We recently took a fascinating tour of George Best’s childhood home, but did you know that you can actually stay in it too?
George Best’s childhood home, 16 Burren Way, Belfast, has been available for tours for years, but did you know that it’s also available for short-term holiday lets?
You can stay in the home that one of Belfast’s biggest icons grew up in before heading to Manchester to follow his dreams.
Now owned by local charity EastSide Partnership, the house has been retro-refurbished to replicate the interior of what it once looked like in 1961, the year George Best first left for Manchester.
George Best’s childhood home – take a tour or stay in this iconic house
Located in the Cregagh Estate of East Belfast, the entire house on Burren Way has been refurbished and furnished to appear how it would’ve looked back in 1961 when 15-year-old George Best left Belfast to follow his dreams in Manchester.
The house is equipped with real memorabilia from Best’s childhood as well as tributes to iconic moments in Manchester United’s history and much more.
For example, a clock on the mantlepiece is frozen in time at 15:03, the time of the 1958 Munich air disaster that was carrying the Manchester United football team back from a European Cup match in Belgrade, the now capital of Serbia.
Visitors to the home will find George’s old school reports, real newspaper clippings from his time at Manchester United, and more.
An Airbnb – available for short-term lets
While you can take tours of the football icon’s old home in the Cregagh Estate, it is also available for short-term stays.
There are several bedrooms in the home, including Best’s parents’ bedroom, his twin sisters’ room, and the room that everybody wants to stay in, George’s old room that he would’ve slept in from 1948 to 1961.
The room is decked out with old memorabilia from George Best’s childhood, including old magazines, a wireless radio, and an old retro football kit of his favourite team as a child, the Wolves.
From George Best’s old room, you look out into the family’s garden, where George would’ve learned to play football as a boy. You can also see Ravenhill’s Kingspan Stadium in the near distance.
George Best – one of the greatest footballers of all time
George Best was born in Belfast on 22 May 1946 and lived at 16 Burren Way from 1948. It was in 1958 that he was spotted by the veteran Manchester United scout Bob Bishop while playing for the Cregagh Boys’ Club.
Then, in 1961, Manchester United manager Matt Busby received a telegram from Bob Bishop saying, “I think I’ve found you a genius”.
Widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, a journey through his childhood home will outline key dates in his life and career and an insight into who George Best was.
George Best died on 25 November 2005 and is buried at Belfast’s Roselawn Cemetery.
The funeral procession left his childhood home just after 10 am on 3 December and the route was lined with more than 100,000 mourners, a testament to his legacy.
For more information on booking a tour or a stay in George Best’s childhood home, call +442890451900 or head over to www.georgebesthouse.com.
