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The Address Collective plans to give guests more than a ‘copy and paste’ experience

Pól Ó Conghaile

The Address Connolly's rooftop space for Club guests

McGettigan's Cookhouse at The Address Cork

‘Club Experience’ upgrades include lounge access

'Jacob's Ladder', a slow-cooked rib of beef at McGettigan's Cookhouse. Photo: Pól Ó Conghaile

The Address Connolly's rooftop space for Club guests

McGettigan's Cookhouse at The Address Cork

‘Club Experience’ upgrades include lounge access

'Jacob's Ladder', a slow-cooked rib of beef at McGettigan's Cookhouse. Photo: Pól Ó Conghaile

The Address Connolly's rooftop space for Club guests

February 04 2023 02:30 AM

A Glasgow hotel with a 25-seater luxury cinema.

The reopening of a hotel near Dublin’s Connolly Station with two new floors.

Reimagining a town centre stay in Sligo.

All are on The Address Collective’s to-do list over the coming year or so.

The what now?

It sounds like a global outfit with boutiquey notions, but this niche hotel collection is owned and run by Brian and Ciara McGettigan, and it intends to make a splash in the hotel scene in Ireland... and beyond.

The McGettigan Group has several hotels, but launched The Address Collective in 2020 with a €16m reboot of The Ambassador in Cork (now The Address Cork) and The Kingswood (The Address Citywest) and North Star (The Address Connolly) in Dublin.

The pandemic forced a few pivots, of course (the Connolly hotel has been contracted to the State for a year), but 2023 brings a fresh start.

McGettigan's Cookhouse at The Address Cork

“We feel like we’re fully coming back on stream,” commercial director Seán Reid tells me of a new €14m spend that will see The Address Connolly reopen to guests on April 1 with 40 new rooms and a new wellness centre; the former Pocotel become The Address Glasgow in September; and Sligo City Hotel become an Address in 2024.

So what can we expect from a stay?

“We don’t believe our guests want a ‘copy and paste’ experience,” Reid says. “Things have changed, and other hotels in the market have pushed things on.”

Theirs is a “deceptively simple” formula of four-star luxury, Irish design and produce where possible, and properties that share the same standards but with individual differences and local inflections, he explains.

‘Club Experience’ upgrades include lounge access

This is hospitality, so there’s marketing speak to wade through (“the ultimate four-star experience”), but I see strong ideas too.

Rather than separate hotel bars and restaurants, for example, McGettigan’s Cookhouse blends the two in casual-yet-elevated spaces aimed at guests and walk-ins, be they families, couples or corporates.

‘Club Experience’ upgrades buy access to better rooms, Club lounges and 6.30pm “wine and nibbles”, which Reid says can work like informal networking sessions. A ‘Taste The Address’ special with B&B, dinner and a cocktail starts from around €250 for two sharing in the Dublin hotels (add an extra €30 for Club rates).

To my eye, The Address Connolly looks most fully formed at this point.

It has new 8th and 9th floors with floor-to-ceiling windows; Club room keycards can also access a rooftop space; and a refresh of its rooms, Parlor café and McGettigan’s Cookhouse are coming, as is a new spa/gym concept with LED sauna and hydrotherapy pool.

'Jacob's Ladder', a slow-cooked rib of beef at McGettigan's Cookhouse. Photo: Pól Ó Conghaile

I stayed at The Address Cork last month, and while I liked the Cookhouse with its bookshelves, nooks, cocktails and friendly young staff who knew their menus, I found room for improvement at breakfast and felt the gym space was very dated.

However, the hotel (set on Military Hill in St Luke’s) is also getting a new wellness concept by summer, Reid tells me.

The competition for zippy hotel brands is growing — think of The Dean in Dublin, Cork or Galway; of Locke Living aparthotels; Hoxton’s “open-house” hotels ( coming to Dublin in 2024); or bigger brands like Curio by Hilton.

Whether The Address Collective pulls it off, you can judge for yourself this year. But I’m excited to find out.

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