The Merchant Hotel
The Cathedral Quarter,Belfast
The Merchant Hotel, Belfast
The Merchant Hotel Enquiries
- Belfast’s stunning boutique hotel
- Unique design, both interior and exterior
- Excellent city-centre location
The Merchant Hotel in the centre of Belfast city is unlike any hotel you have ever visited. Very chic and contemporary, already a favourite with the city’s main movers and shakers, it is very encouraging to see such a sumptuous hotel in Belfast.
We visited four year ago when it had just opened and again recently to experience how this special property had fitted into the Belfast scene. We were well impressed, the food was outstanding, the cocktails were the best, service was excellent throughout and of course the design and décor were sumptuous.
UNIQUE DESIGN AT THE MERCHANT HOTEL
The rooms are all exquisitely decorated with warm lush colour and texture; the ceiling in the main hall and restaurant is fabulous. Decorated with cherubs plucking harps among Corinthian columns – it is the most unique dining décor I have ever encountered! The hotel itself has been created out of two Grade A listed buildings, which used to be the headquarters of the Ulster Bank. The old vaults now house the wine cellar! The oil paintings and antiques that adorn the walls and rooms of this hotel are stunning, and a huge amount of care has been taken in seeking them out.ACCOMMODATION AT THE MERCHANT
The décor in our bedroom was warm and dark, and this theme seems to run through all the rooms in the hotel. While we had a superior room (there is no standard), guests can choose from some pretty spacious and special suites if they like. There is free high speed internet access in all the bedrooms, which is a real plus for both the leisure and business guest.Our bathroom was just gorgeous, hard to believe that a hotel with such a traditional and old-worlde feel is so new. We loved the mosaic floor tiles, huge bath, excellent power shower and beautiful toiletries. We had two queen size beds, large flat-screen television and DVD player and lush amber and brown carpet, curtains and bedding. Of all the hotel bedrooms we visit each month, this was certainly like no other!
COCKTAILS AT THE MERCHANT
The cocktail bar at The Merchant Hotel is one of the finest and we had to go and sample something from their really extensive list – over 100 cocktails – before dinner. Nearly half of the list are drinks created by Sean James Muldoon and his team at the Merchant, and it came as no surprise to learn that they had been nominated for the international Tales of Cocktails awards which are held in New Orleans. Our barman, Jack, was a real pro with a passion for his craft that was impressive. Going with is suggestions based our respective preferences we opted for a Raspberry Spritzer, which was created in-house and a Fitzgerald, created by the Dale Degroff from New York who is also responsible for the popular Cosmopolitan. The company beside us were enjoying a unique take on the Champagne Cocktail, and we decided that we were certainly going to have to return many times to get through the tempting list!DINING AT THE MERCHANT
Modern Irish cooking, plenty of local specialities and very friendly service made our dining experience perfect. And of course that ceiling nearly left us with a creek in the neck, as we could not stop admiring it! As well as a full A La Carte menu, there is a Set Menu available Monday to Thursday and a super Tasting Menu which can be enjoyed either with or without matching wines. Our dinner was superb, service impeccable and everything cooked and presented beautifully. We had Lobster followed by Veal, and Crab followed by Turbot respectively. The Turbot was really special, cooked in red wine and served with juicy scallops and Jersey Royal potatoes.Green vegetables were cooked al dente, and the Truffle mash was to-die-for!
We were interested to see amid this wonderful setting and superb food, that the other clientele included all generations of local people from their teens to seniors, always a positive sign for a great restaurant.
The next morning, after a fine breakfast, we set off for a few hours shopping, and secured a late checkout time. We noticed that people were popping in for morning coffee, for social and business meetings, and the hotel had a real buzz about it.
The Merchant is more than just a hotel. Maybe it is because the reception area is situated away from the main door. You have to go through the bar and down the stairs to the lower floor. This actually works very well; there is a ground floor door for entering and exiting so there is nor problem with luggage, yet the revolving door up the stairs at the front of the building leads directly into the lounge and restaurant area.
The whole feel of the place is very contemporary and the hotel is at the vanguard of the city’s efforts to transform itself from a forbidding city centre of just over a decade ago into a vibrant and attractive European destination.
It is really encouraging to see Belfast shrugging off its troubled past and bringing guests into a hotel of such calibre where locals and visitors alike can enjoy such chic and luxurious surroundings.