SPA HOTEL PLANS FOR TOP EATERY
POPULAR RESTAURANT CONSIDERS NEW FUTURE
A POPULAR cliff-top family restaurant in Mumbles could be knocked down to become a wedding venue, spa hotel and cafe – but not anytime soon.
Christian and Alex Di Iulio, who are behind Castellamare in Bracelet Bay, have submitted a preplanning application inquiry form to Swansea Council proposing to demolish the restaurant, cafe bar and function room, and replace it with the new development.
The application states that the main purpose of the inquiry is to “assess the implications of the altered use of the site and the architectural treatment within its context.”
The plans will come as a surprise to many, with the restaurant having enjoyed huge success for generations due to its mixed menu and scenic location overlooking Bracelet Bay and Mumbles Lighthouse.
It currently features a cafe bar with 140 seats inside and 200 outside, serving up pizzas, pastas, ice creams and more, along with a 120-seater a la carte Italian restaurant, serving fresh fish, steaks, chicken and pasta dishes, fine wines and desserts.
There’s also a function suite catering for parties of 40 to 70 people.
Explaining the plans in more depth, Christian Di Iulio said: “It is a preapplication, and all we are doing at the moment is looking at plans in the future, we’re not looking to do anything immediately.
“We know there is a demand for quality rooms in the area and we’re trying to tap into that.
“We’re also looking at a wedding venue, as it is an exciting and fantastic location.
“We’re not planning on doing anything for the next couple of years, we’re happy as we are for now.
“We want to see the council’s thoughts on the project and we’ll fine tune things from there.
“For now, we’d like to reassure our customers, who have been very loyal to us, that nothing is going to change in the short term, and going forward we’ll definitely keep an element of the restaurant and cafe underneath.”
The news comes after Swansea’s planning committee unanimously approved plans to redevelop the Mumbles Pier headland and foreshore.
That application is for 69 hotel rooms and ground-floor commercial use at a five-storey headland building, and 26 twoto three-storey foreshore flats, along with a revamped pavilion and extended boardwalk.
And it also follows an announcement that fourstar hotel accommodation is coming to Mumbles as part of the second phase of the Oyster Wharf scheme.
Work on the 16-room development at Tivoli Walk is expected to start next March, and will take around nine months to complete.