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.

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.

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.

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.