I can't believe I am saying this, but Belfast is the best city in the world. I've been all over the world -- Europe, Asia, North and South America, even Australia -- and no one has been so well mannered (even when drunk), welcoming, and friendly than Belfast people.
We found Belfast disarming and charming, and I look forward to returning sometime. My experience has been that the media can give visitors a very distorted impression of any area that is only curable by an onsite visit so that we may form our own opinion. And our opinion of Belfast/Ireland is very, very favorable.
Belfast is a city with a lot of unrest and it is recommended that single women should not walk on the streets alone at night.
Belfast is an amazing city. I found it quite safe (same rules apply here as they do anywhere else in the world: don't walk around at 3am by yourself, etc etc) and the people of Belfast are among the friendliest I've ever met.
Kilkeel village is a beautiful town with lots of very good charity shops, coffee shops, and everything you need for a good holiday. It's also very close to the countryside if you want to go for a walk -- and Mournes the town is set in the backdrop of the Mournes and it's very beautiful.
A good tip is to check out the triangle bounded by Newtownards, Bangor, and Belfast. While driving is somwhat perilous on the narrow roads, if you hire a car and take the A2/A20/A21 and the roads via Craigantlet you get two different experiences of Northern Ireland - the urban metropolis and the country lanes where the only living being you're sharing the view with is a cow or two. People are very friendly and 75% of the city (basically anything that isn't west!) is unaffected by the troubles.
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