LIMERICK SUFFERED another major jobs blow yesterday when one of the city’s largest hotels closed with the loss of 130 jobs.
The Castletroy Park Hotel shut its doors for business yesterday morning after 13 years in business in Limerick. A notice on the door of the four-star hotel blamed “insurmountable” trading conditions for the closure.
“The directors of Castletroy Park Management Ltd regrets to advise that with immediate effect the company has ceased to trade and the hotel has closed,” read the notice.
“The decision has been forced on the directors as a result of the current economic downturn which has resulted in trading conditions and difficulties that were insurmountable.”
Staff who reported for duty yesterday morning were devastated to learn that the rescue talks to secure the future of the hotel had failed.
Management at the hotel held a meeting with workers last Monday where they were informed of the hotel’s financial difficulties and told that the outcome of rescue talks for the hotel would be revealed within four days.
However, staff were told to go home yesterday after being informed that the hotel had gone into liquidation.
Grant Thornton, based in Limerick, has been nominated by the hotel directors as liquidators. They will now proceed to set up a meeting with creditors. Siptu is planning to meet with the liquidators to discuss pay issues for staff.
One woman who worked at the hotel for the past 13 years said: “I’m just so upset I can’t believe it. We were told that things were bad, but I never thought I would have to be signing on the dole tomorrow.”
The closure of the hotel will also have a knock-on effect for many of the shops and restaurants that opened in recent months on the hotel’s grounds, which is known as Castletroy Park Commercial Campus.
Evelyn Raferty, who opened the Delish coffee shop and restaurant six months ago, said the hotel’s closure would have a knock-on effect for local businesses.
“The Castletroy Park Hotel has a history here for a long time in Limerick. The whole development here is called the Castletroy Park Commercial Campus, so it has an affinity to the hotel. The hotel was a general pull factor for the area and it will definitely have a knock-on effect.”
Meanwhile, the Marriott hotel in Limerick city centre has said its business is running as usual after rumours it was also to cease trading.
The Marriott in Limerick was run under franchise by Irresistible Hotels – the same group that ran the Castletroy Park – but that arrangement has now ceased.
Fordmount Investments have taken over direct management of the Marriott.