Developers determined to complete €60m 5-star Beara hotel

DESPITE the economic downturn, the developers of a €60 million luxury hotel in west Cork have decided to plough ahead with the project.

It is hoped the five-star hotel in the Beara peninsula will create up to 130 jobs when it opens next summer.

The owners admitted yesterday work had slowed down on turning a former historic mansion in Castletownbere into a top-rating Cappella hotel.

Rumours had been rife locally the project was about to be shelved.

However, Michael Humphries, a spokesman for the developers, said the slowdown had been deliberate in the hope the planned opening would coincide with an upturn in the market.

“We had slowed down work over the last few months and we were aware of the rumours. But we will get underway with landscaping within the next fortnight,” Mr Humphries said.

He added that all the external work on the former Puxley mansion had been completed and the company was preparing to fit out the interior.

“We have 40 containers of fixtures and fittings coming from the Far East over Christmas,” Mr Humphries said.

He said the luxury hotel market had not been great in 2008 and the developers had been trying to decide on an appropriate opening date.

“It will be in advance of the summer season for 2009,” he said.

The conversion and conservation of the Puxley mansion is a massive undertaking.

The imposing property was destroyed by fire by the IRA in 1920.

It was built by the Puxleys who amassed a fortune from copper mining in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The conflict between the Anglo-Irish family and the former Gaelic ruling classes formed the basis for Daphne du Maurier’s novel Hungry Hill, named after the highest peak in the nearby Caha range.

Adjoining the mansion are the remains of Dunboy Castle.

It was the seat of the O’Sullivan Bere clan, who were defeated in the early 1600 by Elizabethan forces whodestroyed their castle.

Mr Humphries said a lot of money had been spent on conservation within the Puxley mansion, which he said would be “absolutely spectacular” when it was finished.

“We’re hoping the market will recover next year. 2007 and 2008 haven’t been great years for the hotel sector,” Mr Humprhries said.

When completed, the hotel will have 84 bedrooms, of which 12 will be within the original mansion.

Built on a picturesque 48-acre site it will also include a swimming pool, gym, spa, cellar bar and conference rooms.