Killarney hotel for €3m

A new marketing campaign has been launched to find a buyer for the 188-bedroom Quality Hotel in Killarney which has a price tag of €3 million.

Savills is handling the sale on behalf of receiver David Carson of Deloitte and the owners of some of the 64 suites included in the complex.

Two years ago two different sales agents sought €4 million for the hotel and 29 suites without success. Denis O’Donoghue of Savills says that after turning in profits for the past two years, the hotel was exceptional value because of its range of facilities and the fact that US tourist numbers were up 19 per cent this summer.

A consortium headed by hoteliers Frankie Whelehan and Sean Lyne bought the Quality Hotel in 2003 and expanded the operation by developing 64 holiday suites, 63 apartments and 24 holiday homes which were sold to investors. The site also includes a block of disused rooms which will probably be redeveloped in the long term.

Facilities
The mix of accommodation includes 128 bedrooms and 64 two-bedroom suites, each with its own livingroom.

Public areas include a spacious entrance lobby and lounge, two bars and a restaurant to seat 220 diners. The hotel’s leisure centre, which was refurbished in recent years, is also a strong selling feature for the business. It includes an 18-metre swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and fully equipped gym. The hotel is primarily aimed at the family market and has a range of child orientated amenities, such as a large games zone, indoor sports hall, playground, mini golf and go-carting track. The seven-acre grounds include 220 car-parking spaces.

The Quality Hotel occupies a pivotal location fronting on to the Cork to Killarney road with direct access to the Park Road roundabout. It is within 10 minutes’ walk of the town centre.

Killarney is one of the centres benefitting from the pick up in tourist numbers. A report on the market by Trending.ie shows that 43 per cent of the hotels included in its survey had an occupancy rate of over 90 per cent in August. This compared with 33 per cent in August, 2012. Over 70 per cent of the hotels in the study achieved occupancy levels of more than 70 per cent last month.

The Quality Hotel has been managed by BDL Hotels since October, 2012. Whoever buys the hotel will have the option of ending or maintaining the management agreement and deciding whether to retain the Quality franchise.