History of the Hotel

“I stayed at The Europa Hotel over a ten year period from 1973. It was inescapably the place to be – you had to be there to discover what was going on in the Province. It was the main meeting place for Politicians and their contacts. All major news stories broke from the Europa, and on more than one occasion the hotel itself was the headline story.” Trevor McDonald, ITN journalist

The Europa Hotel officially joined the stables of Hastings Hotels, the leading hotel group in Northern Ireland, on Tuesday 3rd August 1993. Dr WG Hastings described his attempts to purchase the hotel as “the longest running saga since Dallas.” It was immediately announced that the hotel would close for the first time in its 22 year history to allow for major refurbishment.

The hotel reopened following investment of 8 million in February 1994. The first official event was the Flax Trust Ball, a gala evening for 500 local and international dignitaries.

Since it’s rebirth in 1994 the Europa Hotel has gained a positive image worldwide. The most famous visitor to grace the hotel was undoubtedly President William Jefferson Clinton and the First Lady, Hillary Roddham Clinton on November 30th 1995. The couple’s visit to the hotel signified the confidence placed on Belfast’s flagship hotel and launched the profile of the Europa Hotel worldwide. In fact the bedroom suite in which the famous couple stayed was renamed the Clinton Suite. The hotel and its management team had the honour of welcoming the first Lady back to the Europa in 1998 and nowadays plays host to visiting Presidents and Prime Ministers, stars of stage and screen as well as international conference groups and leisure guests from far and wide.

A book on the history of the hotel is now on sale – please contact the Concierge.

Eddie McIlwaine, of the Belfast Telegraph wrote the following about the hotel in 2002.

“If you ever wanted to spot the latest celebrity in town the place to go was the Europa Hotel. Or If you wanted to find out the latest news then all you had to do was ask any one of the well known journalists who congregated there, among them Trevor, (now Sir) McDonald, Kate Aidie, Martin Bell, Gerald Seymour, Michael Nicholson and John Humphrys of BBC Radio 4's TODAY.

That was the case 30 Years ago when the place was just opening as a Grand Metropolitan house. And it is still the case today after 30 turbulent years mirroring the passing times in Northern Ireland, says Dr Billy Hastings who added the Europa to his Hastings Group in 1993 when it was in the doldrums. He had in fact come up with a substantial rescue package to revive the hotel when it was damaged by yet another terrorist bomb which also caused havoc at the Grand Opera House next door.

However, Hastings Hotels after this setback still came back with a revised offer to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society who were handling the deal. Dr Hastings had at last acquired the hotel which he admits to missing out on years before when it had been purchased by the Emerald Group. Several millions were poured into the restoration, rebuilding, refurbishing and modernisation by the Hastings Group to make the Europa, which had undergone a couple of name changes as well as different owners, glow again.

Today the Europa is still at the focal point of bustling city life and perhaps even more so as the centre of gravity in Belfast eases more and more towards what has become known as the Golden Mile and away from the traditional heartbeat of Royal Avenue.

The towering hotel is a landmark and a natural place for visitors to stay and there are plans to make it even more amenable in this important anniversary year, promises Dr Hastings who sees the Europa as a keystone of his empire.

He loves to talk about the late celebrated manager Harper Brown and the era of the Penthouse Poppets, the Whip and Saddle restaurant and the Paradise Lost Night Club.

"Harper was as charming to the humble delivery boy with the morning papers as he was to the VIP guest in the best suite," he says."James McGinn, presently General Manager of the Europa, is just as attentive!"

And there are VIPs in plenty still making their way in at the front door as they arrive in peacetime Belfast to attend political meetings, do business, appear on television programmes or perform at the Opera House next door.

Everyone knows about Bill Clinton's stay when the President came to town on his first high-profile visit. Since then actor Nigel Havers has been in residence - and the debate goes on as to who oozed the most charm Bill or Nigel. Another easy-to-talk to guest was the US President's representative George Mitchell.

Other celeb names who have passed a night or two at the Europa include actress Gemma Craven who was in a musical at the Grand Opera House, Emmerdale girl Lisa Riley, starring in pantomime next door, singer Paul Young who was at the Waterfront Hall, Darren Day who was starring at the Grand Opera House too, pop group Atomic Kitten, golfer Bob Charles, superstar singer Lionel Richie and actress Patricia Hodge.

Terry Wogan always stops over at the Europa when he's in town - it's handy for meetings and coffee with local journalists, he says. Football teams like Manchester United have been guests and so have most of Northern Ireland's homegrown politicians.

It's an extreme idea - but if the Europa came on the market today the bidding would start at around £35m. That's the casual estimate of Dr Hastings who forecasts a bright future.

It's a far cry on this site of a great hotel to the old days in the 50s when the old Ulster Transport authority had its Grosvenor Rooms here, noted for a reasonable lunch or an evening meal, but don't ask for a drink on a Sunday.

"Bill Craig who was Minister of Home Affairs in the old Stormont Government did much to relax the liquor laws and later Richard Needham eased them even more to suit hoteliers and travellers," reflects Dr Hastings.

And finally, a tailpiece fact that isn't generally known. There was a stage in the negotiations to put the Europa back on the map when the Hastings Hotel bid which was accepted saved the place from being turned into flats!