tourism

Harcourt to invest €5m in expanding Lough Eske’s five-star luxury hotel

Harcourt to invest €5m in expanding Lough Eske’s five-star luxury hotel

Irish Independent - Harcourt Developments, one of Ireland’s largest property development and management companies, is to invest €5m in an expansion of its five-star Lough Eske Castle Hotel in Co Donegal.

The company, which was founded by Donegal property developer Pat Doherty and is behind the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, recently submitted a planning application to expand Lough Eske Castle by building a two-storey extension with 24 suites and four bedrooms.

Developer behind Belfast's Titanic Quarter confirmed for €550m Waterford regeneration project

Developer behind Belfast's Titanic Quarter confirmed for €550m Waterford regeneration project

The Journal - The developer behind the regeneration of the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast has been unveiled as the new private partner for a €550 million project in Waterford city.

Harcourt Developments is to take on the long-awaited regeneration project of the city’s North Quays, which earlier today received fresh backing from the Government following the approval of €170 million in funding.

It was described as the “largest urban regeneration project in the country” by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien following the signing off on fresh funding by the Cabinet.

Inishowen Peninsula is a staycation paradise

Inishowen Peninsula is a staycation paradise

Sunday Independent - ‘Do bears really love marmalade sandwiches?” Judging by her smile, this isn’t the first time our guide, Fiona, has heard this question.

Today it’s asked by my 10-year-old son as we stand in a forest in Donegal watching two enormous brown bears wrestle in the grass beyond. It’s a hot day so the exertions don’t last long. Rionach, the smaller bear, climbs a log to sunbathe while her brother Donnacha takes to the lake to retrieve some floating fruit treats.

Lough Eske Castle crowned No.2 Top Hotel in Ireland

Lough Eske Castle crowned No.2 Top Hotel in Ireland

Lough Eske Castle, outside Donegal Town, has been recognized as No. 2 in the Top Hotels in Ireland category of the Condé Nast Traveller annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

The awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry and are commonly known as “the best of the best of travel.”

Dónal Cox, General Manager of Lough Eske Castle commented: “It’s a great honour to be recognised as one of the top ten hotels in Ireland by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine for the fourth year running.”

It's the treble for Titanic Hotel Belfast

It's the treble for Titanic Hotel Belfast

Love Belfast - Three is the magic number as staff at Titanic Hotel Belfast celebrate the treble this week, having received the overall award of Ireland’s Hotel Restaurant of the Year, the regional award of Ulster Hotel Restaurant of the Year and the Great Place to Stay Quality Award. This is the second consecutive year the hotel has been recognised by the Irish Hotels Awards winning these three awards for excellence with the ‘Wolff Grill’ restaurant being judged on the standard of food and service for which it has become renowned.

Belfast: The great escape - How and why Belfast is buzzing with visitors from the Republic

Belfast: The great escape - How and why Belfast is buzzing with visitors from the Republic

Irish Independent - Belfast is fast becoming the social capital of Ireland as hotels, restaurants and pubs fill with a flood of weekend visitors from as far away as Cork and Kerry.

City centre hotels are reporting up to 80pc of their weekend trade is southerners who are flooding into the city to enjoy wining and dining with fewer restrictions. Iarnród Éireann announced yesterday that all trains to Belfast from Dublin Connolly were booked out.

Plan your Eske-ape: Take time to relax in one of Ireland’s most sought-after and captivating luxury resorts

Plan your Eske-ape: Take time to relax in one of Ireland’s most sought-after and captivating luxury resorts

Sunday Life - IN these Covid-19 restricted times, plans are impossible to make. The R number currently denies society's movement under the second serious lockdown of this pandemic, but there will come a time again when relaxation, recreation and a romantic retreat are the relevant R words of choice.

'It tastes even better than I remember': Lockdown drought ends in Donegal as bars re-open

'It tastes even better than I remember': Lockdown drought ends in Donegal as bars re-open

Irish News - For Derry man Mickey McLaughlin, it was a long drought.

As he downed his first pint of draught Guinness at The Harbour Bar in Buncrana yesterday, it was everything he had been dreaming of for three months.

“The days couldn’t go in quick enough. It tastes even better than I remember,” the Creggan man said.

The Titanic is now toast of Protestant - and Catholic - Belfast

The Titanic is now toast of Protestant - and Catholic - Belfast

The Oldie - Mary Kenny loved her fully immersive experience in Ulster

It may be hard to believe, but the world’s leading tourist attraction is in… Belfast.

