23 Stories: 21 – Raising a toast to Billy!
Lady Joy launches the Sir William Hastings Suite.
It is perhaps the most opulent of all hotel suites in Northern Ireland and Lady Joy Hastings paid tribute to her late husband of 57 years, Sir William Hastings or Billy as he was universally known, while officially launching the room on the 21st floor of the Grand Central Hotel.
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph Lady Joy spoke fondly of her life with Sir William and of her sadness that her husband had passed away without seeing his dream 300-bedroom flagship become a reality.
Sir William was a regular visitor to the hotel during the design and construction, even when he was confined to a wheelchair it didn’t stop him from inspecting the work and giving his thoughts.
On Sir William’s vision for the Grand Central Hotel, Lady Hastings said;
“Billy saw the potential in the old-22-storey Windsor House here in Bedford Street and he knew it could be transformed into a top-class hotel. He had great foresight about a lot of things. It was the same with one of his earliest hotels, the Stormont in east Belfast.”
Reviving the name of the former Grand Central Hotel was also Sir William’s idea. According to Lady Hastings, he believed the Grand Central was the best hotel in Belfast before it became an Army base during the Troubles. He was impressed with the standard and quality of the old Grand Central and wanted to replicate these standards in the new hotel.
The Sir William Suite is a fitting tribute to Billy and covers a floor space of 829 ft2 and has a spacious bedroom, separate living and dining areas and offers guests the most dramatic of The Grand Central’s views. The suite is furnished with a super king size Cloud Bed. Should you choose, its interconnecting room can accommodate two more guests in pure luxury. There are two bathrooms and a dressing room adjoining the master bedroom. The dining area is equipped and includes a kitchenette and Nespresso coffee machine.
Raising a toast to her husband Lady Hastings said that Billy would have been thrilled to see the 2018 incarnation of the hotel.
For further information on the Sir William Hastings Suite at the Grand Central Hotel please contact us on 028 9023 1066 or visit here