Boutique hotel chain Malmaison has bought the four-star McCausland hotel in Belfast, its eighth hotel and first in Ireland.
Work will begin on the building, formerly two Victorian warehouses, in July, with a view to opening in December as a 62-bedroom Malmaison with two rooftop suites and a 70-cover brasserie. Bedrooms will be priced at the standard company rack rate of £129, with introductory offers available.
"Mal is on the way back," proclaimed Malmaison's managing director Robert Cook, who has introduced a multifaceted "brand harmonisation programme" to re-energise the business since joining Malmaison as managing director in January.
Cook brushed aside the latest figures from parent company MWB, which showed that Malmaison posted a pre-tax loss of £1.6m in the six months to 31 December 2003, compared with £1.2m in the same period in 2002, claiming that Malmaison had "exceeded expectations" in the first quarter of 2004.
"We're getting standards back to where I want them, both operationally and aesthetically," said Cook. "We're moving the product on."
Work is underway on an 87-bedroom Malmaison in Oxford, and the company is refurbishing its 112-bedroom Manchester hotel, with plans to refurbish its Newcastle hotel later in the year.
Other planned initiatives include putting complimentary broadband and interactive TV systems in the hotel rooms, improving the toiletries, and introducing a new menu with a grill section across the portfolio.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 8 - 14 April 2004