Irish hotel giant Dalata refurbishing the Clayton in central Belfast to tune of £1.5m

IRISH hotel giant Dalata Group plc has embarked on a £1.5m refurbishment of the four-star Clayton in Belfast city centre.

The operator, which owns two other hotels here, said it was upgrading 139 bedrooms and adding a new restaurant and bar, with work on the Ormeau Avenue building to finish next month.

March will also see the opening of the company’s fourth hotel in the province, a Maldron off Bedford Street in Belfast.

The company, Ireland’s biggest hotel operator, acquired the Clayton, a former Holiday Inn, in 2015. It has 170 bedrooms.

Naomi Wilson for Clayton Ho-

Upgrade: Clayton Hotel

tel Belfast said: “We are delighted to announce the £1.5m refurbishment investment at Clayton Hotel Belfast — 2018 is set to be a fantastic year for tourism in Belfast city centre and we want to ensure that all our customers receive the very best experience during their stay with us.”

The Clayton is one of a series of hotels across the city and province to receive an upgrade.

The Crowne Plaza at Shaw’s Bridge is to spend £5m on improving and extending its bedrooms.

And an extension is being added to Ballymena’s Tullyglass House, while the La Mon near Comber, Co Down, is being renovated.

The Bayview Hotel in Portballintrae recently announced plans to expand and create an additional 30 jobs after securing a new loan from Barclays.