Great Victoria Street, Belfast (028 9044 2080; fitzwilliamhotelbelfast.com)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
"You'll be good and warm there," predicted my sister-in-law, hardened – unlike her softie relatives over from London – to the bracing chill of the traditional Belfast bedroom. The photographs I'd seen of the Fitzwilliam showed a nine-storey sliver of glass, metal and polished stone, with a double-height lobby featuring sleek, angular furniture and huge spoked ceiling lamps. But when we got there I saw there was no question of chilling out in the empty lobby: far too much white leather. A cheerful hubbub down the corridor behind reception suggested, rightly, that the bar – cloaked in Manhattan gloom – was where the action was (if not the light bulbs). Whatever the temperature, someone was trying very hard to be cool. Cooler than one should expect in a hotel situated next door to Belfast's 19th-century Grand Opera House, and just across the road from the Crown Liquor Saloon, a landmark gem of a Victorian gin palace.
THE ROOMS
Passing along the dim and hushly carpeted corridor that led to our seventh-floor room, we could have done without seeing our travel-scruffed reflections in the dazzlingly polished mirrored doors. Inside, however, the black-panelled room was spacious and full of natural light, with rooftop views across the city to the peak of Cave Hill.
Despite the cheerful yellow sofa positioned in front of the flat-screen TV, you wouldn't exactly call it cosy – the "executive" tag for our standard room says it all – but it was certainly comfortable. Great bed, a walk-in shower, and – a sweet touch, this – tea lights beside the double-ended bath (no matches, though). The Wi-Fi was free and, tucked away on bright yellow shelves behind a black-panelled door, along with a cafetiere and tea-making facilities, was a CD/MP3 player, though, stupidly, we failed to notice it was also a DAB radio until it was too late for the Archers omnibus.
THE FOOD
The restaurant – "Menu by Kevin Thornton" – is overseen by the celebrity chef who won two Michelin stars for the Fitzwilliam's sister hotel in Dublin. But it makes no claims to similar stature and is considerably less pricey. A bacon and cabbage terrine, served with a smudge of leek purée and a dab of shallot vinaigrette, was light and fresh-tasting, though the same could not have been said of a glutinous crab cake. The salmon with sorrel sauce looked pretty and tasted good, and the only complaint about the venison loin, with its blackberries marinated in sloe gin and artfully arranged on three tiny piles of parsnip crisps, was that there could have been more of it. The Irish cheeses were ripened to perfection, and almost every wine on the list, apart from the three-figure bottles, was available by the glass. Predictably, MbyKT claims "wherever possible" to source its ingredients from Northern Ireland, but it seemed odd – in a city so notoriously damp that each room has an umbrella for guests' use – that the mineral water came from Norway and the breakfast yoghurts from France. And the less said about the coffee the better.
THE VERDICT
The Fitzwilliam is perfect for business visitors and anyone wanting a calm, comfortable room right in the city centre, but you wouldn't want to go there with children. And once you brave the white leather, that stylish stretch of gas flame in the lobby does throw out a surprising warmth.
THE RATES
Doubles from £104, room only. Ask about weekend offers. A three-course meal in the restaurant costs about £35, without drinks, but the "Taste of" menu offers three courses and coffee for £20. Cooked breakfast is £19.
