Let Yourself In, Whatever Time You Land
Your access code arrives the day before you travel, so the front door opens whenever your flight gets in. That one detail is what makes Prestashortstays work. It is a quiet, well-kept guest house set back behind a hedge on Holywood Road in Belmont, east Belfast, with free private parking on the drive, George Best Belfast City Airport five minutes away by car and Sydenham railway station six minutes on foot. There is no reception to catch and no key to collect.
Pick it for an early flight, a late arrival, or a practical night before a Titanic Quarter meeting. Rooms are clean, roomy and quiet, each with its own bathroom, and the bus at the end of the drive reaches the city centre in about fifteen minutes. Skip it if you want a cooked breakfast or a staffed desk.
What you get instead is a genuinely easy stay. The host is the part guests single out most often, described again and again as helpful and polite, and the practical things are all in place: free WiFi throughout, a shared lounge for reheating something at the end of a long day, and a drive that makes arriving by car painless in a city where parking is usually the headache. Prestashortstays works well for travellers who want a calm, low-effort Belfast base with parking, a train into town, and a door that opens on their schedule.
Simple, Roomy and Quiet, With Your Own Bathroom
Guests keep reaching for the same three words about the bedrooms: clean, spacious, quiet. They are unfussy rooms with cream walls, deep carpet and a warm walnut slatted wall behind the bed, and several have a pyramid skylight that pulls daylight straight down onto the floor. Every one is en-suite, and the shower rooms are the surprise: proper walk-in enclosures lined in grey marble-effect tile, with towels and toiletries left out for you.
Choice is what separates this from a single-room-type stopover. Two of the doubles suit a solo traveller or a couple who want a bed near the airport and nothing more. The Standard Triple adds a second bed for three people sharing, in one of the bigger rooms under a skylight. And then there is the Cottage, a self-contained two-bedroom bungalow with its own front door and its own kitchen, which is the one to book for a family, a small group, or a stay long enough that you would rather cook than eat out every night.
How a Day Here Actually Goes
Self-catering is the shape of the place, and it is set up properly for it. There is tea and coffee in the room, a microwave and a dining table in the shared lounge, and John Dory's chip shop, a convenience store and a Spar at the filling station are all within a ten-minute walk toward town. One recent guest with early starts every morning used that lounge to heat up an evening meal and called the whole arrangement convenient, which is about the size of it.
Evenings are quiet. Belmont is a residential stretch of big houses, hedges and mature trees, and guests regularly describe the stay as safe and calm. You are still only one train stop from Titanic Quarter and two from the middle of Belfast, so a night out is easy and getting back is easier. For an early departure the drive to the terminal takes about five minutes, and because the code is already in your phone you can leave at whatever hour the flight demands.
Why Book Prestashortstays?
This is at its best for anyone whose trip is built around the City Airport or the Bangor line: solo travellers, couples, and small groups who want the Cottage and its kitchen.
Arrive at any hour
The host sends your entry code the day before you travel, so a delayed flight or a 5am departure changes nothing about your booking.
Park for free, right outside
Free private parking on a marked forecourt, no reservation needed, which is rarer than it sounds this close to the city.
Two ways into town
Sydenham station is a six-minute walk and there is a bus stop at the end of the drive, so you can leave the car where it is.
A whole bungalow if you need it
The Cottage is a separate two-bedroom bungalow of about 51 square metres with a full kitchen, best for families and small groups.
Check Availability at Prestashortstays
- Free private parking on site, no reservation needed
- Self check-in, so any arrival hour works
- Private bathroom in every room
Interesting Points About Prestashortstays
- This is 383A, and it is a different business from the bed and breakfast at 383 next door. The two share a driveway, and listing sites merge them constantly, which is where the phantom room count, the breakfast menu and the wheelchair-accessible room you may have seen attributed here actually come from.
- The address is County Down, not County Antrim. Aggregator pages file BT4 under Antrim by reflex, but Holywood Road runs through the Down side of the Lagan, and the operator's own company registration lists Belfast, County Down.
- Check-in has no desk and no cut-off. The host sends your entry code the day before you travel, so a 23:00 arrival off a delayed City Airport flight is handled exactly like a 15:00 one, and no one has to wait up for you.
- The Cottage is not a room in the main house. It is a separate two-bedroom bungalow of roughly 51 square metres with its own front door, a full kitchen with a washing machine and dishwasher, and a children's high chair available.
