I had a very pleasant surprise this weekend, as a friend had booked us into the 5 star Culloden Estate and Spa on Sunday night. A further surprise was in store when we checked in and found that we had been given the gorgeous Blackwood Suite – a set of four rooms directly above the hotel’s main entrance which on one side overlooks the grounds and on the other has a commanding view of the Belfast Lough. The suite even includes an additional guest bathroom, that I’m sure comes in useful when it is occupied by the Hollywood stars, politicians and musicians that usually stay at the hotel when they’re visiting the city!
The Estate sits a few miles outside Belfast in Cultra, just across the road from the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and, for those of us who are environmentally conscious, can be easily accessed by train as the local railway station is only five minutes walk away. It started life as the private home of a local MP in the 1870s, and first saw life as a hotel in the early 1960s, and has been part of the Hastings group since 1967. Since then the main building has been supplemented by two extensions, one of which contains the Spa and the other, which is brand new, contains the Stuart Suite where conferences and weddings are held. Altogether the hotel offers 105 bedroom suites and 11 self-catering apartments.
In the evening we opted to go ever so slightly down-market for dinner so, rather than eating in the opulent Mitre Restaurant we went down to the Cultra Inn, a gastro-pub that sits in the hotel’s grounds. After a very pleasant meal that included mussels and chowder we repaired to the rather quirky hotel bar, once the chapel, for some exotic cocktails.
Of course we couldn’t complete our stay without visiting the Spa, so in the morning we went down to indulge ourselves. The Spa has a very large circular pool at its centre, a huge gym, treatment rooms where you can get anything from an indian head massage to an opportunity to balance your chakra with hot stones (!), a juice bar and it also has a steam room and a small jacuzzi. It doesn’t, however, have a sauna which seems a strange omission…
The Culloden is definitely going to be my hotel of choice for a bit of luxury when I’m in Belfast, although I think a more modest room might be more appropriate next time. Altogether I had an absolutely fantastic experience here.
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| From Culloden Estate & Spa May 2010 |
About Pete Stean
