Ireland’s only Hard Rock hotel checks out of Dublin

Ireland’s only Hard Rock Hotel is to close its doors and rebrand just four years after its launch.

The 120-room Hard Rock Hotel Dublin opened in 2020 following a €52m investment.

It displayed musical memorabilia from artists including U2, Hozier and Van Morrison and was run under franchise by Irish hotel group Tifco Ltd.

But now the property has been acquired by Leonardo Hotels and will relaunch under the NYX lifestyle boutique brand.

The move means there are no Hard Rock hotels remaining in the UK or Ireland after the London site took down its branding and reopened as the Cumberland last year.

A statement on the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin’s website said: “As of 1 August 2024, the Hard Rock Hotel Dublin will no longer operate under the Hard Rock brand name.

“This hotel will rebrand under new ownership and management, which assumes responsibility for all bookings moving forward. The new management company will honor all bookings after this date.

“We will continue to service our valued guests at the Hard Rock Café Dublin, and we hope to return to the city with a hotel in the future.”

Hard Rock is left with six European hotels, one in the Dominican Republic and around 20 hotel resorts and casinos in North America.

What’s driving the expansion of Leonardo Hotels?

The sale is the latest in a series of high-profile acquisitions for Leonardo Hotels, which last week completed its 40^th European hotel purchase in two years.

Its major high-end acquisitions in the UK include Manchester’s 121-year-old Midland hotel in 2018, the 116-year-old Dilly hotel on London’s Piccadilly in 2022, the 160-year-old Grand in Brighton in 2023, and the 96-year-old Hotel Gotham Manchester building this year.

In Ireland, the group opened its first NYX hotel in Dublin and recently closed on its acquisition of the five-star g Hotel in Galway.

This growth has been backed by the investment arm of Leonardo’s parent company Fattal, which recently launched a third fund that has secured close to €420m from investors.

Since the Fattal European Partnership was launched in 2022, it has supported deals worth over €1.5b with over 6,000 rooms added to the rapidly expanding group.

Its most recent acquisition includes the purchase of 12 hotels in the Netherlands from the Zien Group, which will see Leonardo become one of the leading hotel chains in the region.