At least, that is the claim made by the impressive Titanic Quarter complex in Ulster’s city, site of the once-great dockyards of Harland and Wolff, where the Titanic was proudly built before her fatal voyage in April 1912.

48 hours in… Belfast: Where to eat, sleep, drink and visit

48 hours in… Belfast: Where to eat, sleep, drink and visit

Extra.ie - As January rolls into its third month, and an empty bank balance means our free time is usually spent at home eating whatever is still left in the cupboards after the holidays, we’re looking forward to a little bit of TLC when payday hits. Yes, while we might have a little time to wait before the summer holidays, there’s nothing to say a getaway in the meantime shouldn’t be on the cards. And you don’t have to leave the country to enjoy some rest and recuperation, there are plenty of great destinations all over Ireland that should be explored.

Why Carlisle Bay is the luxury resort to visit if you're heading to Antigua

Why Carlisle Bay is the luxury resort to visit if you're heading to Antigua

Hello - We arrived at the stunning Carlisle Bay resort after a short taxi journey from Antigua's VC Bird International Airport. Greeted with cooling moist towels and an ice-cold pineapple and ginger mocktail, our foggy London start to the day was soon a distant memory. The luxury resort on Antigua's South Coast is situated in a secluded bay with crystal water and backed by lush green rainforest.

The Last Stop: The Railway Tavern is back on track!

The Last Stop: The Railway Tavern is back on track!

Derry Journal - IT'S NOT OFTEN a hotel encourages its guests to escape from its facilities but the Redcastle Hotel is making clever use of its close connections with the revamped Railway Tavern to ensure a unique getaway experience which is certain to whet your appetite.

Titanic Hotel Belfast crowned Northern Ireland's best at world travel awards

Titanic Hotel Belfast crowned Northern Ireland's best at world travel awards

Belfast Live - The Titanic Hotel Belfast was crowned 'Northern Ireland's Leading Hotel 2019' at the World Travel Awards in Portugal.

The World Travel Awards, now in their 26th year, honour excellence within the hotel industry and the standard of service the hotel has demonstrated to visitors throughout the year.

The awards are considered the most prestigious travel and tourism event of the year, bringing together many leading industry figureheads and VIPs from across all continents.

Plan for 280-bedroom family-focused hotel in Belfast's Titanic Quarter

Plan for 280-bedroom family-focused hotel in Belfast's Titanic Quarter

Belfast Telegraph - A London-based hospitality concern has announced plans to build a hotel next to Titanic Belfast.

JMK Group is proposing a 280-bedroom 'family-friendly' hotel for the tourist hotspot, which would make it one of the biggest in the city.

Expected to be open at Hamilton Dock by the summer of 2021, the company said it wants to capitalise on the family-focused attractions in the Titanic Quarter by dedicating 100 rooms to families.

Titanic Belfast seeks 150 temporary staff as huge summer looms

Titanic Belfast seeks 150 temporary staff as huge summer looms

Belfast Telegraph - The management company behind Titanic Belfast is seeking 150 new staff, some of whom will work at an eagerly-awaited exhibition on fantasy TV drama Game Of Thrones.

The exhibition on cult series Game Of Thrones, which is part-filmed in Northern Ireland, will make its first stop in the UK and Ireland at Titanic Quarter in April.

Cast Your Anchor at One of Belfast’s Most Unique Experiences – Titanic Hotel Belfast Review

Cast Your Anchor at One of Belfast’s Most Unique Experiences – Titanic Hotel Belfast Review

The Taste - I have to admit I was fairly sure Belfast had exhausted every Titanic related revenue opportunity conceivable. With thousands of tourists flocking to The Titanic Quarter in Belfast on a daily basis it seemed odd that this neck of the woods was poorly served however when it came to accommodation options.

The Titanic is a monument to Belfast’s maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city’s Titanic Quarter where the now infamous RMS Titanic was built. Being one of the busiest visitor attraction in Northern Ireland it makes perfect sense that when an opportunity to acquire an old shipbuilding office right next door presented itself the company behind this mammoth attraction saw it as a chance to really transform the space.

Major tourism award for Titanic Hotel

Major tourism award for Titanic Hotel

After only 8-months of operation, Titanic Hotel Belfast has won the prestigious RICS Award for 'outstanding contribution to tourism and leisure facilities in Northern Ireland.'

The new hotel is situated in the original Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices & Headquarters, one of Northern Ireland's most important historical buildings. A location of global significance where over 1,000 ships were designed including the famous Olympic-class liners.