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The Claregalway Hotel, a family-run hotel on the outskirts of Galway city in the heart of Claregalway Village, has been recognised as a four-star hotel by Fáilte Ireland.

The Claregalway Hotel celebrated the awarding of their four star rating recently ,pictured at the hotel were Nora and Paul Gill proprietors with Ella Sobota accommodation manager and Tommy Spelman maintenance manager. Photo:- Mike Shaughnessy 

The reclassification follows a three-year, multi-million euro renovation which was completed during the summer, including the addition of an extensive outdoor terrace area.

“We are delighted to have achieved this milestone by meeting the high standards of quality required to fulfil Fáilte Ireland’s criteria for four-star classification,” said Paul Gill, owner and managing director of the Claregalway Hotel.

“Nora and I have been exceptionally lucky in the wonderful team we have here in the Hotel, and they deserve this recognition for all their hard work and dedication. We very much look forward to welcoming both our regular and first time guests to help celebrate our new status.”

The Claregalway Hotel was established 18 years ago and has gone from strength to strength, welcoming guests from far and wide. The hotel opened the doors to its new Gastrobar Bia&Co in 2019 serving the finest of European cuisine under Hungarian Head Chef Zoard. Having been with the hotel for over 8 years, Zoard has overseen the development of the menus, ensuring that this Claregalway location has remained current, serving both old favourites and trendy dishes.

“We expected the pandemic to wipe out our restaurant business entirely, but Zoard developed a ​take away menu that proved incredibly popular”, says Paul Gill, “in fact, it was so popular we struggled to keep up with demand on the restaurant was allowed to reopen”.

Balancing the various Covid restrictions that have been implemented by the government over the past 2 years is something many in the hospitality industry have struggled with, but the Claregalway Hotel are focused on remaining positive.

“We’re just happy to have something so positive to celebrate during these uncertain times. There’s no denying that the past almost-two years have been difficult for hospitality, but we want to focus on all the good that has come from it. People appreciate their local businesses more than ever, and I think that businesses now recognise how important the support of their community is. Without our team and our regulars, many of whom are from our local area, we would never have been able to achieve this 4 star status.”