Cooleys Service Station

Cooleys is 1 of 2 petrol stations on the Andersonstown road and acts as a hub for convenience shopping. Over the last 20 years or so, it’s been my port of call for everything from Calpol to Petit Pain, open 24 hours and with a cash machine outside, it’s extremely handy when you need something outside of the normal shopping hours.
It comes complete with its own Post Office with a bureau de change (for travel money) and even has a Subway!
It’s cuisine de France range is freshly baked on site and there are fresh apple tarts produced on Sunday. What more could you possibly ask for?
I will admit it’s hard not to pick up one of their treats for £1 deal while at the checkout… They’re playing to my weaknesses!

Cooley’s garage is really everything it says on the tin. It does all the usual garage services like car washing, petrol and diesel, water and air facilities and has a good convenience shop as part of it. It is now open 24 hours a day which makes it all the more handy if you need something at an inconvenient time and with a cash point beside it you will never be stuck for cash to get that bag of crisps for the walk home from your mates house at 5 o’clock on a Sunday morning!
One of the truly great things about this shop is that it stocks one of the most popular (mostly for sentimental reasons) drinks I’ve come across in Ireland, especially for Belfast locals familiar with holidays to Donegal… the infamous ‘Football Special’! I’ve only ever seen it sold in Donegal (approx 80miles away) so for it to be available in Cooley’s is quite a feat and a very novel idea.

One of those 24 hour garages that are starting to crop up all over the place. As with other garages/​service stations, this place has incorporated a small convenience store where you can get a lot of things that you’ll need on a daily basis. It’s one of the few places where you can top-​up both gas and electricity (which is incredibly difficult to find — most places do one or the other).
But there are two things that set this place apart from other garages and make it worthy of special mention. Firstly, it has a Subway sandwich shop, which are excellent for hot sandwiches. Secondly, (and this is the real reason I’m writing this review) it has the fastest ATM I’ve ever seen. Seriously. I’m tired of standing in queues for ATMs because the machines are so slow. Someones finished and walks away and you’re standing there, ready to put your card in, as the machine still has the «please take your cash» message displayed. Some of these machines take forever and they cause queues to build up. Not this bad boy though, no no. This is the Ferrari of cash machines. Everything happens instantly. I once used it and it was so quick that I had to check my wallet to make sure I’d put my money and card back in there. You may think this sounds crazy, but wait til the next time you’re standing with three people in front of you, waiting for what seems like an eternity to get your money. This First Trust bank machine would virtually eradicate that. If you still think I’m crazy, then tell me this review doesn’t come into your mind the next time you’re heading on a night out and you’re waiting to get money from an ATM while your taxi driver looks on impatiently, reassured only by the fact that he knows you’re going to get hit for waiting time…
Four stars overall, but the ATM gets five!