Marriott International To Establish Presence In The North

Marriott International, Inc. will establish its presence in Northern Ireland with a 169-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Belfast under a management agreement reached with Culzean Holdings Ltd. When opened in 2010, it will be the third Courtyard hotel to open in the U.K.

The Courtyard by Marriott Belfast will be located on Cromac Place and will form a core part of a high-quality, mixed-use commercial development that is the Gasworks.

The site will be replete with a large central water feature, lawns, gardens, walkways and cycle routes connecting it to the city center and to paths along the River Lagan. Within a five-minute walk of the hotel will be Belfast's central business district, the soon-to-open Victoria Square retail mall, the Grand Opera House and the various cinemas, restaurants and pubs of Greater Victoria Street, Dublin Road and Bradbury Place. Belfast's main conference, meeting and event venues of the Waterfront Hall, Odyssey Arena, Kings Hall, Ulster Hall and Queen's University are all accessible either by foot or public transport.

"We are excited to have our largest lodging brand represented in Belfast at the vibrant Gasworks development project," said Ed Fuller, president and managing director for international lodging for Marriott International. "This project is largely the result of recent political stability and resulting upswing in commercial activity in the city and we are confident that the Courtyard by Marriott Belfast will play an important role in the future growth of Belfast's commercial and leisure travel business."