Hastings Grand Central Hotel Belfast

I'm in Bedford Street near the back of the Belfast City Hall. I'm standing opposite one of Belfast's finest and newest city centre hotels. This is the fabulous Belfast Central Hotel which opened under a year ago in June 2018. Grand Central Hotel was originally constructed as Windsor House (officially known as 9-15 Bedford Street), a 23-story, 80 m high-rise building on Bedford Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The building was the tallest storeyed building in Ireland before being surpassed by Obel Tower (also in Belfast) and stands at 85 metres (262 feet) tall, with 23 floors. Constructed in 1974 as an office building, Windsor House has a tall green elevator shaft and green side wall facade, as well as satellite and aerial masts, which stand a further seven metres in the air. The building was badly damaged in an IRA bombing in 1992. It was sold for £30m in 2006 to County Cavan building firm P Elliot. In March 2007 plans were made to convert the building into a block of flats. However, the conversion plans fell through. In May 2015, Hastings Hotel Group, an NI-based hospitality company, purchased the building for £6.5m. A planning application was submitted on 23 June 2015, proposing refurbishment, partial demolition and rebuilding, extension and change of use of Windsor House for a hotel (304 bedrooms) with associated restaurant and bar facilities (on ground to 15th floor) and 18 serviced hotel apartments on the 16 and the 17th floors; creation of new retail unit on ground floor overlooking Franklin Street; retention and refurbishment and extension of office use (25,000 ft2) on upper floors (18th to 22nd floor).[2] The planning application was approved 20 October 2015 and redevelopment work commenced in July 2016. Following a £30m refurbishment, the new hotel opened on 20 June 2018 as the Grand Central Hotel. ' Welcome to the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast Hastings Grand Central is more than a hotel. It’s an ode to a city. Standing tall in Bedford Street, this impressive jewel fuses glamour and grandeur with a uniquely Belfast spirit. Perfectly placed in Belfast City. Just as Belfast is at the heart of the Grand Central, the Grand Central is at the heart of Belfast. Set in the up and coming Linen Quarter, the hotel is a spectacular hub for exploring Titanic Quarter’s history or Cathedral Quarter’s charming cobbled streets, pubs and eateries. Theatre buffs, shopaholics and historians alike will all be spoiled for choice, with a host of options right on their doorstep. Conveniently located for all transport access, the Grand Central is perfectly placed for every city centre endeavour – from business to leisure and everything in between.' ' The Observatory The High Life To be stunned, go to our skyhigh 23rd floor. The Observatory is the Grand Central’s jewel. An awe-inspiring cocktail lounge with spectacular, unique views of Belfast and beyond. From pavement to panorama, this is the tallest bar in all of Ireland – and it makes for an extraordinary experience. The decadent décor combined with the stunning vistas make the inside feel intimate, and the outside infinite. It’s the eyes over the city that gives this bar its out-of-this-world air. The Grand Central is about showcasing the very best of Belfast, and the Observatory does that in high-definition.' Sir William Hastings 1928-2017 Died aged 89. Funeral St Anne's Cathedral I know like any other astute businessman that Hastings founder William Hastings was in it to make money but it was easily seen that he had a huge love for this wee place and his staff. We in Belfast owe him and his family a huge debt of gratitude for staying with us through all the bad years of the Troubles, particularly the relentless and savage IRA bombing campaign which saw the Belfast Europa crowned as most bombed hotel in Europe if not the world! Undefeated the word from William Hastings was 'Business as Usual!' The Grand Central Hotel opened in 2018 is another massive piece in the remarkable hotel dynasty jigsaw that he founded 50 long years ago.