Belfast Castle

Nice historical spot to see but there isn't much of the building you can actually see. You can go in 3 rooms on the main floor and there is a cafe on the lower floor but none of the other 5 floors is accessible. The view of Belfast from the castle gardens is amazing.

I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see the castle unless you also want to walk around the park.

So so glad that I was able to visit the castle. The views and the garden stole the show. It's a 4 story castle but only the second and third floors are accessible to the public. This castle also doubles as a venue for various events.
The cafe which is located on the ground level has light options such as coffees/teas and sandwiches. The coffee smelled as good as it tasted.
Now the garden is breathtaking with a fountain in the center. Along the garden paths are seating areas. You can view the mountains and all of Belfast from the garden.
I wasn't impressed with the inside of the castle. It was very empty and not a single sign of any historical information. I saw some staff around the grounds, but tours were not offered. I would have loved to learn more about this castle but was grateful for the views.

This review is for anyone thinking of having their wedding at Belfast Castle, and using one of their suggested catering companies - 'Craft Event Co.'

I'll start by saying that this review was on Tripadvisor, was longer and contained some praise. Praise has been removed as I believe Craft Event Co had my review removed. Yelp requires shorter reviews, so too bad!

Most of the negative experiences happened in the months leading up to the wedding. There was one major problem on the wedding day itself that really disappointed everyone.

The first speech of the evening was my Dad. He's not a natural public speaker, but put a great deal of work in to write a humorous and heartfelt speech. He takes the microphone but there's a problem - it keeps cutting out. As he's in the flow of the speech we don't want to interrupt him, but the majority of guests can't hear.

A friend noticed the problem and rushed out to find the Craft Event Co manager. By the time she arrived, it was too late. His speech was over and the mic is being handed to me.

She shouts across at me to point the mic toward the receiver in the corner of the room, which did work. This infuriated me because:

1: The fact she knew immediately how to fix this issue means she was aware of it, but didn't take appropriate steps to fix it or test the mic ahead of time.

2 - Everyone else had to give their speeches with their heads pointed at an awkward angle towards the corner of the room. This further affected the delivery and our ability to glance at our notes.

3 - Worst of all, my Dad was robbed of his moment in the limelight. There'll never be a chance to give this speech again.

It's ludicrous that the Castle did not have a functioning mic, and that they were likely aware of the problem but did nothing to fix it. My advice to the castle and caterers: check and double check the mic! Wedding speeches are a momentous event in people's lives, and often the only time they'll ever speak in public. Don't ruin their big moment.

Communication was terrible in the months leading up to the wedding. We also had to deal with some downright dishonesty. This is mainly involving Craft Event Co.

We seemed to constantly be assigned different staff members to look after us. We'd get a copy/pasted e-mail from person A, I'd write a big reply, and then person B would get in touch with the same copy and pasted e-mail asking for info. I finally get a phone call with person C, then she stops answering her phone when I try to follow up. I find out months later she's no longer with the company.

We were initially sent a menu that had prices on it. This was perfect to help us budget the entire day. Our wedding was delayed, so they sent us a new menu. Great - except this menu had no prices. I'm getting frustrated so I reach out to the Castle who follow up with Craft Events.

I'm contacted by a guy named Zsolt.

He explains he's a consultant who has been brought in to help Craft Event Co. He infers that they've been undergoing some problems and that he's been contracted to assist.

Fantastic: he's on the ball with replying to e-mails, setting up phone calls and helping with scheduling the day.

The problem? New fees amounting to hundreds of pounds start showing up on our invoice. Suddenly there's a 'kitchen hire fee.' Also added was a fee to have a bar, and a fee to have beers on draft! These fees were NEVER mentioned to us by anyone when booking. Already dealing with the stress of planning a wedding, now I have to sort out these fees. Zsolt says we need to talk to the castle about getting these fees removed. He positions himself very much as a 3rd party between Craft Event Co and Belfast Castle.

He apologises profusely and says it's the castle charging us these fees. The cost of the meal itself has also skyrocketed. The new process for determining the cost is a total pain. In short, "tell us what you want on the menu and we'll tell you what it costs." This leads to a lot of needless back and forth as you try to work out how to stay in your budget.

A few weeks before the wedding we finally get it resolved. "Thank goodness for Zsolt," I think to myself. "It's great they got a consultant to come in and fix this mess!"

Well...after the wedding I take a look at the Craft Event Co website. I didn't notice it before, but guess who is listed as a FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY?

