Iconic Irish hotel chain Jurys Inn to be rebranded as ‘Leonardo’

Owner the Fattal group is also actively looking at additional Irish sites

Jurys Inn, Parnell Street. Picture: Niall Carson /PA Wire

Fearghal O'Connor, Deputy Business Editor

The Jurys name – synonymous with the Irish hotel sector for more than 150 years – will disappear as part of a major rebrand by the Fattal Hotel Group, owner of Ireland’s best known hotel chain.

All 35 Jurys Inn hotels across Ireland and the UK are to become Leonardo hotels this autumn as part of a wider growth strategy that could also see new hotels built in Dublin, Galway and Cork.

The entire Jurys Inn portfolio was acquired by the group – owned by Israeli billionaire David Fattal – in 2017 and the Jurys brand has since operated in Ireland and the UK under the Fattal umbrella, along with its Leonardo, Royal and Nyx properties.

At the time, Fattal already had seven Leonardo hotels in the UK. That has since grown to 15 properties with much of the marketing, procurement and other back-office responsibilities handled by Jurys Inn in Dublin.

“Ever since we became part of the Fattal group there has always been an intention to bring the two groups of hotels together,” Jurys Inn managing director Jason Carruthers told the Sunday Independent.

The Jurys name goes all the way back to 1839 when William Jury opened a guesthouse in College Green in Dublin, with the first Jurys Inn opened in Galway in 1993.

“There are a lot of similarities between the Jurys brand and the Leonardo brand. We will have the benefit of being part of an international brand, part of a group of 145 Leonardo properties, with the benefits that go with that, from a larger loyalty programme to a single website for bookings across the whole business.”

Carruthers said that a huge amount of thought and planning had gone into the rebrand.

“Will Jurys be missed? I suppose the important thing is that the Jurys platform, the team and the people who are involved in Jurys remain exactly the same. The offer will be very, very similar.

“Of course, there is an emotional attachment to the Jurys brand and great respect for the way the brand evolved over the years. But it’s really about the opportunity moving forward and it’s so compelling to be part of an international group with 225 hotels internationally and 145 of those under the Leonardo brand. That is the big driver.”

Carruthers said the group is actively looking at a number of sites for new hotels, as well as acquisition targets across Ireland. It is currently building a Nyx hotel at Portobello in Dublin, which is expected to open in November 2023.

“We’ve got this suite of brands available to us and in Dublin, for example, we’ll have two Leonardo properties in Christchurch and Parnell Street when they change from Jurys Inn, a Nyx hotel in Portobello and we also see potential for a Leonardo Royal.”

Royal properties are larger and cater for meetings and events, have spa facilities and more extensive food and beverage offerings.

“Booking for the summer period looks very, very strong and we’re starting to see a return for international business in key cities like Dublin and London, as well as a return of meeting and events business. We saw Galway actually recover at an even quicker level than we did Dublin. We’d certainly consider additional hotels in both Galway and Cork. We are looking at sites at the moment for a Nyx hotel in Galway.”