Following revised planning permission being granted for the Grand Central Hotel, Hastings Hotels has announced that it will invest £53M on what will be Northern Ireland’s largest hotel.

Building work is now underway following the approval of the plans by Belfast City Council, with the completed project comprising an additional 104 guestrooms, bringing the total number to 304.

Sir William Hastings, Chairman of Hastings Hotels, comments: “We are pleased that the revised planning permission for the Grand Central Hotel has been approved. This represents our company’s biggest single investment to date of £53M and is the sum required to create a top quality hotel befitting the name, Grand Central, and of which Belfast City can be proud. The Grand Central Hotel will be more than a hotel when it opens in mid 2018. The original Grand Central was built in 1893 and was the thriving hub of Victorian Belfast as well as the finest hotel in Ireland. Winston Churchill, the King of Belgium, Al Jolson, Mario Lanza and the Beatles were all guests who enjoyed its luxurious hospitality. I am extremely proud to be able to pay tribute to this much loved property of the past by naming Belfast’s newest hotel after it.”

The hotel’s branding will incorporate the Seahorse, part of Belfast’s coat of arms, with the symbol appearing on menus, plates and as part of the decor throughout the building. Regularly changing building wraps have also been created, which tell the story of the project as it is built.

“We look forward to working with a wide range of local companies during this major project,” Hasting concludes. “Our lead construction partner is Graham Construction and their building expertise and quality of workmanship is second to none. The structural steel has been fabricated in Lisburn and the cladding is being designed and procured through a company based in Moira. The mechanical and electrical contractors are also local as are the bricklayers, joiners, plasterers and even the tower crane driver.”

www.hastingshotels.com