- Sydenham station is one stop from Titanic Quarter and about six minutes from Lanyon Place, which makes the train quicker into the city than driving and then hunting for a parking space.
Rooms & Accommodation at Prestashortstays
Standard Double Room
Up to 2 guests · Double · 9.8 m²
The straightforward pick for one or two people who mainly need a good night before or after a flight. About 9.8 square metres, carpeted, with cream walls, a private bathroom, a seating area and a dining table, plus a fridge and kettle so you can put a meal together without leaving the room. Ask for a fan if you are travelling in high summer.
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Economy Double Room
Up to 2 guests · Double · 9.8 m²
Works well for a solo traveller or a couple who want daylight overhead: several of these sit under a pyramid skylight, with the walnut slatted wall behind the bed. Same footprint as the Standard Double, with a private bathroom, wardrobe, sofa and desk, streaming on the TV, and a microwave and fridge for whatever you bring back from the shops.
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Standard Triple Room
Up to 3 guests · Triple · 13 m²
Three people, one room, thirteen square metres and a skylight overhead: the sensible answer when a family of three or three colleagues want to stay together without paying for a second key. There is a private bathroom, a seating area and a dining table, and the extra floor space over the doubles is the reason to take it. Cots and extra beds are not available, so book the bed count you actually need.
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Cottage
Up to 4 guests · Entire bungalow · 51.1 m²
The reason to book here rather than a room: an entire two-bedroom bungalow of about 51 square metres with its own front door, one bedroom with twin singles and one with a double. The kitchen is a real one, with a stovetop, a dishwasher, a washing machine and kitchenware, so a family or a group of four can cook, do laundry and spread out. A children's high chair is available on request.
Check PricesAmenities and Facilities
In Your Room
- Free WiFi, rated the joint-strongest part of the stay by guests
- Flat-screen TV with a streaming service
- Tea and coffee maker, electric kettle and fridge
- Microwave in the room
- Seating area with a sofa, desk and dining table
- Wardrobe, clothes rack and socket beside the bed
- Heating, carpeted floors and soundproofing
- Air conditioning listed, though several summer guests found rooms warm
- Not available: Cots and extra beds
- Not available: Balcony rooms
Your Bathroom
- Private bathroom with every room, no shared facilities
- Walk-in shower or bath, depending on the room
- Free toiletries, towels and toilet paper
- Marble-effect tiling in the newer shower rooms
- Not available: Wheelchair-accessible bathroom
Food and Drink
- Shared lounge with a microwave and dining table
- Full private kitchen in the Cottage, with stovetop, dishwasher and kitchenware
- Chip shop, convenience store and a Spar within a ten-minute walk
- Not available: Breakfast
- Not available: Restaurant
- Not available: Bar
Parking and Transport
- Free private parking on site, no reservation needed
- Bus stop at the end of the drive
- Sydenham railway station a six-minute walk
- George Best Belfast City Airport a five-minute drive
- Stena Line ferry terminal 12 to 13 minutes by car
- Not available: Airport shuttle
Services and House Rules
- Self check-in, with the access code shared the day before arrival
- Washing machine and kitchen facilities on site
- Garden and outdoor seating
- Children of any age welcome
- Entirely non-smoking
- Not available: 24-hour reception
- Not available: Pets
- Not available: Swimming pool
- Not available: Spa or wellness centre
- Not available: Hen, stag and similar parties
Location and Getting Around
Belmont is the comfortable, leafy end of east Belfast: wide houses, clipped hedges, mature trees, and Holywood Road running down through it toward the water. The address is County Down rather than County Antrim, whatever the aggregator pages say, and it is on the far side of the Lagan from the city centre. That is precisely why the transport works so well here.
Sydenham station is a genuine six-minute walk, straight down toward the bypass. Trains run every half hour Monday to Saturday, with a reduced service in the evenings and on Sundays. Titanic Quarter is the very next stop and Lanyon Place is about six minutes in total, which makes the train faster and far less annoying than driving into town and then hunting for a space. There is also a bus stop at the end of the drive, roughly twelve to fifteen minutes into the centre. Walking to the airport is possible in 20 to 25 minutes, but the route crosses the Sydenham Bypass and the railway, so most guests take the five-minute taxi instead.
