Northern Ireland-based Hastings Hotels has unveiled plans for a £30m, 200-bedroom hotel in Belfast.
It bought Windsor House, one of the tallest buildings in Ireland, last month, and has submitted WDR & RT Taggart Architects-designed plans for the Belfast Grand Central Hotel for planning permission.
Sir William Hastings, chairman of Hastings Hotels, said: “We are delighted to unveil the plans for what will be the seventh hotel in our portfolio in Northern Ireland.
“This acquisition represents our biggest single investment to date of £30m and upon completion in 2018 the hotel will operate at the upper end of the four-star market, offering 200 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar, 18 serviced apartments and a range of superbly appointed office accommodation.”
Enterprise, trade and investment minister Jonathan Bell, added: “This is great news for Belfast and for Northern Ireland, as the group’s continued investment is a massive vote of confidence in our tourism sector. The new hotel will add considerably to the local accommodation offering and allow Northern Ireland to capitalise further on the growing international business conference market.”
Belfast lord mayor Arder Carson said: “One of our major objectives is to double the current tourism revenue by 2020 and developments such as this one by the Hastings Hotels Group are a huge step towards achieving that goal.”
