Loughview Leisure buys Hilton Templepatrick with DoubleTree rebrand planned
The firm behind Belfast’s Ten Square Hotel has bought the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick for an undisclosed fee.
Antrim-based Loughview Leisure Group, which also the Chimney Corner in Newtownabbey and the Loughshore Hotel in Carrickfergus. plans to rebrand the venue as the first DoubleTree by Hilton in Northern Ireland.
The company says the 200-acre hotel and golf resort will remain open throughout the rebrand.
“We will continue to invest in the resort going forward and have exciting plans to reveal in the upcoming weeks.”
‘Very excited’
Christopher Kearney, Loughview Leisure Group finance director added: “We’re thrilled to add the Hilton Templepatrick resort to our current portfolio of hotels. DoubleTree by Hilton is one of the fastest growing brands within Hilton’s portfolio and we’re very excited to be the first of this franchise in Northern Ireland.”
The acquisition will bring the group’s number of staff to 250 people.
Following the group’s purchase of Ten Square in 2015 Loughview set about giving it a £20m makeover, expanding its bedroom capacity, introducing a host of new food and beverage facilities and significantly investing in its events space.
The hotel is now home to 131 bedrooms, increasing from 22 bedrooms, having expanded into three neighbouring buildings.
A new rooftop Loft Bar was unveiled in March 2018, as well as a new ground floor space – including Josper’s Steakhouse restaurant and Irish-style pub, The Doffer, which took its name from the ‘doffers’ who worked in Belfast’s old mills.
Speaking at the time, Chris Kearney said “Given Belfast’s rich and colourful linen heritage and the fact the original building was a linen warehouse, owned by twice serving Belfast Lord Mayor, Sir Otto Jaffa, we wanted to retain that character and celebrate the hotel’s back story with The Doffer.”
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