To brighten up a rather dull January, the folks at the Fitzwilliam Hotel invited myself and a few other media types over for a slap-up lunch.

I’m not going to go on about the food because I’ve waxed lyrical about the food at the Fitz before, but needless to say it was all delish. I dined on pig cheek, gnocchi and chocolate torte with some gorgeous breads and a tomato soup thrown in. The package was completed at a beautifully dressed table.

But the real point of this post is all about what’s going on at the hotel. In case you missed it the Fitzwilliam achieved five star status at the end of last year, making it only the second hotel in Belfast to do so.

Not content to rest on their laurels, the management at the Fitz have been busy since then with a programme of refurbishment to the hotel bedrooms and after lunch we were lucky enough to get a bit of a tour.

We were shown the Penthouse suite (this is where Rhianna stayed when she played Belfast), a mid price room and the basic double. they’ve all been brightened and spruced up. The one thing hotels rooms at the Fitz really have nailed down are the views over Belfast.

This is the few and a few shots of the Penthouse Suite – this only costs £1,500 a night but that does include a limousine and 24-hour butler.

OK that might be a little beyond most people’s pockets, but this lovely standard room is a very reasonable £190 a night and that includes breakfast.

But that’s not all that happening at the corner of Great Victoria Street. They’re about to embark on a huge expansion project that will include 30 bedrooms, a spa and more event space.

It’s a tough job to do in the middle of a city centre but the hotel will be extending over a carpark to create the room for themselves.

To be honest, the spa is the thing I’m most excited about. There are some lovely hotel spas in Northern Ireland but more and more of them are miles outside of the city. If the Fitzwilliam do this one like they do the rest of their hotel, it will be lovely.

As most hotels the Fitzwilliam tends to have offers on so you can discover more for yourself. This lovely one for Valentine’s Day is available now.