Individually styled bedrooms are a feature of our guesthouse accommodation, as is the elegant dining-room with its wood-panelled walls and fine Victorian and Edwardian furnishings. Each piece has been carefully selected for its individual beauty and uniqueness.
Laurel Villa’s Guest Rooms are called after some great Ulster poets:
Seamus Heaney, Patrick Kavanagh, Louis MacNeice and Michael Longley.
References to many other figures from Irish literature can be found throughout the house. Why not come and experience the literary theme for yourself. You will find that unlike other establishments, the links to Irish writers here are real and authentic.
Within your room:
- Free High-Speed WiFi (available throughout Laurel Villa)
- En-suite facilities in every bedroom
- Pressurised showers
- Hair-dryers in each bedroom
- Tea and Coffee making
- Double-glazing
- Black-out curtains
- Writing desk in each bedroom
- Luxurious beds and bedding
- Full good quality accessories toiletries in each bedroom
The Longley Bedroom (Double) on the first floor is named after the contemporary Belfast-born poet Michael Longley. He is known for his sharp observation of the natural world and for using classical allusions to illuminate contemporary concerns. A prominent feature in this room is the fabulous half-tester bed with its intricately carved mahogany ceiling piece. On the walls you’ll find a number of framed Longley poems and a lovely portrait of Longley by Neil Shawcross.
The Heaney Bedroom (Double) on the second floor is named after locally born poet and Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney (1939-2013). You can read more about him elsewhere on this website. Limited edition Heaney poems cover the walls, plus a full length portrait of Seamus Heaney by Neil Shawcross. The super king-size bed and some very special features make this a very popular room.
The Kavanagh Bedroom (Double) on the first floor is named after Monaghan-born poet Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967), one of the most celebrated of Irish poets. He is known for his poems about the everyday and commonplace in rural Ireland. This is a cosy room with a double bed and en-suite facilities. It has a stunning antique headboard of burr walnut and art pieces that include a French Art Deco sculpture – Diana the Huntress – and a wonderful portrait of Patrick Kavanagh by Dublin based artist Tom Byrne. A number of framed Kavanagh poems pay homage to this writer.
The MacNeice Bedroom (Twin/Two Single Beds) on the first floor is named after the Belfast-born poet and BBC producer Louis MacNeice (1907-1963), one of the most important figures in literature during the twentieth century. In the 1930’s he was a member of the famous Oxford group of writers that included Auden and Spender, though he didn’t share their political ideology. As an Irishman in England he felt something of an outsider, and his imagination returned again and again to childhood fears and memories in Ulster. A number of MacNeice poems adorn the walls of this room, including Snow, perhaps his most famous poem. This is a large, airy room with comfortable easy chairs, some beautiful period features and good en-suite facilities.
