The £8 million Westwood House Hotel at Dangan, on the outskirts of Galway, has opened and reported encouraging early trading over the Galway Races period. The hotel, developed by local hotelier Terry Sweeney, has 116 rooms with six junior suites, eight executive rooms, 44 bedrooms and 58 other rooms. Its Meridian Restaurant has a capacity for 70 diners.

Mr Sweeney said the hotel sought to cater for the corporate as well as leisure-break markets, and was located within walking distance of the city centre, as well as on the threshold of the Connemara tourist area.