Dublin’s oldest hotel leads the way in Southside refurbishments

One of the finest establishments on the Southside have reopened their doors after a series of extensive facelifts.

Last week the Sandymount Hotel, Dublin’s oldest and largest family run hotel, announced the completion of the final stage of an €8million refurbishment

Spanning an 18-month period, including the recent completion of a 17-bedroom extension and with further expansion plans in the pipeline, this multi-million Euro investment is evident across the family hotel’s award-winning facilities.

Opened in 1955 by the Loughran family, Sandymount Hotel began its journey as a humble 4-bedroom B&B. Fast forward 63 years and the hotel now boasts 187 bedrooms, a restaurant (Whittys), the Line Out Bar, meeting rooms, stunning gardens and BBQ facilities and last year was awarded a fourth star by Failte Ireland. 

Of the total €8million investment, €6million was completed in 2017 with the remaining €2million to be spent in 2018 on expanding the property with the build of an additional 17 double bedrooms. Sandymount Hotel predicts double-digit room revenue growth on the back of the new bedrooms and remains on track to further grow and expand the property into 2019.

There are also plans to remodel the building’s front façade and a re-locate the reception to enhance guests’ experience on arrival. This success to-date has allowed the Loughran family to further invest in the property, supporting local contractors and suppliers, restructure it’s in-house management team, and boost its staff to over 100 employees.

John Loughran, owner and director at Sandymount Hotel, knows the importance of maintaining and improving standards.

“We are extremely proud of the tremendous growth the hotel has experienced since its beginning,” he said. “All profits generated by the hotel over the last few years have been reinvested to develop and enhance the hotel’s offering, with rewarding benefits, including the receipt of our 4-star status and winning a number of accolades, most recently ‘Europe’s Leading Green Hotel’ (2017 and 2018) at the World Travel Awards. In a very competitive industry, we need to ensure our offering is superior, meeting the industry’s demands but above all, that we remain entirely guest focused, exceedng expectations and ensuring the guest takes centre-stage. We are proud to be Dublin’s largest and oldest family run hotel, instilling my parent’s ethos of providing heartfelt care and service to our guests and ensuring our legacy continues to go from strength to strength.”

Meanwhile, the newly designed Café en Seine has also reopened its doors this November. Established in 1993, the Dawson’s Street bar quickly became known as one of Ireland’s leading destination venues.

 Spread across seven areas, the new bars will serve everything from local favourites to high end beers, spirits and cocktails.

Also on Dawson Street Carluccio’s is set to open after €250,000 refurbishment.

 Founded in 1999 by the late Antonio Carluccio, the re-styled restaurant, now seats 106 over two floors and boasts a new aperitivo bar that has been designed for counter dining and after-work drinks.