ONE of the world's biggest hotel chains, Four Seasons Hotels, is to set up a £50 million, 250 bedroom five star hotel on a site in the Royal Dublin Society complex in Dublin. Barring any hitches with the planning application, Four Seasons aims to begin construction by the end of this year and have the hotel open for business by the end of 1999.
The RDS will lease the 3.3 acre site at the corner of Merrion Road and Simmonscourt Road to Simmonscourt Holdings, a Dublin based property development company. Simmonscourt Holdings, which is owned by between 10 and 20 wealthy Irish individuals, will develop the site for Four Seasons. Four Seasons will also have a minority stake - less than 20 per cent in Simmonscourt Holdings.
The £50 million hotel complex will be built by G&T Crampton and will be one of the biggest construction projects in the city for some time. Apart from the construction jobs, the hotel itself will create 300 full time jobs when it opens for business.
RDS chief executive, Mr Shane Cleary, said the second phase of the society's development programme was the hotel and conference centre. The society had identified the three acres which had become redundant and were giving no return. At the outset, the society decided to lease and not sell the site
"The RDS has £3 million in cash and we were more interested in getting a long term return through an annual rental." He declined to reveal the rent but said it reflected "Dublin 4 land values".
On the conference centre, which was given Government approval last year, Mr Cleary said the RDS was still waiting for a decision from the European Commission.
Simmonscourt Holdings managing director, Mr Sean Dillon, and Four Seasons executive vice president, Ms Kathleen Taylor, both said there was scope for another top of the range hotel in Dublin. Ms Taylor said the Dublin hotel would be at the very top of the range and would have a room rate reflecting that premium position.
The Four Seasons chain has most of its hotels in North America and the Far East but has expanded into Europe in the past decade and its hotels include the Inn on the Park in London and the George V in Paris. It currently has 38 hotels in 16 countries and has a further 14 hotels under development.
