The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Brian Ballard Room photo #2
The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Brian Ballard Room photo #0

The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Brian Ballard Room

Location pin

The Merchant Hotel, 16 Skipper Street, Belfast, BT1 2DZ - 

  • Credit card

    From
    £200 min spend

  • Users

    Up to
    30 guests

  • Table with chairs

    Offers
    catering

  • Delivery truck

    Internal Catering
    allowed

The Merchant hotel is the only AA five Red Star hotel in Northern Ireland situated in the heart of Belfast city centre's historic Cathedral Quarter. 62 highly apointed rooms with a harmonious blend of Victorian grandeur and Art Deco inspired sleek modernity. Formerly the Head Quarters of the Ulster Bank which dates back to 1860, this part Grade A listed property was sensitively resorted to its original splendour and is quite unlike anything in Belfast with a multitude of exciting amenities. The Event Space at The Merchant hotel was built in 2010 offering a range of spaces, from our 16 person boardroom, ideal for smaller meetings or private dining; right through to our Rita Duffy suite, perfect for conferences, dinners for up to 200 people. We also have a beautifully landscaped Absolut Roof Garden, decorated seasonally with a striking and inventive theme. Our Roof Garden is unique to the city and is available all year for private events, catering for up to 70 guests.

The Brian Ballard Room and its counterpart the Jonathan Aiken Room are ideal for breakfast meetings, lunch and dinner parties, meetings, drinks receptions, or as a breakout room with the main conference plenary taking place in the Rita Duffy Suite.
FEATURES INCLUDE
•50” Plasma screen
•Colour psychology lighting system
•Intelligent air purification system
•Stationery items tool box
•Fridges with soft drinks and water
•Natural daylight
•Cloakroom

Capacity & layout

Dining

Dining

up to 30

Theatre

Theatre

up to 30

Boardroom

Boardroom

up to 20

Cabaret

Cabaret

up to 24

Classroom

Classroom

up to 18

Pricing
& opening hours

Weekly schedule
  • monday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • tuesday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • wednesday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • thursday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • friday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • saturday

    0:00 - 24:00

  • sunday

    0:00 - 24:00

Price type:
  • from £400 per day

  • from £400 per day

  • from £400 per day

  • from £400 per day

  • from £400 per day

  • from £400 per day

  • from £400 per day

Catering & drinks

Catering arrangements

Catering arrangements

Catering facilities

Catering facilities

Refreshments

Refreshments

Alcohol

Alcohol

Amenities

Cloakroom

Cloakroom

Disabled access

Disabled access

Air conditioning

Air conditioning

Lectern

Lectern

Natural light

Natural light

Table / chairs included

Table / chairs included

Premises parking

Premises parking

Audio & visual

Whiteboards

Whiteboards

Sound system

Sound system

Microphone

Microphone

TV screen

TV screen

Flipchart

Flipchart

WiFi

WiFi

Space rules

Allowed events

alcoholLicense

Licensed for alcohol

Cancellation policy

50% refundable 30 days before the event

Location

Reviews

  • Michelle

    August 2024

    Went for birthday cocktails and dinner with my daughter last night. The bar staff were fantastic - very welcoming and appropriately attentive. A special big shout out to Jamal - who was just superb throughout the night. Coacktails were fantastic - and food was amazing

  • Suhas Thakral

    July 2024

    I went here for cocktails and this was a recommendation and I thanked the person who recommended me this place! Amazing selection of cocktails with a beautiful menu along with great service! Our server gave great recommendations and not just for the cocktails but for where to go later! I would recommend the pistachio cocktail (it another name in the menus) and it was one of the best cocktails I have had and I have had a lot! It was creamy and smooth and you can taste every element! And it was whisky based which is amazing as the whiskey flavour did not overpower!

  • Kristina Maheral

    July 2024

    I absolutely loved my stay at The Merchant. My mom flew in from Canada to celebrate my engagement and we stayed at The Merchant for a girls weekend. The staff were incredible and went above and beyond to make our stay special. I can't thank them enough. We had breakfast included, which was absolutely amazing with an incredible view in the great room. I will be recommending the hotel to all family and friends who visit Belfast in the near future. I really appreciate the exceptional service.

  • Gaynor Gordon

    July 2024

    Have dined in the Great Room on numerous occasions but was very disappointed by my visit at the weekend & feel I must leave a review. I never left a review a few months ago when my partner who is vegan was given a dish at a wedding and the staff member came & told him they had mixed it up & he had eaten dairy. (I felt I’d let that slide as the staff member made an unfortunate mistake & I thought I would give the merchant another chance). But unfortunately standards have slipped overall. We started with vegetarian afternoon tea. The Indian theme was rather disappointing. Curry flavoured egg sandwiches on dry bread with mango chutney on the side didn’t compliment tea & cakes very well at all. The chocolate cake was dry & by that point we were just put off and didn’t even try the other desserts so can’t comment on those. We ordered Prosecco - it was poured at the table from a bottle that had already been opened & mostly drank from - this didn’t feel very special at all. Nothing was cleared away when we were done & when we asked for the bill, we were told that it would come to the table. We waited & no one came back so we ended up leaving the table with everything still on it & going up to pay. After paying £113 for this experience we tried to cheer ourselves up & went to the cocktail bar - the cocktail menu has been reduced greatly in recent years & the prices have almost doubled. This used to be my favourite spot in the city but £20 for a glass which is mostly a block of ice simply isn’t worth it. All in all very disappointing.