Review of Malmaison Hotel Belfast
Written by Karen Bryan
I stayed at the Belfast Malmaison for two nights on the Belfast leg of my Summer 09 UK Blogging Tour. The building exudes Victorian grandeur, although constructed as a seed warehouse in the 1860s, the Victorians obviously didn’t go for the bleak, utilitarian style of industrial premises favoured these days. The hotel is in a central location, just along from the Albert Clock and close to the River Laggan.
As I stepped into the hotel lobby I felt as though I was entering a gothic film set. The carpet was purple and there was a lot of black leather. The thick curtains framing the reception area wouldn’t have looked out of place as stage curtains. It was certainly very different to a standard hotel lobby.
I was in Room 411 which was a fairly small double. The decor was very brown velvety. The rooms was comfortable and quiet, it faced a courtyard. The toiletries in the bathroom were lovely. Breakfast was good with a choice of fresh fruits, yoghurts, breads, pastries and freshly prepared hot menu.
What amazed me for a four star hotel was that cabled (pretty slow) internet access was only free for periods of 30 minutes. If you wanted to have unlimited access you had to pay for either a 4 or 24 hour period. Now with room prices starting at £79 a night room only on the Summer Spectacular offer, I think that internet access or wifi should have been free of charge.
Yes the hotel is very stylish and plush but at the Summer Spectacular promotion price of £79 a night I’d be expecting continental breakfast and free wifi to be included.
Europe a la Carte Summer 09 UK Blogging Tour sponsored by
It’s a well known fact that the more upmarket the hotel, the less likely the internet is to be free – if you want free wifi it’s better to stick to a private room in an upmarket hostel.
Heather that’s quite perverse, surely upmarket hotels should provide “free” wifi, their rates are high enough for guests to expect this. Either the majority of guest don’t need wifi or are on business expense accounts. I think that hotels which don’t offer free wifi will lose potential customers who will vote with their feet and book at chains such as Abode who do offer guests free wifi.