Links cottages at Doonbeg from €1.61m

Eleven spacious links cottages at Doonbeg - a place which ticks all the boxes for a high-end golf resort - are on the market, writes Fiona Tyrrell

A new phase of holiday homes at one of the most exclusive golf resorts in the country has luxury, location and prices to match.

There is no shortage of good golf courses in the south-west of the country but no course in the area and, arguably, in the country can rival Doonbeg's five-star service and luxury accommodation.

Doonbeg Golf Course ticks all the boxes for a high-end golf resort - a Greg Norman designed links course on a spectacular corner of the coast south of Lahinch, and a choice of plush accommodation ranging from the imposing Elizabethan-inspired Lodge to the quaint courtyard suites and the larger links cottages.

Seventeen of these links cottages were launched on the market last year with prices starting at €1.257 million. Now a further 11 are on offer with prices ranging from €1.61 million to €1.66 million.

The price includes a full furniture package containing fine Irish linen and antique furniture. Family golf membership is also included in the package (membership is priced at €48,000 per person).

The lime-rendered cottages are built in a traditional courtyard style but inside it's a different story. They are exceptionally large with an average of 279sq m (3,000sq ft).

They come with a standard of finish that is rarely seen in holiday homes - French oak flooring, York stone slabs, antique ceiling beams reclaimed from Charleston, South Carolina, farm buildings and Kentucky log cabins.

All four bedrooms are double rooms with gorgeous en suites kitted out in Carrara marble from Italy or grey Clare marble. Showers are walk-in with rain-shower effect heads. The main living area is very spacious and the kitchen well kitted out with Neff appliances and everything you could possibly need down to bun trays for rainy afternoon baking. Diarmuid Gavin is overseeing the landscaping.

Under the holiday cottage scheme Irish purchasers avail of tax relief of around 75 per cent of the eligible portion of the purchase price. Buyers can use the cottages as a second home or opt to join Doonbeg's rental pool.

The Doonbeg Golf Course is being developed by Americans Buddy Darby and Leonard Long. Initially, the scheme was aimed at well-heeled Americans, but wealthy Irish customers and buyers are now an important part of Doonbeg's client base.

Services at the Lodge, which although run like a hotel is in fact a club owned by purchasers of the suites, include a fabulous spa and fine dining at the Long Room and Darby's Bar.

The isolation and top class service has made the Lodge a favoured get-away for Ireland's jet-set and the odd Hollywood star since it opened for business last year.