DISCUSSION for Hilton Honors Hotels in Northern Ireland {GBR}
Jul 14, 2005, 1:00 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Hudson, OH
Programs: UA-MM; Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,350
DISCUSSION for Hilton Honors Hotels in Northern Ireland {GBR}
There is very little here on Belfast area hotels, so here are my experiences as Diamond.
Belfast Hilton.
Nice location, near arena and convention center area. Pleasant 15-minute walk to Great Victoria Ave. area (Europa hotel, Opera house, etc.).
Upon check-in, they pulled out an envelope for me (which is usually a very good sign). Quick check-in, room on 10th floor (Executive floors are 10-12). About 15 min after arrival, they sent up a welcoming amenity – 1/2-bottle size wine, and two apples! Two bottles of water in room for each day. Welcoming letter was nice, and mentioned lounge hrs.
Lounge is on 11th floor. During day, can get soda, water, cookies, apples and oranges; room is locked, but they give you a 4-digit code to enter. Alcohol is in view, but locked. Evening hrs (6-8) – serve beer, wine, or other upon request. Staff really great and efficient in serving you, and stay on top of it for refills. Finger food was rather forgettable (some warm breaded Indian and chicken sticks; veggies; some cheese and crackers). Same thing both evenings.
Breakfast in lounge is advertised as Continental, and that is all they deliver. Only warm food is toast. But cereal, muffins, and rolls were good enough for us. Brewed coffee, and a nice selection of teas. Not one of the better breakfast layouts, but again, fine for us.
“Zip check-out” required you to sign some forms in room day of departure, and hand those to front desk staff.
Overall, enjoyed our stay there.
Hilton Templepatrick
Five miles from Intern’l airport, but I wouldn’t call it an airport hotel! Nice golf course (our room overlooked it), but we don’t play. Seems to be a golf resort.
Check-in was OK, but not a Zip checkin. Four floors, with no Exec/Business floor or Lounge. When I opened the letter for this hotel, it was just an HH- greeting. I called to the front desk, and asked if breakfast was included. They said no, not with our room rate. I replied that I was asking if it was included for Diamond guests. She immediately said yes, no problem, and that we were now on the breakfast list.
Welcoming amenity was two 250-mL bottles of wine, two small bottles of water (one still, the other sparkling), two small packs of Pringles, and a glass jar of jelly beans! Did not get more water there during the stay.
Breakfast was a full Irish breakfast in the restaurant, with cold and hot foods (eggs, breakfast meats, etc). Good selection of juices. And they had edible haggis.
We used this place as a base for day tours (on our own, rental). Worked out very well. Parking is close and free. We ate there two of the 3 evenings, once in the restaurant, once in the bar lounge.
Word of caution – we could not find any nearby places to eat! The town of Templepatrick is laid out strangely, and seems to be mostly a residential town (hotel itself is on the outskirts, with nothing beyond it). Expect to travel 5-15 miles to find outside places to eat. No problem for us – on our touring, we had nice lunches, so the evening meal was never a big problem.
Again, overall, we enjoyed this stay.
Their van picked us up at the airport after we returned the rental, and returned us the following morning for our departure. Very efficient.
Again, we really enjoyed this hotel, despite no Exec Lounge!
Belfast Hilton.
Nice location, near arena and convention center area. Pleasant 15-minute walk to Great Victoria Ave. area (Europa hotel, Opera house, etc.).
Upon check-in, they pulled out an envelope for me (which is usually a very good sign). Quick check-in, room on 10th floor (Executive floors are 10-12). About 15 min after arrival, they sent up a welcoming amenity – 1/2-bottle size wine, and two apples! Two bottles of water in room for each day. Welcoming letter was nice, and mentioned lounge hrs.
Lounge is on 11th floor. During day, can get soda, water, cookies, apples and oranges; room is locked, but they give you a 4-digit code to enter. Alcohol is in view, but locked. Evening hrs (6-8) – serve beer, wine, or other upon request. Staff really great and efficient in serving you, and stay on top of it for refills. Finger food was rather forgettable (some warm breaded Indian and chicken sticks; veggies; some cheese and crackers). Same thing both evenings.
Breakfast in lounge is advertised as Continental, and that is all they deliver. Only warm food is toast. But cereal, muffins, and rolls were good enough for us. Brewed coffee, and a nice selection of teas. Not one of the better breakfast layouts, but again, fine for us.
