Most of the hotel is just a very old building right kn the water front. You do get to go into a…read moreturret up a circular staircase. There is a nice walk along the ocean. Had the foresight to book dinner reservations given there is not much around there. The dinner dishes were a bit bland. Odd that they did not have the Red Malt Vinegar. They provide distilled white vinegar for the fish and chips. Server said it was "distilled malt vinegar." Service was very good in the restaurant and hotel otherwise. There is a Game of Thrones door leading into the restaurant.

We ate in the restaurant twice (walking through the very cool door that apparently appears in Game…read moreof Thrones), and it was actually very good. We had our tour finale dinner there, which was ordered off a pre-set menu, and it was very good. The next morning, we had a traditional Irish Breakfast buffet, and it was one of the better ones we had during our 13 days in Ireland. Service was also very good for both dinner and breakfast. Not sure what restaurants are around in Ballygally, but eating at the hotel turned out to be a convenient and good option.

Moored in the Lagan is The Belfast Barge, quiet and unassuming it doesn't blow its own trumpet but…read moreit really should. There are 3 elements to the Belfast Barge which was news to me when I visited last week. Much more than just a boat The Belfast Barge is a successful restaurant, a museum and an events venue. Next week they are hosting a comedy night in their events venue, which will be very cosy. The museum is full of maritime facts and history depicting Northern Irekand's ship building and boating heritage. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions. The restaurant is fully licensed and acts as a café bar during the day and at night live music and cabaret dominate the barge, the boat will literally be rocking!

A unique performance space. I have seen comedy performances and gigs here. It's holds a lot of…read morepeople and worth going to if you get a chance #Comedy #Music

Located in the idyllic setting of the Kiltonga Nature reserve Kiltonga Hall has recently been…read moreadvertised as the perfect place to get married or have a baby naming ceremony by Ards Borough Council. The building is a 200 hundred year old stone structure is small and intimate that is a venue registered to host weddings the venue itself seats around 60 people. It can be booked as a traditional church or a registry office. Kiltonga is close to Newtownards and within driving distance form Bangor. With great accommodation in the area including Bed and Breakfasts and Hotels Kiltonga would not only provide a picture perfect day but also a convenient day for all your guests. The facilities in Kiltonga Hall include disabled access, toilet facilities and electrical points. The cost to hire Kiltonga Hall is £380 with a £50 deposit to be paid at least 6 months in advance. In my opinion this is a bargain as the grounds and hall are sure to make your special day a perfect day.

What can I say about this place? I had my wedding here and…read moreit was the best venue we could have possibly chosen. I know that wedding venues need to be personal to the couple in question, and everyone's needs are different, but Larchfield was fantastic as a venue for us. The quaint walled gardens and the incredibly romantic private lake and forests where you can have your pictures taken, as well as the rustic, charming barn was just perfect for us. The barn is a little plain by daylight, but if you get talented event designers in, the place can really become a fairly land. They have three main rooms in the barn, one large function room, a bar area and a dance floor area, as well as an attached marquee. We were lucky with the weather, and had our cocktails on the lawn - it made things really special. The staff and owners of Larchfield were incredibly accommodating and helpful and made our day totally perfect. I think anyone who is looking somewhere a little different for their wedding should look here. I want to go back there and do it all again! P.S - The venue is really not appropriate for young children or toddlers.

From the owner: Larchfield Estate is set in privately located grounds just outside of Lisburn, Co. Down and offers…read morethe most idyllic setting for your wedding day, corporate away day or special event. With a mix of conference facilities, accommodation and of course our extensive landscaped grounds which includes our luxury barn, orangery and picturesque courtyard we can cater to all your event needs in style.

