Powerscourt in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow is to have a £40 million (€50.8m) 250-bed five star hotel on a 10-acre wooded site on its grounds. Ritz Ltd, the developers - of which Treasury Holdings Group is majority shareholder - has full planning permission for the project, which has an expected completion date of early 2003.
The hotel will be built into the side of a hill and will be invisible from Powerscourt House, situated 500 metres away. The hotel will be part of the Powerscourt complex owned by the Slazenger family. The complex already includes a retail outlet, restaurant and visitor centre in the main house, the renowned gardens and an 18hole golf course and clubhouse which is being extended and remodelled - with a second 18hole course under construction.
There are believed to be plans for the conversion of some farm outhouses on the grounds into holiday homes. The 284,064 sq ft hotel is being designed by James Toomey & Associates who were responsible for the restoration of the main house, destroyed by fire in 1974. The company was also involved in various shopping centre designs including the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and the Powerscourt Townhouse.
The portecochere of the crescent-shaped, neo-classical style hotel, which as yet has no name, will overlook the Sugar Loaf. It will have 207,350 sq ft of luxury bedrooms and 43 self-contained 645 sq ft penthouse suites.
According to the Chairman of Ritz Ltd, Dermod Dwyer, the design will be "very sympathetic with the historic importance of the estate. It has been designed not to be a copy, which would be a bit pastiche." The hotel will contain a restaurant, underground conference facility for up to 300 people, meeting rooms, a gym and a spa leisure centre, similar to that of the Sanctuary in London.
A resort hotel, it will be aimed at a corporate, leisure and golf-related market. Given its proximity to business parks in Sandyford, Greystones and Cherrywood, it is expected to attract a substantial corporate clientele. Treasury Holdings is involved in the Temple Bar hotel and the Westin hotel opposite Trinity College, and has plans for a 160-bed hotel in its 1.7 million sq ft development at Central Park, Sandyford.
The company is negotiating with several "major international operators" interested in running the hotel. It also has planning permission for up to 600 car spaces. Of the first phase of 400, 150 of these spaces will be surface, with the rest underground.
