By Richard Buckley
There are hotels, as regular travellers will know, and there are hotels. The ones that do what it says on the tin, the ones that leave you disappointed, and the ones that surprise you by being better than you’d expected. Then there are the ones that never let you down, the ones that you look forward to returning to.
Take the case of the Bishop’s Gate Hotel right in the middle of Derry’s historic city centre. We’ve been there more than a couple of times and we’re always keen to come back for more.
Let’s face it, a good hotel should be able to do a few things well. Its rooms should be comfortable. In a climate like we have, cosy is even better. The food should be good, especially the breakfast, and the bar – given our fondness for the odd drink now and then – should be a haven of peace, comfort and good company.
Most of all, though, it’s the people who make a really good hotel. From reception to concierge, from the bar to the restaurant and on to those who make sure that your room is as you expect it to be.
Let’s start with the room, the basis of any good hotel. This time around, they treated us to a luxury room at the front of the hotel, with a couple of lovely bay windows overlooking Bishop Street, not a bad spot to see the fireworks going off to mark the end of the Maritime Festival down on the Foyle.
A big, ultra comfortable four-poster, plenty of space and a large well-equipped bathroom. As always, the place was peaceful, it was quiet and it was restful, whatever was going on down below our floor. And in the Bishop’s Gate, there’s usually quite a bit happening.
For Derry people, it’s more than a hotel for visitors. It’s something of a focal point for their city centre, a place to come for a bite to eat, a glass of bubbly, afternoon tea or a decent pint of Guinness.
We were there for a family celebration (which explains the fact that we’re regular visitors) and the function room dinner was first class. It’s also a heck of a function room. The Hervey Library is named after Bishop Frederick Hervey, who was Bishop of Derry back in the 18th century, while the Northern Counties Ballroom is definitely one of the more elegant meeting/function spaces in any hotel around the island.
Dinner is great and I’m sure lunch is pretty good too, but it’s the breakfast that sets the Bishop’s Gate apart. None of the tiresome breakfast buffet nonsense around these civilised parts, although you do help yourself to the healthy stuff like cereals, fresh fruit and juices.
The real breakfast – breakfast for real men and women – is ordered, as it should be, from a proper menu, cooked to order and delivered to your table. And it’s unfailingly excellent. If we found ourselves condemned to death in a US prison cell, our last meal might just be a Bishop’s Gate breakfast.
As for the bar, what’s not to like. Comfortable seats and booths, dim, cosy lighting, great pints of the black stuff and excellent bar staff. What could go wrong?
But, speaking of staff, that’s where the Bishop’s Gate comes into its own special realm. To a man and woman, they’re brilliant. From the receptionist who can’t seem to do enough to help, to the nice gentlemen who takes your car away and parks it, through to the bar staff, the waiting staff and the warm, friendly woman who served a shaky, hungover customer his favourite breakfast…..we salute you.
If you’ve never taken a Derry break, you’re missing out. Step out of the hotel and you’ve any number of bars and eating places to try. Derry’s Walls are right beside you, its a short stroll down to the waterfront and the Peace Bridge and the city – and its people – await.
If you’ve never been, it’s time to change that.
www.bishopsgatehotelderry.com