UPDATE TO REVIEW The caterer for Malone House changed in…read moreOctober 2016. I was at the venue recently (2017) and was appalled. The food was, to me, canteen food, and mediocre canteen food at that. I am convinced that the chips were frozen chips of the cheapest variety. And if you had have seen the scampi - half of the scampi had a light-coloured coating/batter, and the other half was very dark! It was so unusual to look at. It looked like half of the scampi had been fried more than once. What was even more disturbing is that this was the case on two separate plates of scampi! I got the impression that a surplus portion of scampi was lying around and, so as not to waste it, it was fried again later. But to mix such a dark-coloured scampi with light-coloured scampi was a bizarre idea. If you think that going to a grand house and estate means you'll be having a grand meal, you will be tragically disappointed. And why, you may wonder, did this canteen-food company end up with a contract that another company had had for 27 years? Upon investigation, it seems that Belfast City Council's tender for the catering required that applicants for the contract had to have a turnover of £5 million. Never mind the quality of food you're serving, or gathering customer feedback/reviews for the applicants - if your turnover isn't £5 million, you're out. I doubt very much that Belfast City Council cares about any of this: they presumably have the attitude that someone will always want the contracts, so who cares about the quality (or distinct lack thereof) of food being dished out? As far as I can tell, the catering company who 'won' the contract, Amadeus, are also supplying the catering at a restaurant in Belfast Castle, and a café at Lady Dixon Park: two places I will also now be avoiding, lest I end up with multi-coloured scampi and a plate of chips from Iceland (the retailer, that is). INITIAL REVIEW Malone House is set in the beautiful grounds of Barnett's Demesne. Frustratingly, Malone House doesn't serve food after 5p.m., which is of no use to the working population. I was there recently for an event one evening and, while the grounds are well maintained and the house has been lovingly restored and modernised, I found it to be a bit of an annoying venue. The buffet that was served was OK - it's hard to go wrong with sandwiches and cocktail sausages - but the room that the event was in didn't have a bar. You have to come out of that room and go across the hall to the next room, which I thought was a bit odd. It's not like you have to go across the road or anything, it was just a bit of an inconvenience. The room with the bar is quite small, and felt a bit cramped, with the bar awkwardly tucked away in the corner. It had a decent selection of bottled drinks but only had Heineken and Guinness on draught, which is a woefully inadequate selection. I know it's not a pub, but if you're going to host events/parties in the evening, an effort should be made to provide a decent selection of draught beers. Heineken must be one of the least popular draught beers that's available in Belfast, although it doesn't taste as bad as Tennent's (see my Whitefort review). I've heard it said that many services that are run by a local council will operate inefficiently, and it's difficult to argue with that line of thinking when a venue doesn't serve diners after 5p.m., only offers two types of draught beer, and requires you to go from one room to another to get it. Nonetheless, I look forward to the day that I have the free time to sample the food there, but it's not a venue I'd advise anyone to use to host an event, unless it's a teetotal walking society of some description.

Spring Fair. We visited on thr 24th April for the hostibg of the Spring Fair organised by the…read moreBelfast City Council. It was an amazing family event with lots of entertainment and activities for all ages. Live music, crafts, may pole dancing, a flower show and a little petting zoo. Besides buying snacks and drinks everything was free. Beautiful grounds to walk around.

This is quite an interesting venue. It has so many applications... rehearsal space, offices, cafe,…read moremusic venue, gallery and music museum. It is great that it exists and that Belfast has stuck its neck out and is trying to make the music center work. Its not really a place that you can just go into and hang out, unlike the Black Box where you can just go into anytime and it not be unusual.... It is now looking the part after having a couple of years of being renovated in stages. I think it serves its purpose pretty well as it is just a new venture and is making baby steps to have more of a presence in the local scene.

The Oh Yeah Centre is the brain child/labour of love of Stuart Bailie, former editor of the NME…read more Based in the former home of Oh Yeah Records, a punk label from the 1980s, the centre provides a home for local music. Their main aim is to help support and promote the local music industry and they do that pretty well. The range of activities and events it stages is vast. There are gigs, obviously, some of which are aimed at under 18s (something Belfast sorely needed), rehearsal rooms for hire for bands who need space and equipment, a cafe and space for kids to come in, listen to music and hang out, and their crown jewel - the music exhibition. The exhibition basically charts Northern Ireland music from its traditional roots, to modern heroes like Snow Patrol (say what you like about them, at least they're flying the flag!). Recently, the whole thing was expanded and now features video confessionals from civilians like you and me, recounting their favourite gigs, lyrics, Northern Irish bands and so on. The building is also home to small businesses as well, such as Start Together Studios and Small Town America Records - both of which are success stories in their own right and would find it difficult to get city centre premises otherwise. The exhibition is free and open to the public every day except Sunday, so if you have even a passing interest in anything musical, I'd give it a whirl.