Galgorm Resort hoping to add 64 bedrooms
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has received a renewed planning application for a 64-bedroom extension at Galgorm Resort outside Ballymena.
The development proposal includes plans for a new wing with rooftop pool and spa, external spa garden and an executive lounge linking to the existing hotel.
It comes after a recent expansion at the 380-acre hotel complex which is part of a £30m project to “further expand and enhance the resort and spa facilities” by 2027.
Galgorm Collection says it has invested £60m in the Co Antrim resort since 2010.
Last October, the company announced a £10m expansion for 50 additional accommodation units to be established during the next two years to include 18 “shepherd’s huts”.
Last month, Galgorm Collection confirmed it will be investing £2.5m as part of a refurbishment, including a rooftop spa for residents at The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn, which it purchased in 2021.
The company also owns The Rabbit Hotel and Retreat in Templepatrick which was named ‘Northern Ireland Hotel of the Year’ at the AA Hospitality Awards 2022.
In August LCN reported that the parent company of the Galgorm Collection of hospitality venues has seen sales rise from £16.5m to £22.7m in the year to October 31, marking a huge bounce back from a pandemic hit.
Between 2019 and 2020 the group took a £10m hit, but its latest accounts filed at Companies House reveal show it is now back on track to pass its record turnover of £26.7m in 2019.
The hospitality giant is owned by brothers Nick and Paul Hill and as well as the landmark Galgorm hotel, its other properties include the Fratelli Group of pizzerias, the Rabbit hotel in Templepatrick and The Old Inn in Crawfordsburn which it purchased in April 2021.
The group is also awaiting further panning permissions for an 18-room boutique hotel and restaurant on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, to be called The Raven.
Its owners hope it will see the former Holy Rosary Church, above, become a foodie destination for residents and non-residents alike.