For food, John Dory's at 299 Holywood Road is about five minutes on foot toward town and is the chip shop guests keep recommending to each other. The Sandwich Den on Circular Road is a couple of minutes the other way, an independent counter doing made-to-order sandwiches and soup at lunchtime. A convenience store is five minutes away and a Spar at the filling station about ten, both in the direction of the city.
The sightseeing is close too. Titanic Belfast is a ten-minute drive or one train stop plus a short walk, the Samson and Goliath cranes stand over the skyline from most of east Belfast, and CS Lewis Square with its seven Narnia bronzes is just over a mile away. The Stormont estate and its hilltop parkland are a short drive uphill, and the Stena Line ferry terminal is 12 to 13 minutes by car.
- George Best Belfast City Airport: 0.7 mi, a 5-minute drive. Northern Ireland's most central airport, right on the lough shore.
- Sydenham railway station: 6-minute walk. Belfast to Bangor line, with trains every half hour Monday to Saturday.
- Bus stop at the end of the drive: 1-minute walk. Services reach the city centre in roughly 12 to 15 minutes.
- John Dory's: 5-minute walk. Long-standing chip shop at 299 Holywood Road, recommended by recent guests.
- The Sandwich Den: A few minutes' walk. Independent sandwich and soup counter on Circular Road.
- Sydenham Playing Fields: 550 yd. Open playing fields at the bottom of the road, good for a stretch of the legs.
- CS Lewis Square: 1.3 mi. Free public square with seven bronze sculptures from The Chronicles of Narnia.
- Harland & Wolff: 1.6 mi. The Samson and Goliath gantry cranes, the defining shape on the Belfast skyline.
- Knock Nature Reserve: 1.9 mi. Quiet woodland walking on the edge of the city.
- Stormont estate: 2.2 mi. Hilltop parkland around Parliament Buildings, with the Mo Mowlam play park.
- Titanic Belfast: 2.4 mi, about a 10-minute drive. The museum on the slipway where the ship was built.
- Belfast city centre: 2.6 mi. City Hall and the main shopping streets, a short train hop from Sydenham.
Getting to Key Locations
Photo: Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 4.0
Titanic Belfast
The city's flagship museum stands on the very slipway where the ship was built, and the four angular silver hulls are worth seeing before you even go in. From here it is about a ten-minute drive, or one stop on the train to Titanic Quarter and a short walk. Set aside half a day, because the galleries climb through several floors and the slipways outside are part of the visit.
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Photo: Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Parliament Buildings sits in white Portland stone at the head of a mile-long avenue, and the estate around it is free public parkland open daily. It is a short drive uphill from Holywood Road, roughly two miles. Walk the avenue rather than driving to the top, and take the children on to the Mo Mowlam play park while you are up there.
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Photo: Carroll Pierce, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Samson and Goliath cranes
Harland and Wolff's two yellow gantry cranes are the shape east Belfast is known by, visible from half the streets around Belmont and only a mile and a half away. They still stand inside a working shipyard, so the closest you get is the walk down Queen's Road through Titanic Quarter. They are at their best in low evening light.
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Photo: Otter, CC BY-SA 4.0
CS Lewis Square
Seven bronze figures from The Chronicles of Narnia stand in an open public square just over a mile from the door, in the part of the city where Lewis grew up. The Searcher, a bronze of a man stepping into a wardrobe, marks the entrance beside the painted sign. It costs nothing, takes twenty minutes, and the Comber Greenway walking and cycling path runs straight through it.
View on MapHow to Get to Prestashortstays
- Coming from George Best Belfast City Airport: The terminal is 0.7 miles away. A taxi from the rank takes about five minutes and costs in the region of £12 to £15. Walking is possible in 20 to 25 minutes, but the route crosses the Sydenham Bypass and the railway, so it is not the pleasant option it looks like on a map.
- Coming from Belfast International Airport: The International is 15 miles out to the north-west. Take the Airport Express coach into the city centre, then a Bangor-line train out to Sydenham, or take a taxi door to door if you are arriving late.
- Arriving by train: From Belfast Grand Central or Lanyon Place, board an eastbound Bangor service. Titanic Quarter is the first stop and Sydenham the second, about six minutes from Lanyon Place, with departures every half hour.
- Walking up from Sydenham station: Leave the platform, cross toward Holywood Road and turn uphill, away from the water. It is about six minutes on foot. Look for the navy sign reading 383A on the brick wall at the top of the driveway.
