The profitable Carlton Hotel and Spa, close to the holiday town of Kinsale, Co Cork, along with 19 holiday houses, is to be offered for sale on the international market at €4,250,000.
Denis O'Donoghue and Chris O'Callaghan of Savills are handling the sale for Kieran Wallace of KPMG and Jim Stafford of Friel Stafford, who were appointed receivers to the four-star hotel and holiday houses by the former Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and Nama.
The 70-bedroom hotel was developed along a beautiful waterfront setting in 2006 at a cost of almost €25 million by a Cork-based consortium known as Gable Holdings.
Although it had trading difficulties before it was put into receivership in September 2012, it still managed to turn in a profit of around €500,000 last year under the competent management of BDL Hotels.
That change of fortune and the broader recovery experienced over the past two years in many holiday resorts has made it considerably easier to attract buyers interested in capitalising on the collapse in hotel values.
The €4.25 million asking price in this instance equates to a value of €61,000 per bedroom without taking into account the 19 three-bedroom holiday houses on the site.
This compares with a value of €134,000 per bedroom at the River Lee Hotel in Cork, which sold for €24.5 million; €103,000 per bedroom for the Oriel House Hotel in Ballincollig, which made €8 million; €96,000 per bedroom for Whites Hotel in Wexford, which made €15.1 million; and €85,000 per bedroom at the Clayton Hotel in Galway, which fetched €16.5 million.
Rathmore House
The Carlton was built on the site of the former Rathmore House, and while few remnants of the estate remain, the entire site extends to 89 acres, predominantly covered by deciduous woodlands and some grassland areas.
The hotel has commanding views overlooking Oysterhaven Bay, which is used by sailing boats from the three marinas in Kinsale.
Part of the reason for the Carlton’s successful trading has been its huge popularity as a wedding venue. Last year it hosted no fewer than 99 wedding receptions, and the indications are that this figure may well be exceeded in the current year.
The function room can seat 200 and opens on to large patio with stunning sea views. The hotel also has a leisure centre, a spa and a swimming pool.
With the hotel catering primarily for leisure guests, the 19 holiday houses are ideal for families, with three double bedrooms, a large open-plan living room, a kitchenette, first-floor balconies and private gardens to the rear.
The Carlton is located on the northern outskirts of Kinsale, a world-renowned tourist destination with an abundance of pubs, restaurants, wine bars, art galleries and coffee shops.
The town also has an impressive line-up of restaurants, and hosts the Kinsale Gourmet Festival, which is to be held again in October. Kinsale was voted the Fáilte Ireland best small tourist town in 2014. Co Cork hotels performed particularly well in 2014, with occupancy levels up to 77 per cent and average room rates up to €72.
