£5million Ballymena hotel expansion '˜could create over 80 jobs'

The proposal, to be built on six recently-acquired acres at the front of the existing hotel, would comprise a four-storey annexe featuring a boutique tree-top spa, gym, juice bar, coffee and tea lounge, hair and beauty facilities and 45 extra guest rooms.

If approved, the Tullyglass House Hotel would become the second Ballymena hotel to boost its spa offering in recent years, after Galgorm Resort and Spa unveiled its £10million spa village extension in 2015.

Director of the family-owned Tullyglass House Hotel Gus McConville said it would be “great if Ballymena became the spa capital of Northern Ireland.”

“I would like to promote a coastal ring with Ballymena as the gateway, going round to Glenarm, Slemish, Ballintoy, Bushmills and the Causeway,” he said.

“I have noticed a lot more tourists in the town over the last two years and this development would be a great boost for the town, potentially creating over 80 jobs. It will create more options in the area which will draw more people here.”

Mr McConville said that factors such as the success of HBO’s blockbuster drama Game of Thrones had led to more visitors exploring the North Antrim countryside, creating “record visitor numbers in the last year with even greater projections for the coming years.”

He added that the new build would “not affect the day to day running” of the hotel, and would be the “perfect next step” to “secure the hotel’s future for many years to come.”

In the scheme’s design and access statement, architects RPP say that the proposal is necessary as existing facilities are “inadequate to support the hotel’s expanding needs.”

They added: “The current market for extended stays at weddings/conferences, with enhanced guest facilities, primarily spa facilities, is a sector that the hotel currently struggles to satisfy.

“The concept is to create a stand-alone bedroom and spa facility, within the hotel grounds, separated from the more busy and noisy activities of the main hotel and a new, enlarged hotel reception, located ‘between’ the new and existing facilities.”

In addition, the new development would boast an “impressive” new main entrance from the Galgorm Road, as well as a formal avenue to deliver guests directly into a new plaza and new reception area. A total of 100 additional car and 20 additional coach parking spaces are also proposed.