Cork's Leonardo Hotel seeking five-storey extension under new plans

Former Jurys Inn was rebranded in 2022 following the acquisition of the group by Israeli hotel group Fattal

Leonardo Hotel on Anderson's Quay

A hotel in Cork could see its premises on Anderson's Quay significantly extended under new plans lodged with City Hall.

Pandox Group Designated Activity Company is seeking planning permission to construct a five-storey extension of the Leonardo Hotel, which took over Cork's Jurys Inn in 2022. 

The company is seeking the additional five storeys on the western elevation of the existing hotel building, which it says will provide a staff canteen and a switch room, and an external service yard at ground-floor level. 

The extension would also provide 20 additional hotel rooms across levels one to four, bringing the total number of bedrooms to 153. 

The fresh plans also include a new rooftop plant area, internally illuminated signage and all associated site development and drainage works. 

Jurys Inn had operated in Cork since 1994 before its takeover by the Fattal Hotel Group, which owns the Leonardo brand. Across the UK and Ireland, the group operates almost 60 hotels, which in addition to Leonardo, include Leonardo Royal, Leonardo Limited Edition and NYX hotels. 

The Fattal Hotel Group describes itself as Israel's largest hospitality organisation and one of the fastest-growing hotel groups across the UK and Europe. Operating across 22 countries, the group operates 318 hotels in total, employing 17,000 people. 

The company was founded in 1999 by billionaire David Fattal, who opened several hotels across Israel before expanding into Europe in 2006. 

In 2022, all 35 Jurys Inn hotels across Ireland and the UK became Leonardo Hotels, with the Fattal Hotel Group, along with Pandox, acquiring the hotel chain for around £800m (€925m).

Earlier this year, the Leonardo Hotel on Dublin's Panell Street completed a €6.4m refurbishment programme across its more than 250 hotel rooms. 

Cork City Council is due to decide on the Leonardo Hotel's Anderson Quay expansion by August 4, 2026.