The Most Luxurious Place to Stay In Northern Ireland

29.08.2023 - 19:43 / forbes.com

As any jaded traveler will tell you, there are some stays that are luxurious and a great experience, and there are others— albeit few and far between- that leave you blown away.

The Regency in Belfast, in Northern Ireland, falls into the camp of the latter. Simply put, my stay was unforgettable and the property ranks as one of my favorite accommodations ever.

To start, The Regency isn’t a traditional hotel by any means- it’s a collection of five residences. However, guests are pampered with all the amenities plus so much more that come with a high-end hotel stay.

Located in the heart of the city’s Queen’s Quarter, a sophisticated upscale neighborhood that’s a throwback to another era with its historic buildings, the property makes for a grand presence in front of the picturesque Crescent Gardens.

It’s situated in two Georgian townhouses that date to 1846. The owners, husband and wife Anthony and Andrea Kieran, bought the properties and embarked on a restoration journey to bring them back to their former glory but also invested in making them suitable to today’s traveler. That meant adding in basics like air conditioning and high speed internet.

The couple own the investment house Aurient. Anthony is Northern Irish, and Andrea is American. She was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Virginia and has a heavy hand in The Regency’s inimitable design that’s a seamless juxtaposition of historic and contemporary. In fact, every residence is furnished with interiors, furniture and antique accessories from local companies and heritage sources.

I immediately wanted to replicate the style for my apartment back in New York.

“The Regency was a true labor of love,” Andrea told me. “Reinstating these buildings authentically and sympathetically to maximize their rich history, heritage and beauty was our guiding principle – embracing their stunning features from a bygone era while carefully blending antiques from the period with modern, luxurious design. We spared no expense to ensure that our transformation of The Regency would epitomize our aim – historical elegance reborn.”

Their aim with the property, Andrea says, is to create a new level of luxury and service in historic accommodation that turns heads. “We know that today’s experienced, discernible traveler doesn’t want to stay in soulless mega-hotels with rows and rows of identical rooms,” she says. “They want sophistication, luxury, boutique style in a place that has a story to tell and which feels warm, welcoming and discreet the moment you arrive – just like home.”

Based on my personal experience, I can definitely you that The Regency did feel like coming home— not to my often messy abode with two school-aged children but to the home of a close friend with