Travelodge opens largest branded hotel in Ireland

Travelodge has officially opened its 11th hotel in Dublin city centre, its largest branded hotel in Ireland to date, under a franchise agreement with Tifco. Tifco has held a franchise agreement with Travelodge since 2016 and manages 11 Travelodge hotels across Ireland from Cork to Belfast. The new site represents a multi-million euro investment for Tifco and has created 100 new jobs. The 393-room, Dublin City Centre Travelodge PLUS hotel is now the second largest hotel in Dublin city centre as well as the first Travelodge hotel to offer the group’s premium economy SuperRooms. The hotel is located in the heart of the financial district and close to major attractions such as the Convention Centre, IFSC, Silicon Docks, Temple Bar, 3 Arena, Bord Gais Energy Theatre as well as city centre tourist attractions and shopping centres areas. It was designed by architectural practice MCA Architects. The contemporary building features glazed facades and a natural stone and brick finish, using a variety of elevational styles to “enhance and integrate” the local streetscape. The 393-room hotel across seven floors offers 175 SuperRooms, the group’s premium economy rooms. These rooms feature a Hansgröhe Raindance three-jet shower, in-room Lavazza coffee pod machines, a larger desk, 43” TV, mood lighting and USB power points throughout. The room is styled in a modern residential décor scheme and features the dream-light colour scheme which includes tones of calming blue, warm beige and tranquil taupe. The hotel also offers a range of room types which includes: family, double, twin accessible and interconnecting rooms. On the seventh floor, there are a number of double height rooms with “exceptional” city views. The ground floor features a large open lobby style reception area, work and relaxation zones, as well as a Mossco bar and restaurant. The bar menu offers a range of cocktails, fine wines and spirits while the restaurant features a daytime cafe with an all-day menu and a breakfast and dinner menu. The restaurant also features an outdoor terrace. At the hotel opening, Tifco also announced it has upgraded its Galway City hotel to a Travelodge PLUS concept. This multi-million euro investment includes adding 17 new rooms to the original site, upgrading the hotel to the new contemporary Travelodge PLUS design and adding 19 premium economy SuperRooms. With the opening of Travelodge Plus Dublin City Centre and the upgrade of Travelodge Galway City, the group now offers 194 SuperRooms in Ireland. Steve Bennett, Travelodge, chief property and development officer, said: “We are delighted to open the largest branded budget hotel in Ireland in a key location in the heart of Dublin City Centre with Tifco. It is a magnificent hotel and showcases just how far the budget hotel sector has grown over the last three decades. I would like to congratulate the Tifco team on a great job. “This opening marks a step change for budget hotels in Ireland. Britain and Ireland are now a nation of budget travellers, with more of us choosing to stay in budget hotels than any other hotel type.” He added: “Bringing Travelodge PLUS and SuperRooms to Ireland helps us to offer business and leisure travellers more choice whilst staying true to our mission to be the favourite hotel for value. As we look to the future we are looking forward to growing our hotel network across Ireland and we look forward to working with Tifco on our Irish estate.”