SOME GOOD news finally emerged on the jobs front in Limerick yesterday, when it was confirmed that the four-star Castletroy Park Hotel is to reopen under the Carlton Hotel Group brand.
News that the national hotel operator is to take over the running of the hotel was announced yesterday just over a week after the hotel closed its doors with the loss of 120 jobs.
Yesterday’s announcement was described as a “great good news story” for the Limerick region by Limerick Chamber of Commerce president Seán Lally, who said the closure of the hotel after 18 years in Limerick had come as a huge shock to employees and customers.
“It’s a great news story for the Limerick area to have a national operator like Carlton Hotel Group in Limerick,” said Mr Lally.
“It obviously came as a huge shock when the hotel announced it was closing last week, particularly as it has been part and parcel of the hospitality sector here in Limerick since 1991,” he added.
Yesterday’s announcement was also welcomed by many of the local businesses that have opened up on the grounds of Castle Park campus in recent months.
It also came as a welcome relief for some 44 couples who booked weddings at the hotel and who were contacted yesterday and told that all booking deposits would be honoured by the new operators.
The Carlton Group has entered into a long-term lease agreement with Fordmount Development Company who own the hotel, and will operate the hotel under the name “Carlton Castletroy Park Hotel”, according to Michael Kearney, chairman, Carlton Hotel Group.
“We are particularly aware of the distress caused by the closure of the hotel to those who had booked weddings and events and would like to assure all customers that we will be in contact as soon as possible to confirm booking details. We are looking forward to welcoming them to the hotel and will do our very best to make their special events as enjoyable and stress-free as possible,” he said.
“It’s a property we always admired, going back from our inception about four years ago and Carlton Castletroy Park Hotel is a very important additional feature to our presence in Ireland and hopefully it will give tourism a boost. We have negotiated a very progressive deal with the owners of the property over the last while,” he added. The Carlton Group will open the hotel in the next 10 days and the selection of 120 staff will begin immediately.