‘Black hole’ hotels will close, claims top critic
The restaurant industry was, on the other hand, thriving and the best eateries were recession proof, claimed John McKenna, launching the 2009 Bridgestone guide.
The guide, written by Mr McKenna and his wife Sally, rates Ireland’s 100 best places to stay and eat.
According to Mr McKenna, the large and impersonal hotels that opened during the boom and represent a “black hole” in Irish hospitality will be forced to shut.
“These reflect the energy and money we have squandered in Ireland over the last 15 years as they reveal the absurd short-sightedness of an economy drunk on the lure of money,” he said.
Mr McKenna claimed that hotels would close at the rate of one a week.
“Many of these self-same establishments are already experiencing difficulties. This recession will kill a significant amount of these monoliths stone-dead.”
New destinations for 2009, meanwhile, include Ballyogan House, Graiguenamanagh, Co Carlow; Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore, Co Waterford; Connemara Coast Hotel, Furbo, Galway; Cullinan’s, Doolin, Co Clare; Heaton’s Guest House, Dingle, Co Kerry and Number 31, Lower Leeson Street, Dublin.
The accommodation guide also includes the top 10 hotels for romance, for places to bring your golf clubs, top places for great breakfasts, places for walking as well as places near great surf.
The McKennas also launched the Bridgestone 100 Best Restaurants for 2009 claiming that restaurants would in the main survive the economic crash but that pubs would be decimated.
“Our pub culture is dying, whilst our restaurant culture is thriving. The Irish have decided to choose restaurants over pubs, simply because restaurants offer us service as part of the experience, and service is a concept that is alien to so many public houses. The era of the pub is over,” he said.
The critic warned, however, that there were a plethora of restaurants opened by developers, not restaurateurs, and were dreadful.
There are 16 new restaurant entries this year, seven in Dublin, three in Cork and one each in Clare, Donegal, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford and Wicklow.
