Two new hotels planned for Dublin’s north inner city have been granted planning permission by Dublin City Council. They include the first entry by Northern Ireland hotel and entertainment group, Beannchor, into the market in the Republic for a 98-bed hotel on the site of the former Boland’s bakery off Capel Street. This is the second attempt by Beannchor, which owns the five-star Merchant Hotel in Belfast, to seek planning permission for a hotel on the site of the former bakery. Plans for a 62-bedroom hotel on the site were rejected by An Bord Pleanála in early 2020 on the basis it was not an adequate design given the opportunity to develop the site. The latest plans, which include an eight-storey building, could still face an appeal to An Bord Pleanálá.

Dublin City Council has also approved plans for a 94-bedroom hotel by Vision Wave, a company owned by hotelier Brian McGettigan, on the site of a number of existing buildings between Capel Street and Parnell Street. The seven-storey development also provides for a whiskey lounge, wine cellar, spa and restaurant as well as a rooftop private lounge for residents.