You guessed it - our old pal Zsolt.

Despite the fact he got the wedding over the finish line, I was extremely disappointed at this dishonesty and cowardly way of facing his company's failures. If he had said, "I started this company, I'm so sorry for all these problems, and I want to make it right," I probably wouldn't be writing this review. Instead, on our phone calls he was say things like 'I'll talk to Craft about this,' and very much portrayed himself as an outsider of the company.

If he was dishonest about that, how can you trust the integrity of the company as a whole?

As much as I would like to give more stars it's impossible, this is not a tourist attraction, it's an event center and on the day we went there was an event and you see the small gardens which takes about 30 minutes, there is no fee so that's a plus but when you want to see a castle and you get a banquet hall my wife was pretty disappointed.
As is everyplace we've been in ireland everyone was very nice, but pretty much of a waste to visit unless there is actually something to tour.

This review is technically for the trail that starts BEHIND the Belfast Castle, although the castle itself is beautiful and should be seen! (Why isn't this trail on all the "Best Things to Do in Belfast" lists?)

Bring your good hiking shoes (and maybe a poncho if rain clouds loom) and take on the hiking trail that's located behind the castle. When we were there, we had to walk beyond a big gate (that led to a car park) to find the trail head. There are three routes to take, and the most scenic one (IMO) is the Cave Hill Trail, which apparently takes over 3 hours.

I wasn't outfitted properly, (had no idea I'd be going hiking that day, so I was essentially in ballet flats!) so I wasn't able to go to the top of Napoleon's Nose/Cave Hill, but we did make it to the foothills, and the view over Belfast was COMPLETELY worth it! I only wish I had more time to go back and properly take on the full trail.

I've been in the castle grounds a few times now but only ever been in the castle itself twice. The first time was at a work Christmas dinner about 7 years ago. I can remember the food was delicious and it was great night.

Last Friday night when we were walking the dog we ended up stopping for a drink in the castle grounds. It was a lovely Friday evening and the sun shone done on the castle grounds. It's grounds are really well kept and the views are outstanding.

I noticed that Belfast Castle serves afternoon tea and I would definitely like to try it out. Belfast castle gets a full five stars from me.

Belfast castle is just lovely isn't it, that beautiful grand big castle surrounded by beautiful woodland parks and greenery , the castle boasts a wonderful view of belfast and beyond. Great park woodland areas to for a walk or a jog or cycle. There is a top notch restaurant in the castle which unfortunately I've never tried yet but I hope to soon, there is a seating area outside the castle in the blooming cat garden , great to get a drink from the restaurant and sit back and enjoy that view especially on a sunny day.
Belfast castle is a great venue to get married . Lovely big majestic rooms and a big beautiful winding staircase to walk down. The castle also hire out rooms for other events birthdays etc. Catering can be provided by the castle. I love the castle its great for a look around , inside the castle there is also the castle history section , very interesting.

We got married here as it cost the same as the city hall and we had our reception elsewhere but they can provide a reception room and catering. It made a great place for wedding photos and they even put down a red carpet for my wife on the day, it felt strange walking down it afterwards with a bus load of tourists looking at us but it added a bit more fun to the day. Its a great wedding and function venue with fantastic grounds, walks and views over Belfast and you can have a walk around inside when there isn't a wedding in progress. The registrar did say "do you take this man to be your wife?" Making everyone laugh but it eased the nerves at the time.
Great walks up to cave hill too

Belfast Castle and it's grounds are utterly incredible - The Castle itself sits on it's throne at the top of Cave Hill keeping a watchful eye over Belfast City. The architecture and the gardens are some of the most opulent I have ever seen. Spiral staircases and grand arced doors make Belfast Castle a photographers dream. The gardens are kept beautifully and if you're a cat fan you'll like the theme running though the grounds. There's a beautiful fountain as the centerpiece of the grounds - on a summers day when the fountain spits water in to the air this creates a rainbow haze that basks Belfast in a multicolour blanket - get your camera at the ready!

This review is really for the grounds and garden of the Castle as unfortunately I visited on an evening and they were shutting up shop. The grounds are free to access. I've been meaning to go back to visit the Café during the day but I am waiting until the sun has his hat on because I think when the big fiery ball in the sky is shining on Belfast Castle it is at it's most stunning.

After our stroll around the Castle gardens we popped in for some ice cream for the kids in the Cafe downstairs. A quaint place and well done up. Ice cream was delicious and creamy, we all loved it!!