Double whammy for NI in £25m hotels investment

Northern Ireland received a double boost last week with the announcement of two hotel developments worth more than £25m in total.

Jurys Hotel Group is investing £9.4m in a 190-bedroom Jurys Inn at Belfast, and Stakis has announced a £16.3mdevelopment at Templepatrick, County Antrim, as predicted by Caterer.

The Jurys Belfast Inn is scheduled to open in May 1997, creating 80 jobs. It will be the fifth Inn development by the Dublin-based group.

"We have been looking at Belfast for more than five years as an obvious location to establish a Jurys presence," said Walter Beatty, chairman of Jurys. The end of the ceasefire had not diluted confidence in any way, he added.

Jurys claims the hotel will be the biggest in the Province. It will feature an informal bar called the Inn Pub.

Earlier last week, Stakis unveiled its first venture in the Province. The 130-bedroom Stakis Ulster will comprise hotel, conference centre and 18-hole tournament golf resort set in 220 acres of parkland on the Castle Upton Estate.

The project has attracted financial aid from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board of up to £4.3m. On completion, it should create 150 full- and part-time jobs.

As well as the four-star standard hotel, there will be a 32-suite apartment hotel and a golf academy, built by Rathmore Developments.

Subject to planning consent on the historic site, construction is expected to start this autumn for an opening in September 1997.