Titanic Belfast Hotel set to open this weekend

The much-anticipated new Titanic Hotel Belfast will open its doors to the public this Sunday, September 10, at noon.

After almost two years of restoration, construction and preservation of the former Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices and headquarters, the £28m hotel is ready to welcome its first guests.

Developer, Harcourt Developments, has appointed Adrian McNally, formerly of the Culloden Resort & Spa, as general manager of the new venue. Adrian will lead a team of 90 employees, including apprentices from Belfast Metropolitan College and students of Ulster University and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.

The entire building exudes the legacy of Belfast’s industrial heritage and all authentic spaces have been retained, including the telephone exchange, which received the first indication of Titanic tragic fate.

Other heritage spaces preserved include the board room, directors’ entrance and lobby and former directors’ offices.

The Drawing Offices stand prominently at the front of the hotel, one housing the hotel’s Harland Bar, and the other which will be the hotel’s ballroom and heritage experience. Drawing Office One will house a temporary six-week exhibition from opening, which tells the story of the conservation and construction of the buildings and hotel. Thereafter, daily tours will be on offer to showcase the heritage features here and throughout the hotel.

The 166-seater dining room, The Wolff Grill, with its own private dining area, is run by executive chef Nigel Mannion, and will serve-up first-class dishes made from the best locally-sourced ingredients.

John Doherty, creative director at Harcourt Developments says that the hotel will be “a hub of heritage and legacy” on Queen’s Island:

“To celebrate, the Queen’s Island Male Voice Choir will be performing in the Drawing Offices after we create a bit of theatre and fanfare when officially declaring the hotel open at noon on Sunday,” he revealed

And Kerrie Sweeney from the Titanic Foundation, says that the new hotel is a fitting traibute to what was once the largest shipyard in the world:

“As champions for the preservation of Belfast’s maritime heritage, it has been a privilege for Titanic Foundation to work on this incomparable restoration project, made possible with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and private investment from Harcourt Developments,” she added. “Titanic Hotel Belfast is a wonderful addition to Titanic Quarter, and even more for the tourist industry here to shout about.”

Now the most authentic hotel in the world to honour the majesty of the Titanic and Belfast’s shipbuilders, it boasts unparalleled 360 views of the Quarter, with the Harland and Wolff cranes to the east and Titanic Belfast and the slipways to the west.

Already at exceptionally high occupancy for its first week, all visitors to Titanic Quarter are invited to enjoy the opening celebrations and venture inside the Drawing Offices and heritage areas to view artefacts found throughout the building from Harland & Wolff.

Members of the public can also avail of guided tours throughout the building to explore the heritage areas and learn more about the conservation of the buildings.

Out picture shows the lobby at the plush new Titanic Belfast Hotel.