Hotel review: A good-value Belfast four-star — but some staff need extra training
Malone Hotel - Where guests now find a colourful, modern lobby with plenty of break-out seating
Minutes from Queen’s University and the Ulster Museum, the leafy South Belfast location is an easy walk to Ormeau Park for summer concerts too, and close to Northern Ireland’s national football and rugby stadiums.
The handsome redbrick street is a 20-minute walk to the city centre, with the Belfast City Sightseeing Bus Tour stops right outside the front door.
- 7.5/10
A mix of original red brick facades and less appealing new build, The Malone has had a significant revamp ahead of reopening this year.
Guests now find a colourful, modern lobby with plenty of break-out seating, the smart Greyhound Bar with a good terrace overlooking the street, and spacious brasserie style Gallery Restaurant. (The audio system needs to be looked at: Our table in the bar was caught between two areas playing different music, meaning we could hear both at the same time which isn’t ideal.)
The contemporary bedrooms have been designed in restful neutrals with pale wood, using coffee and coral accents. Overall, this is a safe, smart aesthetic designed for broad appeal.
- 8/10
We enjoyed a welcoming and helpful check-in from Carol Anne at the reception desk who offered to get us menus from both restaurants, when she heard we’d like to eat lunch while waiting on our room. Carol Anne was there on departure too, and was such a warm, friendly and helpful presence. A real asset.
By contrast, service in the Geyhound Bar was disengaged and terse. A bored barman was slow to acknowledge us and other guests, and was rude in demeanor.
A shame, as his colleague on reception was so impressive. Elsewhere, younger staff were pleasant throughout but lacking in confidence, suggesting they would benefit from better training.
- 7/10
Bedrooms are spacious, comfortable and well designed, with good lighting, lamps and comfy mattresses.
A feature rug, backlit headboard, neat desk, armchairs and a decent coffee station tick all the boxes. A well-designed accessible bathroom for my wheelchair-using guest got the seal of approval. Our room had a large air con unit outside the window, which created a low background hum, but few rooms would have this drawback.
- 8/10
A coffee machine with pods, tea bags and two kinds of Border’s biscuits impressed for this price point. The premium Rituals toiletries in refillable bottles were welcome too. Overall, a strong offering.
- 8/10
Lunch was a tale of two halves. A well-dressed beef burger, with good chips was a success, and while the onion rings were on the greasy side, it was a decent plate of food.
By contrast, the crab linguini was terrible and needs to be rethought or taken off the menu. Aside from the minuscule scattering of crab meat, the pasta was very overcooked, and the flavours confused and unpleasant.
Breakfast was decent and offered a hot buffet with Ulster fry, cereals, fruit, yogurt and juices. Self-service coffee machines mean you are left to your own devices after you are seated.
- 6.5/10
The hotel has invested in its function rooms for events, but doesn’t offer any additional leisure amenities, like a gym, pool or wellbeing space.
- 6/10
Doubles from €153, room only.
Extra training, especially of younger staff, would create a stronger guest experience across the property, with friendliness and confidence to the fore. It is possible we got our bar man on a bad day, but his demeanour made us feel like we were an inconvenience. A shame, when the front desk welcome was so positive.
Fully accessible throughout, with spacious modern guest rooms and good bathroom design.
Yes, with kids menus and family rooms.
Only service dogs.
No, but has off-street parking. We were lucky to land a parking spot outside the door.
- The Hotel Examiner was a guest of Discover Northern Ireland
- themalonehotel.com
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