Marker Hotel storey and roof bar extension approved

The owners of the five-star Marker Hotel in Dublin have secured the go-ahead for a €10m investment that will add a new floor and upgraded roof bar to the property.

Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to GCS Hotel Property Ltd for the extension that will include 30 bedrooms on the new floor, bringing the hotel up to 217 rooms.

The plan also involves a new glass enclosed rooftop pavilion on the eighth level that will house a new 302sq metre restaurant, a 131sq metre bar area and a 197sq metre function room.

The planner in the case found that the new height will be over four metres higher than the Facebook building to the north, however it will be set below the maximum height of the adjacent Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

The planner concluded: “Both the Marker Hotel and Bord Gáis Energy Theatre front onto Grand Canal Square and it is reasonable to consider that the proposed additional height would not be out of character with the prevailing height in this area and onto Grand Canal Square.”

The planning report stated that “the additional height is unlikely to have an unacceptable visual impact on the area given the existing prevailing heights in the area”.

The hotel must pay €183,066 in planning contributions as part of the decision.

The extension will increase the revenue generating power of the hotel, which made profits of €2.4m in 2015.