THE Park Hotel in Clonakilty is planning to extend its leisure centre and carry out internal renovations as part of a drive for four-star
status. A planning application has been submitted to council planners and is to be decided by November 2. In 2025, the Park Road hotel recorded 28,627 occupied room nights and 74,313 staying guests.
It currently employs around 80 full-time, 60 part-time and 60 seasonal staff, while the leisure-centre expansion is expected to create around two full-time and four part-time jobs.
The plans submitted to Cork County Council include the removal of an existing temporary first-floor staff facility and its replacement with a permanent single-storey accommodation block.
ADVERTISEMENT
It also provides for a new changing area for women, a spa lounge, equipment storage and associated internal alterations.
A second-storey extension above the existing gym areas would create additional space for an expanded gym and improved leisure facilities, the application states.
A new rooftop plant area, circulation improvements, building-services works and alterations to existing stair cores are also included.
At the moment, the leisure centre is equipped with a 25m swimming pool, a children’s pool used by local schools for swimming lessons, a gym, fitness studios and a sauna and steam room.
Membership has increased from approximately 1,000 30 years ago when the leisure centre opened to about 2,400 today, according to the planning
documents.
The application states that the gym has reached capacity, with equipment already placed in a group exercise studio. This has reduced studio availability and limited the number and range of classes.
Existing changing facilities are also under pressure from families, accessible-use requirements and dry-side users, the hotel says.
The hotel welcomes approximately 74,000 guests annually, including corporate groups, tour operators, school tours and sports teams, supporting spending in local restaurants, shops, attractions and other businesses, the application says.
The leisure-centre project forms part of a wider investment programme as the hotel works towards four-star status, including an ongoing refurbishment of its bedrooms.
In its application the hotel stated that a growing population warranted an expansion of its services.
