Posted online: Aug 26th, 2010

The Radisson Blu Hotel in Letterkenny has just picked up two major awards. The first award is the coveted AA 4 star classification while the second award is the equally prestigious AA “Rosette” for its Brasserie Tribeca.
The team at the hotel have been working towards the four star clasasifaction for some time.
General Manager Brian Gleeson explained: “We have been classified as a 4 star hotel by Failte Ireland since opening in 2003 and have always strived to provide a quality service which Donegal Hotel’s are famous for.
“The AA classification is something that I have always aimed for in addition to the Failte Ireland award. The yellow and black sign is something I grew up with throughout my career in the industry and to be able to display it at the hotel now is a very proud achievement and 100% down to the hard work and genuine hospitality shown by a group of very talented individuals that I am very lucky to call my team.
He continued: “We have been working very hard over 2010 especially to improve both our product and our service offering and once we had the refurbishment of all 114 bedrooms and bathrooms at the hotel completed two months ago, alongside renovations to our leisure centre, I felt that we were now ready to be inspected by the AA.
“It’s a mystery inspection so you only find out at check out when the inspector announces themselves. We must have sat together for about two hours before I was told and I haven’t stop smiling since. It’s a credit to the team both past and present and the owners that built such a fine hotel.”
Restaurant
The second cause for celebration came at the same meeting that Brian had with that mystery inspector when the hotel was awarded a coveted “ Rosette” for culinary excellence for their “Brasserie Tribeca Letterkenny”, which is the hotel’s main restaurant.
“To be awarded a Rosette by the AA is something that I really can’t describe in terms of what it does for both the team and for the hotel,” Brian explained.
“Rosette’s are given out to restaurants that show an understanding of flavour combinations, skill in execution of dishes, correct pricing of menu items alongside knowledgeable, friendly yet unobtrusive service. I know that’s a mouthful of a sentence but that’s only about a tenth of what they look for when dining. We re-launched our restaurant at the beginning of May and changed nearly everything about it including menu options, pricing, number of dishes, style of service….even uniforms.
“The Brasserie has been a huge success for us as a hotel but to receive a Rosette Award only four months after the change in concept is really astounding to me. Being honest, it was something that I definitely wanted the hotel to achieve down the line but I never thought it would happen so soon. It’s a credit to our Kitchen team led by our Executive Chef Collette Langan, Tommy Martin our Soups Chef and our Brasserie Service Team led by Ciaran O’ Donnell.”