The rapidly expanding Irish hotel company the Carlton Hotel Group are to manage the new 4 star hotel currently under construction in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. The Carlton Shearwater Hotel and Spa, Marina Point, will be a welcome boost to Ballinasloe offering long term local employment for up to 130 full and part-time workers.

The Carlton Shearwater is phase one of the three phase Plaza development. The property is owned and developed by prominent Galway businessman Pete Melville and the Melville family. When completed the overall investment will be in the order of €68 - €70 million.

Confirmation of the Carlton Hotel Group as management contractors of the Carlton Shearwater Hotel and Spa sees the coming together of two prominent Galway business families, Michael Kearney Chairman of the Carlton Hotel Group who is a native of Claregalway Co. Galway and the Melville Family owners and developers of the property.

On the announcement of the hotel, Michael Kearney, Group Chairman, Carlton Hotels, commented "we expect the Carlton Shearwater Hotel will be a very popular destination for weddings, conferences and dinner dances and already the level of enquires is very encouraging. In our first year we are targeting occupancy in the region of 15,000 - 20,000 residential guests which will bring significant additional revenues to the local area and be a significant boost to the local economy in Ballinasloe"

Kearney added "the Carlton Hotel Group are committed to working closely with the local residential and business community, this being the first major hotel development in the region for a considerable time."

The 4-star hotel is prominently located at Marina point on the main bypass route through Ballinasloe on the Dublin to Galway N 6. The hotel which is due to open in August will provide this important gateway town to the West of Ireland with a state of the art purpose built hotel and dedicated conference and banqueting facility. Along with the recently developed Ballinasloe Marina this 4-star hotel development significantly enhances the tourism infrastructure in Ballinasloe.

The Carlton Shearwater Hotel will have 106 fully air conditioned hotel bedrooms including 18 luxury executive suites which are also suitable for families and 2 deluxe suites for special occasions. Included in the development will be one of Irelands most extensive leisure clubs in the West of Ireland and Galway's first dedicated "C" Spa, Carlton's own signature spa brand.

The leisure club, features a 20-meter deck level indoor heated swimming pool and designated children's area. Also included are a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. A full service gymnasium facility is fitted out with modern aerobic sports training and fitness equipment. The "C" Spa includes 9 treatment rooms and a dedicated relaxation room.

The hotel's main function room, "The Plaza Suite" is purpose built to accommodate large functions and conferences up to 500 guests designed with an innovative and self-contained break-out garden terrace and drinks reception area. The Plaza Suite is flexible enough to split into two smaller function areas depending on the numbers.

The prominent design feature of the Carlton Shearwater Hotel is the glass atrium to the front of the property which also contains a dedicated and self-contained business centre, providing corporate clients with a host of medium-sized meeting room options.

The pre-opening sales, administration and recruitment office for the Carlton Shearwater Hotel has been in situe since 2006 on Society Street in Ballinasloe town centre. A large majority of the staff will come from Ballinasloe and the surrounding area. Our goal, under the able stewardship of our local management team, is to become a mainstay of the local community, both as an employer and as an integral part of the area's tourism infrastructure.

With the addition of the Ballinasloe Hotel to the Carlton Hotel Group, employment in the group will rise to 800 staff; this also includes a strengthening of the group's executive team in the areas of finance, operations and marketing, as the group organises the 4-star Carlton brand for further growth. Carlton are actively investigating similar new build and existing hotel opportunities at home and abroad in both city centre locations and resort destinations, throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe.

The Carlton Shearwater Plaza, Ballinasloe.