- Driving and parking: Come off the Sydenham Bypass onto Holywood Road and continue into Belmont. Turn in at number 383A and park on the marked forecourt. Parking is free and needs no reservation.
- Letting yourself in: Your entry code arrives the day before you travel. Check-in opens at 15:00 and there is no cut-off after that, so a late flight is not a problem. Keep some cash for anything you need on site.
Belfast From the East Side
East Belfast is the maritime and literary corner of the city, and staying here changes the order you see things in. Titanic Belfast and the slipways are one train stop away, the Samson and Goliath cranes are the view from half the streets around Belmont, and CS Lewis grew up a few minutes from this address, which is why there are seven Narnia bronzes standing in a square just over a mile down the road.
The centre is a short hop by train or bus. City Hall, St George's Market at the weekend, the Cathedral Quarter bars and the Ulster Museum out at Botanic all sit within a compact core you can walk in an afternoon. The black-taxi tours of the murals and peace walls pick up from town, and the Giant's Causeway is a day trip up the Antrim coast.
Time it well if you can. The SSE Arena, two miles away, runs a busy autumn concert calendar, and the Belfast International Arts Festival takes over more than thirty venues across the city from 14 October to 8 November 2026. Rooms in east Belfast get tight on arena nights, so book ahead if your dates fall on one.
Thirteen Things to Do in Belfast
A nine-minute run through the city's headline sights, filmed on the ground and useful for planning a first visit.
Is Prestashortstays worth it?
Yes, if your trip runs through George Best Belfast City Airport or the Bangor line. You park free on the drive, let yourself in with a code sent the day before, and reach the terminal in five minutes or Sydenham station in six on foot. Take the Cottage if you are a family or a group and want a kitchen. Look elsewhere if you need breakfast served, a staffed desk, or a bed in the middle of town.
What Guests Say About Prestashortstays
Scores and review counts are aggregated from verified guest bookings on major travel platforms.
Good
Two things come up in almost every review: how well placed it is for the City Airport and the train, and how helpful and polite the owner is when guests meet him. Clean, spacious, quiet rooms are the next most common praise, along with the shared lounge and the bus stop at the end of the drive. The recurring grumble is summer heat, with several guests saying windows opened only a little and a fan was not quite enough during the July heatwave. A couple of people mention firm beds, a hot plate that was not working, and the distance from the city centre.
A short stay he was happy with, and nothing at all he wanted to criticise.
William
A short stay he was happy with, and nothing at all he wanted to criticise.
2026-08-02Praised the handy position, and found the rooms warm, clean and quiet.
2026-07-26Rated the position excellent and the room clean and roomy, if plain. Her one reservation was the bed, which she did not find especially comfortable.
2026-07-26Travelling as a group, she liked how quiet, secure and clean it was. One bedroom window would not open, which left the air stuffy, and a hot plate was out of action.
2026-07-25Called the position ideal for catching an early flight out of the City Airport. Her room ran hot and she would have appreciated a fan, though she was clear it was a small thing.
2026-07-14Rated the position and the value well. She came during the heatwave and found her room very warm, with only a small window to open and a fan that could not keep up.
2026-07-13Described a spotless, comfortable room and a position that suited her. Getting into town was simple thanks to the bus stop at the bottom of the drive.
2026-07-07The room beat what he had expected, tidy and with a comfortable bed. He rated being so near the City Airport and roughly ten minutes on foot from the station, where trains ran at least every half hour. He met the owner, found him helpful and polite, thought the parking outside was ample, and used the lounge microwave to warm up ready meals on a couple of evenings. He pointed out a shop and a recommended fish and chip place five minutes away, a supermarket at a filling station around ten, and noted the Titanic attraction is a single stop up the line.
2026-06-10Good to Know Before You Book
Self check-in works on your schedule
The host shares your access code the day before you travel, so you can let yourself in at any hour. Check-in opens at 15:00 and check-out is by 11:00. Late check-out is sometimes possible but depends on availability, so ask rather than assume.
Breakfast is not served, and you are well set up to self-cater
There is no breakfast at this address, and none of the rates include one. Every room has tea and coffee, a fridge and a microwave, the Cottage has a full kitchen, and John Dory's chip shop and a convenience store are about five minutes' walk away with a Spar around ten.
Summer rooms run warm, so ask for a fan
Air conditioning is listed, but several guests staying in July found their rooms hot with limited window ventilation, and one described a fan that was not enough during the heatwave. If you are travelling in high summer, request a fan when you book so it is sorted before you arrive.
