Hotel planning bid lodged for Adelaide Road corner site

A company connected with Cork-based hotelier Frankie Whelehan has lodged a planning application with Dublin City Council for a 40-bedroom hotel in a former nursing home located at the junction of Adelaide Road and Harcourt Terrace.

Chesway Ltd lodged an application with the local authority on November 1st for a townhouse-style hotel at 22 Harcourt Terrace in central Dublin.

"There are a lot of offices in the area and we're very hopeful that the demand is there," Mr Whelehan told The Irish Times.

He said it would be pitched as a premium four-star hotel at corporates midweek and the leisure market at the weekend. “It will be something a little bit different.”

Chesway’s plans would be “very sensitive” to the existing listed building, which was purchased for €4.6 million, Mr Whelehan said.

The proposed development consists of a new single-storey extension to the front and side of the building, an extension on the first floor over the existing kitchen, and the demolition of a modern staircase to the rear and the construction of a replacement stairs core linked to the building at first- and second-floor levels.

It is also proposed to demolish an existing store to the side, and to alter the inside of the building to provide bedrooms and en suites for guests, along with associated services.

Improved accessibility

In addition, Chesway is seeking to complete fire upgrades and to improve accessibility. There would also be repairs to the existing building fabric including the facade, roof and windows, and associated landscaping.

Mr Whelehan formerly led the Choice Hotel Group in Ireland but left the business in March following the sale of a number of hotels to listed Irish hotel group Dalata for €40 million cash.

His family own the Montenotte Hotel in Cork, which is reported to be undergoing a €5 million refurbishment.

Zanzibar site

Separately, CBRE has gone to tender with two parties for the Zanzibar hotel site on Dublin’s north quays after bids for the property came in at more than twice the €5 million asking price.

The tender closes on November 25th and will represent the third round of bidding for a property that attracted strong interest from investors. It is understood that CBRE conducted about 60 viewings of the building.

The identities of the parties who have gone to tender are not known but they are believed to be in the hotel and hostel space. Bidding to date is known to have topped €10 million with one source suggesting it could have gone as high as €12 million.

“It has hospitality screaming all over it . . . it’s all about the location, location, location,” said one leading source in the hospitality trade.

Situated on 0.42 acres at 34-37 Ormond Quay, Zanzibar was previously part of the Capital Bars group when it was run by brothers Liam and Des O’Dwyer.

It has not traded for a number of years but has planning permission for the retention and conversion of two protected structures and the provision of an 89-bedroom hotel covering 7,077sq m, of which 5,494sq m would be new build.