The Culloden Hotel – Co. Down
Culloden Hotel,
Bangor Road,
Holywood,
Belfast,
Co. Down
The Culloden Hotel enquiries
www.hastingshotels.com
The Culloden Hotel is renowned as Northern Ireland’s most individual and distinguished five-star hotel. It is Hasting Hotels’ flagship property, on the main Belfast to Bangor road and is set in 12 acres of beautifully secluded gardens and woodland overlooking Belfast Lough and the County Antrim coastline. The setting is remarkable, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Holywood Hills, the hotel evokes all that is best in traditional style and hospitality. Originally built as a Bishop’s palace and now reappointed as a luxury hotel, it offers the ambience of a gracious home with many period features including fine antique furniture, valuable paintings and Louis XV chandeliers.
The Culloden is both elegant and luxurious, with lavishly furnished spacious bedrooms and is extremely popular for weddings. Since tourism has picked up in Northern Ireland and visitor numbers are increasing rapidly, things are looking good for this fabulous property following years of great difficulties. They have invested heavily in the two key areas that I always zoom in on – the restaurant and the spa!
Hotel restaurants are always in competition with stand-alone restaurants, especially in a city. So every wise hotelier knows that if they want to keep their guests happy, they need to compete vigorously with all the restaurants in town. The Culloden has done this very successfully, and we enjoyed some really fine meals in their restaurant. Of course it is a five star experience, and if something lighter is wanted, the Cultra Inn, on the grounds of the hotel, provided us with very good snacks.
And then to the spa. Some years ago the spa was run by a third party contractor, but now it has been brought back in-house, and the results are evident for the guests. The improvement, along with other major renovations the hotel has recently undergone, have all greatly enhanced the genuine experience that today’s discerning visitor is demanding. Treatment rooms have increased from three to eight, and the range of treatments have also increased and improved.
I was interested to learn that Hastings Hotels (they own six hotels in Northern Ireland) held 50% interest in Dublin’s five-star Merrion Hotel since 1997. This is a sign that they are taking the direction of specialising in the high-end of the hotel market. This is all good news for the guest who wants to be sure that a hotel “brand” will deliver the same quality experience in each of it’s hotels – something which unfortunately is not always the case, particularly with the large hotel chains.
If you have stayed at this hotel, or indeed any other of the hotels which we feature on the site, do email us your thoughts
While we are not a forum and we do carefully edit and check out all information that is sent in to us, we are always delighted to hear from you, the discerning hotel guest.
For the best deals visit www.hastingshotels.com
Culloden Hotel,
Bangor Road,
Holywood,
Belfast,
Co. Down
The Culloden Hotel enquiries
www.hastingshotels.com
- Its address is Holywood! Yet it is just 15 minutes drive from Belfast city centre.
- Originally the official palace for the Bishops of Down
- Elegant and luxurious – one of best hotels in the country
The Culloden Hotel is renowned as Northern Ireland’s most individual and distinguished five-star hotel. It is Hasting Hotels’ flagship property, on the main Belfast to Bangor road and is set in 12 acres of beautifully secluded gardens and woodland overlooking Belfast Lough and the County Antrim coastline. The setting is remarkable, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Holywood Hills, the hotel evokes all that is best in traditional style and hospitality. Originally built as a Bishop’s palace and now reappointed as a luxury hotel, it offers the ambience of a gracious home with many period features including fine antique furniture, valuable paintings and Louis XV chandeliers.
The Culloden is both elegant and luxurious, with lavishly furnished spacious bedrooms and is extremely popular for weddings. Since tourism has picked up in Northern Ireland and visitor numbers are increasing rapidly, things are looking good for this fabulous property following years of great difficulties. They have invested heavily in the two key areas that I always zoom in on – the restaurant and the spa!
Hotel restaurants are always in competition with stand-alone restaurants, especially in a city. So every wise hotelier knows that if they want to keep their guests happy, they need to compete vigorously with all the restaurants in town. The Culloden has done this very successfully, and we enjoyed some really fine meals in their restaurant. Of course it is a five star experience, and if something lighter is wanted, the Cultra Inn, on the grounds of the hotel, provided us with very good snacks.
And then to the spa. Some years ago the spa was run by a third party contractor, but now it has been brought back in-house, and the results are evident for the guests. The improvement, along with other major renovations the hotel has recently undergone, have all greatly enhanced the genuine experience that today’s discerning visitor is demanding. Treatment rooms have increased from three to eight, and the range of treatments have also increased and improved.
I was interested to learn that Hastings Hotels (they own six hotels in Northern Ireland) held 50% interest in Dublin’s five-star Merrion Hotel since 1997. This is a sign that they are taking the direction of specialising in the high-end of the hotel market. This is all good news for the guest who wants to be sure that a hotel “brand” will deliver the same quality experience in each of it’s hotels – something which unfortunately is not always the case, particularly with the large hotel chains.
If you have stayed at this hotel, or indeed any other of the hotels which we feature on the site, do email us your thoughts
While we are not a forum and we do carefully edit and check out all information that is sent in to us, we are always delighted to hear from you, the discerning hotel guest.
For the best deals visit www.hastingshotels.com