted by the room. Despite its small size it was better decorated and set-up than some 5* hotels where we have stayed in the past. We had a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, Freeview channels, Tea Making Facilities, a very modern bathroom, top quality bath complimentaries, the guides to the area and the travel cot we had requested for our child. The bed linen was immaculately pressed and everything looked new. Even the sheets on the travel cot were dazzling white and without a crease.

Although it was late our son had slept in the car and was now wide awake and we needed to find a place to eat. So we put him into his buggy and headed for the lift. When we got back down to reception the kind man asked us if we needed any directions and we laughed and told him we knew this area quite well a few years ago. So he let us out the front door and we walked the 5 minute stroll to Belfast's Shaftesbury Square. The roads were lively and buzzing as the night life was starting. Our son was mesmerized by the lights of the city and the huge advertising screens in the square, but with him being so young we were keen to just grab something to eat and go back to the room. We chose a Belfast favourite- Bishops fish and chip shop and sat in, where despite it being after 8pm no one batted an eyelid at us having a toddler out to eat and the staff got him crayons and colouring sheets and talked to him everytime they went past. Again we were delighted with the service there too, but that is another review.

We got back to our lovely warm bedroom and enjoyed the huge cosy bed and our little boy fell asleep between us that night and we moved him to the travel cot where he didn't stir the whole night long. Both of us had a great night sleep and when we awoke in the morning there had been no noise outside (something we had thought might be possible as we were in a fairly lively area of Belfast) Breakfast was to be served between 7am- 10am and we got down at around 7:30. There was a buffet table with selections of juices, cereals and yoghurts, all beautifully presented and the young man who had been doing reception, who was a different man than we had had the previous night, launched into action, seating our toddler in a clean sturdy highchair, getting him whatever he wanted to eat (toast!) and in general treating our whole family like we had paid for a top hotel. The Tara Lodge is only a B&B but like I say earlier I have stayed in hotels that could learn a lot from the lodge. Within a few moments I had my boiled eggs that I had ordered, my husband had his Ulster Fry which was delicious and our 1 year old was fawned over by the staff. I could have stayed there all day! At breakfast 2 of the other tables were occupied by business men with English accents who talked to the staff familiarly, and so I think they must have stayed there regularly. The breakfast room was decorated in a modern manner and the large windows let us look out at the city outside.

We checked out at 8:30 and made our appointment in plenty of time, and both of us remarked on the fabulous service we had there and how we are going to recommend it to any one we know who is going to stay in Belfast. We paid £80 for our night there (that was B&B for 2 adults and 1 toddler) and to say we were treated like VIPs would be an understatement. I have never felt inclined to write a review of a place where I only spent a few hours, but Tara Lodge surpassed all standards and I put my heart and soul into recommending them to everyone. 

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