Upper Newtownards Rd, Belfast BT4 3LP
Formerly the home of Mr. Stanley McMaster, until Dr. Billy Hastings purchased the house and adjoining land for the sum of £40,000 back in 1964, it was originally built by Stanley’s father, who also developed a large area around nearby Summerhill, where he built bungalows and sold them for the princely sum of £250 each. The name McMaster is still retained today in the hotel, in McMaster’s Restaurant, with its modern decor. The hotel is one of the most luxurious in the city, with its 8 executive suites, 60 bedrooms, large function room and The Brasserie, a bistro-style restaurant designed round a charming brass fire. The Mezzanine lounge is an ideal place to rest awhile, and enjoy the delightful views over the fine landscaped grounds of Stormont Castle, the permanent Headquarters of the N.I. Secretary of State.
In the late sixties, when it was only a small hotel of 10 bedrooms, it was a popular watering-place for Parliamentarians and political journalists from the now defunct Stormont. They will tell you that there was as much discussion of the issues of the day in the bar of the hotel as there was in the more formal Parliamentary debating chamber. It is appropriate that Rowel Friers cartoons, lampooning the old Stormont MPs, adorn the walls of the present Cocktail Bar.