Ramada Hotel puts Belfast on hospitality map

A new £15 million hotel has opened in Belfast which promises to place “Belfast firmly back onto the world hospitality map”.

The ambitious four-star Ramada Belfast, situated on Belfast’s Shaw Bridge, is a new luxury hotel campus from The Andras House Group that will incorporate 120 bedrooms, 1,000 seat function room, Paul Rankin’s Belfast Bar and Grill, the sophisticated Suburbia bar, and L.A. Fitness.

The new hotel complex, which will initially create up to 120 full and part time jobs, has been in construction for over 18 months and is the brainchild of Andras House Group Director Ramesh Rana.

Mr Rana said: “We believe that Belfast is now the most progressive city in Europe. This is due to the rapid pace of change and the dynamism of local people pulling together for a brighter future.

“However, this is just the start. The opening of the Ramada heralds the beginning of our vision to continue to attract major hotel chains to Northern Ireland.

“With all the negative PR Northern Ireland has received over the course of the past 30 years, it is a real credit to the entire hospitality industry that they have kept business alive.

“We believe that with continued peace and positive PR, Belfast’s front door will open wide for more growth potential.”

Adding to Belfast’s hotel facilities, and combined with the Waterfront and the Odyssey complex, the development is expected to boost any future bids to attract major conferences, which in the past have gone to larger cities able to offer more hotel beds and larger facilities than the Belfast area. (MB)