Greystones now has the highest house prices outside Dublin, and in some parts of the capital you can still buy a home for less than what it costs in Wicklow’s culinary mecca.
Hidden away in an elevated position between the mountains and the sea is Cliff Manor: a development of seven houses that occupy the site of the former Cliff Manor Hotel.
The properties were developed around 1999 after the hotel – which also operated for a while as a nursing home – was knocked, along with two derelict houses.
To be honest, except for a few hillwalkers who have strayed off the Bray to Greystones coastal walk, you would hardly know the houses were there. Besides marvellous views of the sea, Greystones harbour and Wicklow town, the properties are set within communal gardens that extend to nearly 3 hectares (7 acres) of woods and parkland. In addition, there is a summer garden for the seven houses complete with a barbecue area for entertaining.
Number 3 has been home to its current owners since they purchased the house in 2014 for €430,000. Since then, they have removed windows to the front and rear, replacing them with patio doors to allow more views and light. In addition, new flooring – a mixture of marble and quality laminate – now runs through the open-plan living/dining area adjacent to a new kitchen.
Upstairs, a new patio door was installed for the terrace off the principal bedroom, which has incredible views and where the owners sit out on summer evenings. Bathrooms and the rear west-facing garden were also given a recent overhaul in the three-bedroom, 144sq m (1,550sq ft) property, so it is now in turnkey condition. Floor-to-ceiling windows “give really lovely views of ships and sailing boats going by and it’s all very therapeutic”, say the owners, who are moving to another seaside spot – but in warmer climes.
Bray and Greystones are equidistant at about 2km each – and the owners, who are dog lovers, take to the cliff walk, which is down a set of private steps every morning. They also take advantage of walks at Belmont Demesne which is adjacent to Kilruddery and also within 2km.
“There is a gazebo at the end of our communal gardens where you often see one of the neighbours doing yoga, while a group of our residents take to the sea for a dip each morning. It is really a slice of heaven if you love the outdoors.”
Number 3 Cliff Manor, which has a Ber of B3, is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €725,000.
