Da Vinci’s Hotel has officially reopened following a £3.5 million renovation, unveiling a transformed bar, upgraded guestrooms and expanded facilities that Managing Director Cecil Doherty says he is delighted with.

Now fully reopened, the hotel showcased its improvements to Derry businesses, locals and the Journal. We were taken on a tour of the upgraded facilities, including the Bay Room, Boardroom and newly refurbished guestrooms.

The hotel has expanded from 64 to 70 rooms, with 50 of them now featuring air conditioning. Several rooms have been refurbished, including a new signature suite designed to offer luxury and comfort, complete with a separate lounge area.

The bar area has been transformed into a gastro pub, while still retaining elements of its original design.

Speaking to the Journal, Cecil Doherty, Managing Director of both The Ebrington Hotel and Da Vinci’s Hotel, said: “We figured that we could complement what we have at Ebrington by introducing Da Vinci’s at an entry‑level four star.

“The building itself needed a lot of TLC. We identified the key areas that needed that.

“The secret of this place is the great design of the original builders and owners, in that many of the rooms are double‑double rooms. They are quite lucrative from an international, particularly golfing, perspective, where two people can share space.”

He continued: “We looked at the food and beverage offerings within the hotel. We decided to make the bar into a gastro pub and increased capacity from about 40 seats to around 100. Then, of course, we put in the coffee shop, everyone and their uncle has a coffee shop, so we decided we wanted to be part of the gang and introduced Café at Da Vinci’s. Thankfully, it has been very successful.

“We pulled all that together in a very short period of time, probably about 18 months in 12, and we have it all up and running now.

“In my youth, going out with a girl in Derry, Da Vinci’s would have been the spot. We are looking to reinvent that.”

Cecil said that while the hotel needed significant renovation, preserving its history was equally important.

“It was sacrosanct that the original bar would not be touched,” he said. “Realistically, you probably wouldn’t build that bar in 2026, such is the quality of workmanship and the cost that would be involved. It was something that absolutely needed to be saved. Da Vinci’s has a very loyal following, people in this greater area have an affinity towards it. We discovered that in the early days, we talked to a lot of locals and certainly took into account their version of what they would like to see, as far as we could while still making it commercial. But we have retained the older aspects of the bar.”

He added that Da Vinci’s Hotel remains rooted in its community identity.

“It is a community‑based hotel. We see our marketing plans incorporating a lot of the local community, coming back in and seeing this as their local hub. While there is a corporate element to room sales, and we will continue to nurture that, we see Da Vinci’s primarily as a hotel for this general area, where people can come for family celebrations and weddings. Our focus will be Da Vinci’s as a community hotel.”

Now with the works complete and the building fully reopened, Cecil said: “We are delighted with it. I wish we could have done a bit more. In terms of residual rooms, we are very happy with how Da Vinci’s has turned out at this point. I would be excited for the further development of the hotel back to a really vibrant, modern hotel in the city.”