Buoyant year predicted as six new hotels to open in Dublin

The Address on Amiens Street stood alone in 2017. It was the only hotel to be opened in Dublin. This next 12 months look brighter, however, as six new hotels are due to open in the city, providing more than 700 extra rooms – and, according to the JLL estate agency, contributing to a turnover across the sector of €500 million.

Ireland's largest hotel group, Dalata, will become even bigger in 2018, with the opening of three Maldron Hotels and a Clayton Hotel. One of the Maldrons brings 140 bedrooms to Kevin Street in Dublin, close to St Stephen's Green and St Patrick's Cathedral. Another hotel is on the site of the former Charlemont Clinic on the Grand Canal. It will open in September with 180 bedrooms.

The Iveagh Garden Hotel opens on Harcourt Street this month. Developed by the McGill family, who also own the Harcourt and Harrington Hotels, the 152-room property has its own source of renewable energy: a river that flows 50m below the premises.

Tech-savvy

The first Aloft Hotel in Ireland, with 202 moderately priced rooms, will open in the Liberties area of Dublin in the spring. The hotel group targets tech-savvy travellers; its guests will be able to use smartphones and Apple Watches as room keys.

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The Devlin, sister hotel to the Dean, is due to open in Ranelagh in the summer, with 41 rooms. It says it will welcome the local community to its lobby and 50-seat cinema.

Belfast will also see new hotels this year. The biggest will be the Grand Central, by Hastings Hotels, due to open at the end of May, with 304 rooms. The Maldron, the second in the city, will have 237 bedrooms. A Marriott will open in the Quays area with 190 rooms towards April, and a new Hampton Hotel will bring an additional 180 rooms.

In Cork, the new Maldron will bring 230 bedrooms to a prime location on the South Mall.