Opera Centre

I was chatting to a Limerick 2030 project manager at a consultation event last year and asked were they considering going after the likes of the Press Up group and their Dean Hotel brand. He said that was the type of operator they would be targeting. Although I reckon the likes of Premier Inn are a more realistic option. They've openly stated they're currently looking for a site in Limerick.

It was The Dean that was mentioned to me before Christmas as the probable operators of the hotel on Ellen St.

Well looking at recent developments in Cork their Premier Inn is successful enough that they just announced a second near by and The Dean opened recently there so it wouldn't be that shocking to see Limerick next on any expansion plan.

Premier Inn have said they plan on Limerick and Galway hotels and The Dean are already in Galway.

One of each would be perfect as it fits two different price points.

I stayed in Cork twice recently because Premier Inn was affordable. Would have went to a different city if it wasn't there. Stayed for 57e a night which you won't always get but any hotel doing under 100e for Dublin or Cork is great money these days. And it's a brand people know which we are very short of in Limerick.

Personally I will pay 80e for a Premier Inn and have a hundred extra to spend on the city I visit over a fancy hotel I will barely see the inside of.

We need all types of hotel to compete.

Would rhe Quinn's pub site be part of the any proposed hotel/restaurant area or would that ve another stand alone development

Well I agree with this as well. Choice is important for everyone

I actually like the Dean in Cork. I wasn't sure at first but I had a good look around it in person last year and I think the design works quite well. It's a pretty unusual building in an Irish context but a welcome departure from the conservative templated box type norms we see here far too often. It's much better than their Galway hotel anyway which is a bit of a muddled mess at street level especially.

The sweeping undulating shape of the Cork hotel is pretty dramatic and the black cladding of varying dimensions that the building is faced with is quite eye catching also. It's reminiscent of the type of designs and shapes you'd associate with Scandinavia and northern Europe. Buildings faced in darker toned brick or stone can look very well. The Dublin Landings development being a case in point.

I see there's going to be a Dean hotel in Kilkenny now also. The group has sold off a majority shareholding to new investors but the existing operators will continue to run the portfolio of hotels.

Not sure what this means in terms of future expansion but here's a quote from the investment managers behind the new stakeholders:

"We look forward to continuing to honour The Dean Hotel Group's Irish heritage as we work together to deliver on the next phase of growth for the portfolio."

Surely if they are to continue expanding their portfolio then Limerick has to be in their plans. Kilkenny is a quarter of the size of Limerick for reference.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/1031/1413862-majority-stake-in-mckillens-dean-hotel-group-sold/

It's an interesting point actually. The most recent figures compiled by Failte Ireland from CSO data show that Kilkenny received 387,000 domestic visitors compared to Limerick's 349,000 although the amount spent by those visitors was slightly greater in Limerick.

Limerick actually comes out on top in terms of Irish resident nights and length of stay. 713,000 vs Kilkenny's 671,000 and 2 nights duration in comparison to 1.7. Limerick also gets double the number of overseas tourists compared to Kilkenny although that's to be expected given our proximity to an international airport and location on the route to Kerry.

https://www.failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/Documents/Publications/Domestic-Trips-and-Revenue-by-County-2019-and-2021.pdf?ext=.pdf

Kilkenny is definitely more geared towards tourism for sure as evidenced by the efforts the local Council have made to improve the public realm and the standards they employ in relation to shopfronts and the upkeep of premises etc. Limerick is considerably lacking in civic pride by comparison and there's no doubt our tourist offering and facilities are under-developed and underperforming. At least a start is being made by the Council now with their tourism strategy and the preparation of a masterplan for improvements to King John's Castle. The Georgian core of the city centre needs urgent attention though. The likes of The Crescent, Pery Square and the collection of streets down to the main retail area badly need public realm and lighting upgrades. If this was done in a sensitive heritage style it would hugely enhance the streetscape for locals and visitors alike.

Any news about the tenders issued .

I have heard, through the beloved grapevine, that construction will begin on the 14 storey building in Bank Place in August. Great news if so, but as i said heard through the grapevine.