Free parking, and a bus at the end of the drive
Private parking on site is free and needs no reservation, and there is a bus stop at the bottom of the driveway into the city centre. For the centre itself the train from Sydenham is usually quicker than driving in and finding a space.
Keep a little cash for extras
Payment for the stay is taken at the time of booking, but the property accepts cash for anything you need on site, so it is worth having some with you. A damage policy applies, under which you could be asked for up to £40 after check-out.
Cancellation terms depend on the rate you pick
Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary by room and rate here, and the exact terms for your choice are shown in full before you confirm. Read them at the point of booking rather than assuming a single policy covers everything.
House rules worth knowing before you book
Children of any age are welcome and there is no minimum age for check-in, but cots and extra beds are not available, so book the bed count you actually need. Pets are not allowed, the property is entirely non-smoking, and hen, stag and similar parties are not accommodated.
Photos of Prestashortstays
Frequently Asked Questions
Free private parking is available on site and no reservation is needed. It is a marked forecourt directly in front of the building, and a recent guest described the space as perfectly adequate. There is no published height limit, and no charge at any point.
Check-in is self-service, with the host sending your access code the day before you arrive so you can let yourself in at any hour. The standard window opens at 15:00 and check-out is by 11:00. Guests arriving at 22:30 or later after a delayed flight have been told directly that this is no problem, because there is no desk to close.
The airport is 0.7 miles away, about a five-minute drive or taxi. Walking takes 20 to 25 minutes, but the route crosses the Sydenham Bypass and the railway line, so nearly everyone drives or takes a cab. Belfast International Airport is a longer trip at 15 miles.
Sydenham station is a six-minute walk down toward the bypass. Trains on the Belfast to Bangor line run every half hour Monday to Saturday, with a reduced evening and Sunday service. Titanic Quarter is the very next stop and Lanyon Place is roughly six minutes away in total, so the train beats driving in and parking.
Breakfast is not served here, and no rate includes it. Rooms come with tea and coffee, a fridge and a microwave, the shared lounge has a microwave and dining table, and the Cottage has a full kitchen. A convenience store and John Dory's chip shop are about five minutes away on foot, with a Spar at the filling station around ten.
Pets are not allowed at this property. The building is also entirely non-smoking, and parties or events of any kind, including hen and stag groups, are not accommodated.
Both exist. The Standard Triple Room sleeps three in a single room of about 13 square metres, and the Cottage is a separate two-bedroom bungalow of roughly 51 square metres with twin singles in one bedroom, a double in the other, and a full private kitchen. Cots and extra beds are not available, so book the beds you need.
They can, and it is the one thing recent guests raise most often. Air conditioning is listed on the rooms, but several people staying in July described their room as very warm with only a small window to open, and one couple in the heatwave found the fan insufficient. Request a fan at the time of booking if you are travelling in high summer.
No, they are two separate businesses that happen to share a driveway. Prestashortstays is at 383A Holywood Road; the bed and breakfast at 383 is a different operation with its own rooms, its own breakfast service and its own reviews. Listing sites merge them regularly, which is where mismatched room counts and breakfast claims come from.
No direct phone line is published for this address, which fits the self check-in model: questions are handled through the messaging thread on your reservation, and the host answers guest queries there. Practical requests such as a fan, a late check-out or an early arrival are best sent that way once you have booked.
Other Stays in Belfast and Northern Ireland
The Wellesley, Belfast
Pick it over Prestashortstays when you want the south of the city rather than the airport side: Botanic Gardens and the Ulster Museum are on foot, and there is a stocked shared kitchen. Adults only from 25, and check-in is a fixed two-hour window rather than any hour you like.
Manor Hotel, Ballymoney
The choice if the Causeway Coast is the real destination and Belfast is just the arrival point. It is a staffed, family-run hotel with a bar and live music, 40 miles north, so you swap the City Airport run for a 25-minute drive to the Giant's Causeway.
The Abbey Hotel, Dublin
Worth a look if you are pairing Belfast with Dublin. It trades the free parking and the quiet residential street for a 24-hour desk and a city-centre address, with the tram outside the door and Temple Bar three minutes away.
Ready to Book Prestashortstays?
Free parking on the drive, your own bathroom, and a code that lets you in whenever the flight lands. Check your dates and take a room while one is open.
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