HASTINGS HOTEL GROUP REACHES NEW HEIGHTS IN BELFAST

Windsor House Belfast to be a new Hastings Hotel group property. Picture by: Peter Clarke (CC)

Belfast’s and Ireland’s tallest commercial building has just been bought by the Hastings Hotel Group for around £6.5m.
Windsor House building in the centre of Belfast is to be transformed into a city centre hotel and creating 150 jobs within the hospitality once finished.

Directors of Hastings Hotel Group who own several hotels in Northern Ireland including the Europa said: “Planning permission for a hotel of major city international quality will be submitted within a few weeks.
“With our philosophy of continuous reinvestment, Hastings Hotels will also continue to extend, enhance and invest in its existing six Northern Ireland hotels, and in the Merrion Hotel in Dublin.”
“This will be a major construction project, and will be very much welcomed by the Northern Ireland building industry.
The 22-storey office block was placed on the market in 2014 after the previous owners went into administration.

The hotel group has also recently become part of the Visit Belfast Corporate Partnership scheme, the Hastings Hotels is to be a lead partner across Visit Belfast’s leisure and business tourism promotion. They have six hotels across Northern Ireland including the Europa and Culloden Hotel and Spa.

Julie Hastings, Marketing Director of Hastings Hotels said: “We are delighted to become Visit Belfast’s first Corporate Partner and look forward to aligning our marketing efforts to ensure Belfast continues to remain a popular leisure and business destination, both at home and abroad.”

The tourism sector for Belfast as a whole is estimated to bring into the economy £453m and they have a target to double that revenue by 2020. The increase in tourism for the city and the growth in the business sector the hotel should help to reach that target.

Belfast Architects WDR & RT Taggarts have been engaged to develop the plans and designs for this prime city centre location.