An OldRectory

An Old Rectory occupies a Victorian house at 148 Malone Road, built in 1896 for the Reverend Richard Seaver, minister of nearby St John's Parish Church, to a design by his brother, the architect Henry Seaver. Mary Callan runs the four-star guesthouse, which sits in a conservation area of south Belfast within walking distance of Stranmillis and the university area. Breakfast is cooked to order by a Swiss-trained chef, whose spread won the Aga-Rayburn National Best Breakfast Award, and runs beyond the standard Ulster fry to more considered options. Rooms keep the house's Victorian proportions and cornicing rather than a stripped-back hotel finish, and guests arrange arrival times directly with the house by email rather than through a staffed reception desk. The guesthouse operates as a single property rather than part of a wider hotel group.