May opening for €2m Glasson hotel extension

Work on a €2m development at the picturesque Glasson Hotel and Golf Club is nearing completion. It's expected the major extension, comprising a fabulous new banqueting and conferencing suite, extra bars, kitchen facilities and ancillary relaxation suites, will open during May. The project represents one of the few recent investments in the hotel and hospitality sector nationwide - and is designed to allow the hotel to capitalise further on the wedding and conference markets. The new extension has as its centrepiece a stunning and spacious banqueting suite with the capacity to cater for up to 300 guests. A glazed external finish to much of the building will also allow residents and guests to enjoy the stunning panoramic views overlooking Lough Ree. The two-story development features a first-floor function room boasting two comfortable bars while the ground floor contains a stylish horseshoe-style residents' bar. The development also permits a significant upgrading of the hotel's kitchen facilties Tom and Breda Reid, who own and manage the hotel, envisage the new development as an addition to the overall tourism product of the midlands. "We would hope to bring more people into the area and I'd be aiming to help make Athlone the wedding venue of the midland region," Tom said. The construction of the M4 and M6 motorways connecting Dublin and Galway has increased the midlands' accessibility. And, of course, the hotel's unique lakeside location endows it with a marvellous natural advantage. The larger conferencing and banqueting facilities will provide an extra edge to the hotel to attract overnight guests and to increase the usage of the hotels' 65 bedrooms. Already, the hotel is hugely popular with wedding parties, due to its stunning setting and unique package. The Reid's son-in-law Gareth Jones explained that a lake cruise was the ideal solution for the growing numbers of wedding parties that are now seeking an additional activity to pursue on the day after the ceremony. However, after nine years in the hotel trade, Tom Reid believes there is untapped tourism potential in the midlands region. They have been working closely with Failte Ireland and are playing an active part in 're-branding' the 'Midlands' as 'The Lakelands'; a name chosen to emphasise the beauty of the surroundings in many of the local and regional properties. "When you go abroad people say they are going to Killarney or the west, they rarely say they are going to the midlands. It's a much harder sell, but when they come they are thrilled to bits," he said, citing the sense of achievement in exceeding customer expectations. As part of this drive to develop the tourism product in the midlands, Tom was elected of Irish President of SKAL International, a worldwide body of travel and tourism professionals numbering up to 20,000 members, during 2007/2008. With Ireland's South West in the running to host the organisation's 2012 world congress, Tom is hopeful of attracting up to 1,000 tourism professionals to the Lakelands region during the congress. The logistics of continuing to operate a four-star hotel during a construction project carried out in the depth of a recession has posed "a huge challenge", Tom admitted. But, he felt the hotel needed to continue to improve, to increase its offering to the consumer and to expand its range of services. The extra bar, banqueting and kitchen facilities are designed to serve to increase guest numbers including local visitors at a time when the numbers of overnight golfers are beginning to fall off. This will have a positive spin-off locally as the hotel sources much of its supplies from within the midlands, as Breda explained. The new two-storey extension fits snugly around the existing period home, Killinure House, which dates from 1780 and which currently houses the hotel's dining area. Incorporating this protected structure into the overall development posed an interesting challenge for architect Pat Coughlan of Mullingar-based Coughlan and Associates. Although the development is attached to the 18th century building, the use of a vertical glass strip creates the visual impression that the buildings are not structurally connnected. A special reflective glass is to be incorporated into the glazed front of the extension in order to minimise glare. A centrepiece wood-burning stove, to be fed from the naturally available timber locally, is also incorporated into one of the new bar areas. The main contractors on the project are Ollie Kenny Construction Ltd, whilst the construction engineers are Young White Green.