Ashford Castle completes its luxury restoration
According to The Irish Independent, Ashford Castle will employ up to 300 people when it opens this week, following a major refurbishment under the UK-based Red Carnation Hotel Group.
The castle sold for €20m in 2013, and it is estimated that the cost of the renovation work has been more than double the purchase price.
It has been given an overhaul under its new owners, and will employ hundreds of local people on the shores of Lough Corrib in Co Mayo.
Under the massive revamp, each of the hotel’s 82 bedrooms has been redecorated in a bespoke fashion with plush carpets, antique furnishings and luxurious bathrooms.
A 32-seat cinema is perhaps the most modern addition to the property while a traditional billiard room and cigar terrace have been installed.
The vaulted entrance hall, the Connaught Room, Princes of Wales Bar, Drawing Room and the castle’s three restaurants have all been enhanced. The nine-hole golf course that sits on the 350-acre site has been treated to improve year-round play. Double rooms are set to be available from €395.
The Red Carnation Hotel Group was founded in the 1950s by South African Bea Tollman and named after her husband’s favourite flower.
The Tollmans wanted to use local labour and contractors, and hundreds of craftsmen were brought in from the surrounding areas including Galway, Cong, and Roscommon.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny will this Friday visit Ashford Castle to officially unveil its new look.
