Belfast; Titanic Hotel

by Veronica

The new Titanic Hotel stands next door to the magnificent "Titanic, Belfast". I popped in for coffee yesterday during my visit. It is a gem and there are Titanic artefacts to see.

Standing in the Titanic Quarter at Belfast, a Titanic themed hotel is a good idea. As of today November 25th 2017, this new hotel has been opened only a few weeks. The hotel stands literally next door to the Belfast Titanic museum. Belfast is the birthplace of Titanic.

The hotel is beautiful inside and contains many ideas and tributes to the doomed ship. It was our first stop when we flew in to Belfast. The hotel has been redeveloped from the old Drawing Offices of Titanic ship builder Harland and Wolff at the docks.

We were shown around by a wonderful doorman named William who is a credit to the hotel and a real Irish gentleman. He was dressed in traditional dock workers outer wear of cap and coat.

The links to the Titanic were quite moving and we felt very privileged to be there.

model of Titanic
model of Titanic

The Titanic

A model of the doomed liner is in the bar which was one of the original Harland and Wolff design offices. Photos are difficult to take in there with a phone because there is maximum use of light because the designers needed it to work.

Below you can see how light the offices were - all those windows and light!

The old design office is now a bar
The old design office is now a bar

An elegant interior

Many elegant features have been retained in the new hotel

The tiles and stairs
The tiles and stairs

The bottom of the Atlantic

During the renovations some very old tiles were found in the basement. These tiles were proved to be the left overs from the same tiles as were used in Titanic. The only other tiles like these are sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on the wreck of Titanic.

The floor tiles on the left are the same as the men's smoking room on Titanic and the tiles on the right here are used in the bar area of the new hotel. The others in the batch were used on Titanic.

Imagine these Titanic tiles sitting in the basement of a derelict building for a hundred years!

floor tiles on Titanic
floor tiles on Titanic
Titanic tiles
Titanic tiles

The bar area

The bar area is graced with these elegant lamp shades, copies of lamps of Titanic.

Edwardian style light shades
Edwardian style light shades

The workers

The workers would queue up from dawn to get day-work at Harland and Wolff . If they weren't there by 6 45 am they would get no work for the day and hence no money for their families.

These were the entrances- the green wrought iron for workers and the elegant wooden door and revolving door at the front for owners and managers.

Workers' entrance
Workers' entrance
managers' entrance
managers' entrance

The telegraph office

Completely in tact, the telegraph office has been retained from the old drawing office into the new hotel. It is now a sitting room.

This telegraph office is the very place where the telegraph came through to say that Titanic was sinking and then had sunk. It was rather moving to stand in there 115 years on. The sinking of Titanic was like a personal bereavement for Belfast. Many of the workers on board were from Belfast as they had been hired to sort out any maintenance problems on the maiden voyage. They were killed.

 

Note in the picture  below the little hatch and also the design on the windows. This glass has been retained all over the new hotel.

News of Titanic's fate was delevered here.

I stood in here where the telegraph was delivered.
I stood in here where the telegraph was delivered.

To conclude

Although there are many hotels worldwide named after Titanic and linked to Titanic, this new hotel in Belfast Titanic Quarter really has links to the ship. It is in the building of the ship builders, it has some artefacts that would have been in the ship and the telegraph office has been retained. If you are interested in Titanic, then this must be the place to visit if you are in Belfast.

Updated: 11/26/2017, Veronica
 
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Veronica on 05/11/2022

Ty. That is very interesting and helpful information.
No offence to our lovely American friends on here, but I could not drink those coffees you detail.

DerdriuMarriner on 05/06/2022

Thanks, Veronica.

It's looking like internet sources agree to disagree but predominantly agree on 1.5 ounces (44 milliliters) as the liquid measurement of a shot.

Chai latte is a Starbucks product that makes black concentrated tea in milk boiled with spices such as cinnamon and cloves and with a shot of espresso coffee added.

It seems to be quite popular here so I thought I might try to make it myself and, if it turns out ;-D then I'll know why it has its appeal. If it doesn't turn out -- since I have on hand coffee grounds, milk, spices and tea -- then I won't have bought something that I'll wish I hadn't.

Espresso coffee may be made with a special coffeemaker. Starbucks sells espresso grounds among its other bagged products that you measure into the filter basket for the water to pour into and through to the beaker of the coffeemaker.

Veronica on 05/06/2022

Hi
I am sorry to come late to this but I had not seen it and I do apologise.

Unfortunately, I do not drink any coffee. I do not actually know what an espresso is at all or a chai latte. Therefore I cannot help. I would rather have plain water than a coffee of any variety.

DerdriuMarriner on 04/26/2022

Revisiting this wizzley and the wizzley A Nice Cup of Tea by your brother calls to mind something that I'm considering concerning tea and that I have some questions for you and your brother (I already asked him in the comments section of the above-mentioned wizzley).

Starbucks has a chai latte with a shot of espresso. I'd like to try a homemade version of boiled milk with chai (black, green or some other tea?) and a shot of espresso.

How much would you interpret a shot as in liquid measurement? And what would you use for spices (Starbucks uses cinnamon, cloves and unspecified "other" spices)?

Veronica on 02/08/2018

The tiles in the bar have been locked away in boxes for over 00 years and hadn't seen the light. The only others like these are at the bottom of the Atlantic. It was very moving emotionally .

DerdriuMarriner on 02/07/2018

Veronica, As always, thank you for sharing you and your family's tour of the Belfast Titanic Hotel. The choice of tiles for the bar on the ship is interesting since I'd expect the paleness over time -- if there'd been more time -- to be compromised by foot traffic, furniture movement and ship equipment. Where were the ship servants located and lodged?

frankbeswick on 11/27/2017

Yes, she opposed the corn laws.

Veronica on 11/26/2017

Good grief yes it certainly is. Please note that Queen Victoria gave generously to the appeal for money to help the Irish.

frankbeswick on 11/26/2017

The famine is worth a separate article.

Veronica on 11/26/2017

Frank
Yes indeed. But the third class passengers were locked in down below and had to fight to get out. I think the shock element was there too.
In a family such as ours, down to earth, practical, fast thinking...we would have done what you say... but not everyone is like we are. We'd have got tables and all sorts because we are that sort of family.

To make a sideways move....similarly the Irish famine... Ireland is teaming with wild fruit along the lanes.....pears, apples, .blackberries hanging by the roadside ,plus wild garlic.. wild salmon, eels.... But many people starved to death because the potato crop failed and that is what they ate. We would have foraged.


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