Latest news with #ColinJohnston
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘A deeper connection to nature' - Galgorm to spend €3.5m on new forest spa garden and resort rooms
Luxury hotel and spa resort Galgorm has announced a £3m (€3.5m) investment in guestroom refurbishment and plans for a forest spa garden. The resort said the changes, part of an overall £40m (€48m) investment plan, enhanced its thermal spa village while reinforcing its commitment to investing in tourism in Northern Ireland. Parent company Galgorm Collection has spent £2m (€2.4m) on room refurbishment, including renovating the six junior suites at Galgorm, which now have private hot tubs on their balconies overlooking the River Maine. And work to refurbish 45 superior rooms is due to be finished by July. A new forest spa garden is due to open in the autumn of this year in a further £1m (€1.2m) investment which the venue said would offer guests 'a deeper connection to nature'. The garden will be sited opposite the thermal spa village within the resort's woodland area, and will be equipped with four cabanas, three private hot tubs, a sauna and forest walkways. A new bridge will link the new garden to the main spa, which Galgorm said would create 'a fully immersive wellness journey'. Colin Johnston, managing director at Galgorm Collection, said: 'These investments allow us to push boundaries in creating exceptional guest experiences. "The junior suites' private balcony hot tubs offer guests a spa retreat within their own room, while the Forest Spa Garden introduces an entirely new way to relax and reconnect with nature. 'Our guests both from home and overseas can expect even more from Galgorm, and this latest chapter reflects our vision for world-class hospitality here in Northern Ireland.' The forest spa garden will be open to all overnight and day spa guests, but is particularly aimed at guests staying in its forest dens, eco-friendly accommodation combine luxury and an experience close to nature. The forest dens, featured in The Irish Independent's Fab 50 list of Ireland's best places to stay in 2025, have a private garden terrace, outdoor shower, wood-fired bath, and private sauna. This latest investment is part of Galgorm's broader £40m expansion strategy, which the group said was 'futureproofing' the industry in Northern Ireland. The resort is the flagship property in Galgorm Collection and has benefited from spending of £60m (€71m) since 2010. Galgorm Collection recently announced the acquisitions of Galgorm Castle Estate in Ballymena and Roe Valley Resort in Limavady for a total of £28m (€33m), with another £22m (€26m) to be spent to improve both properties in the next five years. Galgorm Collection opened the Rabbit Hotel & Retreat in Templepatrick, Co Antrim in 2019, and in 2021 acquired and relaunched The Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, adding an outdoor treetop spa and improving its accommodation and dining facilities. Mr Johnston added: 'As international travel continues to rebound and domestic tourism flourishes, our focus remains on delivering premium, experience-led hospitality across our entire property portfolio. "We are proud to contribute to the vibrancy of Northern Ireland's tourism offering and look forward to welcoming even more guests from domestic and overseas markets to experience everything Galgorm has to offer.'
Belfast Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Galgorm to spend £3m on resort rooms and new forest spa garden as part of major investment
Luxury hotel and spa resort Galgorm has announced a £3m investment in guestroom refurbishment and plans for a forest spa garden. The resort said the changes, part of an overall £40m investment plan, enhanced its thermal spa village while reinforcing its commitment to investing in tourism in Northern Ireland. Parent company Galgorm Collection has spent £2m on room refurbishment, including renovating the six junior suites at the Galgorm, which now have private hot tubs on their balconies overlooking the River Maine. And work to refurbish 45 superior rooms is due to be finished by July. And a new forest spa garden is due to open in the autumn of this year in a further £1m investment which the venue said would offer guests 'a deeper connection to nature'. The garden will be sited opposite the thermal spa village within the resort's woodland area, and will be equipped with four cabanas, three private hot tubs, a sauna and forest walkways. A new bridge will link the new garden to the main spa, which Galgorm said would create 'a fully immersive wellness journey'. Colin Johnston, managing director at Galgorm Collection, said: 'These investments allow us to push boundaries in creating exceptional guest experiences. "The junior suites' private balcony hot tubs offer guests a spa retreat within their own room, while the Forest Spa Garden introduces an entirely new way to relax and reconnect with nature. 'Our guests both from home and overseas can expect even more from Galgorm, and this latest chapter reflects our vision for world-class hospitality here in Northern Ireland.' The forest spa garden will be open to all overnight and day spa guests, but is particularly aimed at guests staying in its forest dens, eco-friendly accommodation combine luxury and an experience close to nature. News Catch Up - Monday 26 May The forest dens, featured in The Irish Independent's Fab 50 list of Ireland's best places to stay in 2025, have a private garden terrace, outdoor shower, wood-fired bath, and private sauna. This latest investment is part of Galgorm's broader £40m expansion strategy, which the group said was 'futureproofing' the industry in Northern Ireland. The resort is the flagship property in Galgorm Collection and has benefited from spending of £60m since 2010. Galgorm Collection recently announced the acquisitions of Galgorm Castle Estate in Ballymena and Roe Valley Resort in Limavady for a total of £28m, with another £22m to be spent to improve both properties in the next five years. Galgorm Collection opened the £15m Rabbit Hotel & Retreat in Templepatrick, Co Antrim in 2019, and in 2021 acquired and relaunched The Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, adding a £2.5m outdoor treetop spa and improving its accommodation and dining facilities. Mr Johnston added: 'As international travel continues to rebound and domestic tourism flourishes, our focus remains on delivering premium, experience-led hospitality across our entire property portfolio. "We are proud to contribute to the vibrancy of Northern Ireland's tourism offering and look forward to welcoming even more guests from domestic and overseas markets to experience everything Galgorm has to offer.' Galgorm's thermal spa village was named Best Spa Experience 2025 at the Condé Nast Johansens Awards.
