Hotelier Frankie Whelehan has laid out his plan to invest €5 million into The Montenotte Hotel in Cork city centre.
Whelehan, former head of the Choice Hotel group, is planning to overhaul the 107-bedroom, four-star hotel to, as he describes, "match the product with personality”.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the hotelier who once owned the 24-strong hotel group that hired 2,000 staff at its peak, will now focus on this one family-run hotel above Cork city. “It’s going to be a local hotel, that’s important, I want people in the locality and city to feel like it is theirs,” he said.
Despite the large investment, no rooms will be added to the hotel, instead the €5 million will go into refurbishing its current rooms at €10,000 per room. A new function room, in-house cinema and sun terrace will also be added, as well as a repositioning of the restaurant, bar and reception area.
The renovations will place The Montenotte at the upper end of the four-star properties in Cork city.
