The Junction Restaurant & Bar, Holiday Inn Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

During our stay at the Holiday Inn Belfast we had dinner at the Junction Restaurant & Bar.

The space has two sections: Near the entrance is the bar - there is sometimes live music - and the restaurant.

When we arrived the bar was busy with a large ladies group. The restaurant was only occupied with a family.

Since there was no Maître de, we chose our table in the contemporary space.

There were floor to ceiling windows along one side allowing day light to flood the room.

At first we had some difficulty getting the attention of one of the waitresses, because they were kept busy by the group. The wait was worth it, though and the service attentive from then on.

The menu was a mix of classic, modern, local and international dishes.

We ordered two orange juice, one glass of Chilean Rose, a glass of Tia Maria without ice, two salmon fillets with mango salsa and a salad consisting of green leaves, sun dried tomatoes and anchovies, a sticky toffee pudding and a fruit salad.

The presentation was very nice, for example the mango salsa came in its own little steel bucket.

The wine was surprisingly dark colored. It was more red than rose. It was dry with fruity notes and to my liking.

The salmon was cooked to perfection and the salsa finger licking good.

The salad was nicely balanced between being sweet and salty.

The toffee pudding was very good too.

The bill came in at slightly under 57 GBP (ca. 72.40 Euro or ca. 91.90 USD).

Would we recommend this restaurant to a friend? YES!
Would we eat at The Junction Restaurant again? YES.

©2014 

Holiday Inn Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

In October we spent a long weekend (3 nights, 4 days) in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

We took a long-distance bus [Translink Goldline] from Dublin's Bus Arras Station to Belfast Great Victoria Street Bus Station. A return ticket cost 25 Euro (ca. 32.10 USD).

From Great Victoria Street Station in the center of town the Holiday Inn Belfast was only a very short walk - ca. 10 minutes - away. It is in a good location, neighbors are the BBC Northern Ireland, RTE, a Nando's and a Pizza Express.

The hotel made a solid impression and was well integrated.

When entering the first thing we encountered was a pink bench and a large modern painting. The Junction Restaurant and the Bar which serves Starbucks was to the left and the reception and elevators to the right.

The Holiday Inn has also a spa, fitness center, hair salon and the only hotel swimming pool in Belfast.

Check in was quick and friendly.

We had booked a King Executive Room. All executive rooms and suites are located on the 7th floor. On the landing a free coffee/tea station is waiting, where you can help yourself to your favorite beverage.

Our room overlooked the BBC. It was large and contemporary with Asian touches, for example  dragon tapestry and shutters. The wooden head board reminded us of a tropical island.

There was a huge open wardrobe, a mini fridge (unstocked), a comfortable king sized bed, a coffee table and two chairs, a writing desk and large TV with regional channels.

The color scheme was brown, red, lilac and grey.

The photographic artwork featured important Belfast landmarks we all visited during our stay (The Titanic Belfast, the City Hall and Victoria Square Shopping Center).

There were tea and coffee making facilities, free water and snacks, a Terry's Orange Milk Chocolate bar, a Nutri-Grain Fruity Breakfast Bar Apple and an Acti-Snack+ Mangos, which was replaced daily, even so it stated these were only welcome amenities, a very nice touch.

The Executive Room also included a free movie from the pay per view section per night. At first the hotel had problems with their TV system, so when we wanted to use the free movie option it didn't work. Finally it was available, but we were too tired and the other nights too busy to watch a film.

The free internet was fast and reliable.

Our bathroom was large and completely tiled. We liked the rainbow colored mosaic tiles in the bath tub / shower combination especially.

There was also a sink and toilet.

The amenities were from The White Company and contained rose, Jasmin and nerolis. We know The White Company from other hotel stays and like the products.

Another perk of an Executive Room was no tray charge for in room dining and 20% off food and beverage.

We had in room breakfast and dining. Once we went to the Junction Restaurant for dinner.  A review of this is going to follow soon.

Continental breakfast was 12.90 GBP per person (ca. 16.40 Euro or ca. 21 USD).

There was a tick sheet on the room we filled out. For 3 GBP more hot items were also available.

We chose coffee, orange juice, whole wheat toast, jam and honey, cheese, fruit salad and fruit yogurt. It set us up nicely for the day and was delivered on time by a friendly member of staff. We were glad we used the in room dining option, because the hotel can get extremely busy with meetings and conferences. In our case the heads of all universities and colleges of Northern Ireland were meeting.

Our in room dinner consisted of a large bottle of still water, one Tia Maria, one starter sized House Salad, one chicken, roasted pepper and Cooleeney Brie Panini and a fruit salad. We liked the quality and flavors. The portion size was generous too. Waiting time was a bit long with 45 minutes. The cost was 24.35 GBP (ca. 31 Euro or ca. 39.10 USD).

We enjoyed our stay tremendously, using the excellent location to explore Belfast. City Hall, shopping, Ulster Hall, St. Malachy's Catholic Church and the Engine Room Gallery are a very short stroll away.

Too soon check out approached. It was again very busy and we had to wait about ten minutes. Check out itself was done very quickly.

We would return, because the staff is efficient, helpful and friendly, the rooms are beautiful and comfortable, the food is good and the location is just perfect for our needs. The hotel represents good value too.

©2014