A new sustainable ‘hometel’, courtesy of an award winning eco-friendly real estate firm, has opened in Belfast — marketed as the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.
The Room2 hometel brand has now come to Belfast, and opened on Monday, October 16 in Queen Street. The Room2 brand, which says it “places people and planet at its heart”, is the brainchild of the Lamington Group, an eco-conscious real estate company.
The group hold two eco-conscious awards, including a gold rating in the Green Tourism Awards and a Platinum holder in the Greengage ECOsmart Accreditation.
The firm currently has three other locations in England, with Chiswick — the world’s first net-zero hotel — another one in Southampton, and Hammersmith Townhouse, branded as a ‘scaled-back version’ of their hometels.
The grand opening in Belfast marks a first for the company. With many more sites in development, the new branch in the city is the first of its kind to be opened outside of England.
The hometel features 175 rooms and nine floors. Guests can avail of their café, bar, lounge, tearoom and gym, alongside a number of event spaces. In their efforts to reach net-zero, the venue is powered entirely by electricity, sourced by renewable means.
With their core theme of “people and planet”, several amenities have been crafted by recycled objects.
Working with the start-up brand Spared, they aim to eliminate waste in the hotel industry. For example, the reception desk is made from old soap bottles from the Chiswick branch, the café bar is from recycled glass and the carpets are crafted from re-purposed fishing nets.
Taking pride in local talent, room2 features the work of a number of eco-conscious artists. This includes Jamie Beard, a Northern Irish illustrator whose pieces can be found in the bedroom wardrobes.
For the 350 wall lights lining their guest rooms, the hometel group partnered with local lighting company, Mullan.
With the recently launched Winnie’s Café & Bar, guests will be served a menu sourced from local producers and seasonal ingredients. This includes a hot buffet and à la cart breakfast, along with an all-day dining menu from 10am to 10pm. The staff also check the carbon footprint of all dishes.
Keeping in with the green theme, their drinks menu has zero-waste cocktails, including the Irish Negroni and Espresso Martini, made from the hometel’s own ground coffee.
With many of their employees hailing from the city, room2 will also champion local talent for entertainment — with a lively schedule of open-mic nights and art shows with up-and-coming talent.
With the opening of their new branch, CEO of Lamington Group Robert Godwin said they are keen to bring the room2 experience to those outside of England. “We are so excited to open our first property outside of England and expand into the lively city of Belfast, bringing our unique hometel experience to a new location. Belfast has been so welcoming to us, and we are thrilled to make strong connections in the community through employing local staff who know the city inside out,” he said.
“Through working with home-grown talent and suppliers we aim to support the local economy whilst also inspiring both guests and residents to live in an environmentally conscious way.”
With prices for double rooms starting from £130 per night, guests can avail of mattress menus, 24-hour stays with a 2pm check in and 2pm check out, as well as laundry rooms and co-working areas.
The hometel is now available for stays and bookings.
Source: Belfast Telegraph (link opens in new window)