Cullen’s five-star hotel in change of management

THE five-star Muckross Park Hotel and spa in Killarney, owned by Apprentice stars Bill Cullen and Jackie Lavin, has undergone a change in management, with Choice Hotels, developers of the Clarion brand appointed as business consultants.

The TV3 Apprentice programme is sponsored by Clarion.

The changes were confirmed yesterday in a statement by Ms Lavin.

However, the new manager, Sean O’Driscoll, who was named Best Young Manager of the Year in 2008 by the Irish Hospitality Institute, has denied the changes are due to any financial difficulties the hotel, which is the oldest in Kerry, may be experiencing. The hotel will still be known as The Muckross Park Hotel, he confirmed.

This summer, figures returned to the Companies Registration Office for the hotel showed that it lost €3.8 million in 2010, €2.6m of which was attributable to a writedown in the value of the property.

Its figures show turnover in 2010 was flat at €2.6m, while overall costs rose by €100,000. The company’s operating losses came to €912,000, compared with €780,000 in 2009. Its net liabilities were €12m.

Jackie Lavin and Bill Cullen bought the then 200-year-old Muckross hotel in the heart of the Killarney National Park in 1990. Over the years since they have transformed it into a top-of-the-range hotel with spa and wedding venue, as well as an apartment complex.

The marble and wood interior contains many works of art and antiques which were personally picked by Ms Lavin over the years.

Yesterday Mr O’Driscoll said his new appointment as general manager of the hotel was as a direct employee of Mr Cullen and Ms Lavin.