Belfast Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Galgorm announces £3m spend on resort rooms and new forest spa garden
The resort said the changes, part of an overall £40m investment plan, enhanced its thermal spa village while reinforcing its commitment to investing in tourism in Northern Ireland. Parent company Galgorm Collection has spent £2m on room refurbishment, including renovating the six junior suites at the Galgorm, which now have private hot tubs on their balconies overlooking the River Maine. And work to refurbish 45 superior rooms is due to be finished by July. And a new forest spa garden is due to open in the autumn of this year in a further £1m investment which the venue said would offer guests 'a deeper connection to nature'. The garden will be sited opposite the thermal spa village within the resort's woodland area, and will be equipped with four cabanas, three private hot tubs, a sauna and forest walkways. A new bridge will link the new garden to the main spa, which Galgorm said would create 'a fully immersive wellness journey'. Colin Johnston, managing director at Galgorm Collection, said: 'These investments allow us to push boundaries in creating exceptional guest experiences. "The junior suites' private balcony hot tubs offer guests a spa retreat within their own room, while the Forest Spa Garden introduces an entirely new way to relax and reconnect with nature. 'Our guests both from home and overseas can expect even more from Galgorm, and this latest chapter reflects our vision for world-class hospitality here in Northern Ireland.' The forest spa garden will be open to all overnight and day spa guests, but is particularly aimed at guests staying in its forest dens, eco-friendly accommodation combine luxury and an experience close to nature. The forest dens, featured in The Irish Independent's Fab 50 list of Ireland's best places to stay in 2025, have a private garden terrace, outdoor shower, wood-fired bath, and private sauna. This latest investment is part of Galgorm's broader £40m expansion strategy, which the group said was 'futureproofing' the industry in Northern Ireland. The resort is the flagship property in Galgorm Collection and has benefited from spending of £60m since 2010. Galgorm Collection recently announced the acquisitions of Galgorm Castle Estate in Ballymena and Roe Valley Resort in Limavady for a total of £28m, with another £22m to be spent to improve both properties in the next five years. Galgorm Collection opened the £15m Rabbit Hotel & Retreat in Templepatrick, Co Antrim in 2019, and in 2021 acquired and relaunched The Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, adding a £2.5m outdoor treetop spa and improving its accommodation and dining facilities. Mr Johnston added: 'As international travel continues to rebound and domestic tourism flourishes, our focus remains on delivering premium, experience-led hospitality across our entire property portfolio. "We are proud to contribute to the vibrancy of Northern Ireland's tourism offering and look forward to welcoming even more guests from domestic and overseas markets to experience everything Galgorm has to offer.' Galgorm's thermal spa village was named Best Spa Experience 2025 at the Condé Nast Johansens Awards.
BBC News
02-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
NI tourism sector split on impact of new travel permit
Despite warnings, the expansion of a UK travel permit scheme to EU visitors is not impacting tourism to Northern Ireland according to some businesses in the of Tuesday, visitors from the EU will join those from the rest of the word in needing an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to enter the head of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance has said this amounts to a barrier for tourists who have come to the Republic of Ireland and may wish to visit Northern a hotel group and a tour company have both told the BBC they have not seen an impact to their business. Colin Johnston managing director of the Galgorm Collection said that while the sector had campaigned against the ETA, once it was explained to visitors "it lands fine and they understand it".Speaking on the BBC's Talkback programme he said some guests had been spooked by the "substantial negativity in our media" about the ETA, adding that "we're maybe doing more damage to ourselves by continuing to talk about it".Heather Rennie McGill from the tour company Rabbie's said it is an issue of "communication and how we make it easy for customers to do the legal stuff they need to to enter the country".She said that when the ETA was first introduced in 2023 for visitors travelling to the UK from outside the EU there was an impact "on the level of service or customer care that we had to do but I didn't see it impact our bookings."However, she said that the system was causing anxiety for some customers and was an unwelcome extra UK Government has said that the ETA will help prevent abuse of the immigration system. 'Deeply concerned' Joanne Stuart, the head of the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance has said that Northern Ireland is being removed from the itineraries of tourism trips for a number of companies to the island of Ireland due to the expansion of the scheme."We are promoted as part of the island of Ireland and that's always been based very much on seamless travel."She told the BBC that 69% of holidaymakers spending time in Northern Ireland come through the Republic."We've put this barrier in the way... and we're starting to see the impact of that."Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said she was "deeply concerned about the impact of the introduction of the ETA scheme and what it will mean for our tourism sector".Archibald said she had engaged with the UK Government as recently as last week on the issue and repeated calls for Northern Ireland to be exempt from the calls for an exemption for Northern Ireland were rejected by the last UK Government, who said said it would result in "an unacceptable gap" in UK border security. What is an ETA and how do you get one? The ETA is a permit which non-British and non-Irish citizens, who do not require a visa, will generally need to enter the will include international visitors who arrive in Dublin and then plan to travel to Northern currently costs £10 to apply using the UK ETA app or online through however, this fee will go up to £16 on 9 to the government website, those who apply for an ETA will usually get a decision within 3 working days, although they claim many could "get a much quicker decision".The travel journalist Lisa Minot told BBC News NI that for most people it "should be a matter of minutes".An ETA lasts for 2 years or until your passport expires and you can travel to the UK as many times as you want while you have an ETA.
