THE DOYLE Collection has upgraded its Marylebone Hotel in London’s West End with the addition of a €2.3 million posh spa and health club.
The new club, which has 300 members from the local area, will be run by The Third Space, which runs an upmarket health club in Soho.
The refurbished facilities will include an 18-metre swimming pool, the biggest of any hotel in London.
“This is really top notch for us,” Marylebone’s general manager Richard Alexander said.
Alexander is gearing up for an influx of visitors for the royal wedding next week, although he concedes corporate bookings are “soft” due to the day being designated as a public holiday.
He’s expecting occupancy to peak at about 78 per cent for the week at the 257-bed property, one of three the Irish hotel chain operates in London.
Alexander also has an eye firmly on the 2012 summer Olympics. “We still have plenty of space to fill but we anticipate being chock-a-block around that time,” he said.
How is business this year?
“Business has been much better than last year,” he reported, citing the negative effects of snow and the ash cloud on trading in 2010.
“January wasn’t great but February and March were better; April has been really good. May is very strong and June and July are coming together.”