“Zip check-out” required you to sign some forms in room day of departure, and hand those to front desk staff.
Overall, enjoyed our stay there.
Hilton Templepatrick
Five miles from Intern’l airport, but I wouldn’t call it an airport hotel! Nice golf course (our room overlooked it), but we don’t play. Seems to be a golf resort.
Check-in was OK, but not a Zip checkin. Four floors, with no Exec/Business floor or Lounge. When I opened the letter for this hotel, it was just an HH- greeting. I called to the front desk, and asked if breakfast was included. They said no, not with our room rate. I replied that I was asking if it was included for Diamond guests. She immediately said yes, no problem, and that we were now on the breakfast list.
Welcoming amenity was two 250-mL bottles of wine, two small bottles of water (one still, the other sparkling), two small packs of Pringles, and a glass jar of jelly beans! Did not get more water there during the stay.
Breakfast was a full Irish breakfast in the restaurant, with cold and hot foods (eggs, breakfast meats, etc). Good selection of juices. And they had edible haggis.
We used this place as a base for day tours (on our own, rental). Worked out very well. Parking is close and free. We ate there two of the 3 evenings, once in the restaurant, once in the bar lounge.
Word of caution – we could not find any nearby places to eat! The town of Templepatrick is laid out strangely, and seems to be mostly a residential town (hotel itself is on the outskirts, with nothing beyond it). Expect to travel 5-15 miles to find outside places to eat. No problem for us – on our touring, we had nice lunches, so the evening meal was never a big problem.
Again, overall, we enjoyed this stay.
Their van picked us up at the airport after we returned the rental, and returned us the following morning for our departure. Very efficient.
Again, we really enjoyed this hotel, despite no Exec Lounge!
? Did you see any parades?
Jul 18, 2005, 10:50 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Hudson, OH
Programs: UA-MM; Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,350
Originally Posted by blackjack-21
OT........but just wondering. Did you fly to BFS on the new CO flight from Newark? If so, how were the flights?
bj-21.
bj-21.
Brendan, left before the fireworks. But still, we really enjoyed the city.
Back to hotel stuff. Both hotels only had the simplist barhroom ammenities - shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion. Other than soap, that was it.
Last edited by Zip; Jul 23, 2005 at 8:39 am
Jun 21, 2013, 7:20 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 13
Northern Ireland
Need help deciding between Hilton Belfast and Hilton Templepatrick. I understand that one is in the country and one in the city. I am Diamond and not sure of the amenities available in each location. Anyone have strong preferences for one over the other?
Jun 22, 2013, 11:09 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: England
Programs: Mucci! (and BA Gold, HH Dia etc.)
Posts: 427
I think you answered the largest part of the question yourself - ones in the city and one is in the middle of nowhere. Both are perfect and imperfect in equal measure depending on what else you will be doing and how much time you will be in the property.
Nightlife and restaurants in Belfast are really quite vibrant these days and the most interesting areas are all only a short walk from the Belfast property but its not exactly in a tranquil position! templepatrick is the opposite but a reasonable cab journey from anything at all
In terms of amenities, again, not much to choose - the two properties share the same management so they have a similar feel
Nightlife and restaurants in Belfast are really quite vibrant these days and the most interesting areas are all only a short walk from the Belfast property but its not exactly in a tranquil position! templepatrick is the opposite but a reasonable cab journey from anything at all
In terms of amenities, again, not much to choose - the two properties share the same management so they have a similar feel
Jun 22, 2013, 12:34 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: UK - BHD
Programs: BMI Diamond Club refugee: BA-Br; HH-D
Posts: 912
The only thing you might wish to bear in mind regarding amenities is that the Belfast Hilton has an executive lounge while the one in Templepatrick does not, though it has a golf and country club.
As you have already identified, the locations are very different indeed and, obviously, the experience is very different accordingly. So, if you are unfamiliar with Northern Ireland, a city centre base may be a better place to begin with, though if you are a keen golfer, Templepatrick may be worth considering.
Either way, enjoy your stay!
As you have already identified, the locations are very different indeed and, obviously, the experience is very different accordingly. So, if you are unfamiliar with Northern Ireland, a city centre base may be a better place to begin with, though if you are a keen golfer, Templepatrick may be worth considering.
Either way, enjoy your stay!