Plans submitted to revive long-idle Waterford hotel 

The Grand Hotel in Tramore has lain idle since 2014

The Grand Hotel: Local independent senator Joe Conway previously described the hotel as a 'hulking carbuncle' that has blighted the landscape of the idyllic tourist town.

Plans to create a 40-unit luxury aparthotel from the bones of an iconic but long-idle hotel in the historic seaside town of Tramore have submitted by Waterford developers.

The Grand Hotel was originally constructed in the 1790s but has lain vacant on Tramore’s Broad Street since 2014.

Local independent senator Joe Conway previously described the hotel as a “hulking carbuncle” that has blighted the landscape of the idyllic tourist town.

In an application submitted to Waterford City and County Council, Magna Capital Investments Ltd, acting on behalf of developer Frisby Group, said the proposal seeks to “regenerate a long-derelict and prominent site that respects the established urban character of Tramore”.

Works would see an extensive upheaval of the existing structure, including the demolition of the ground floor’s extension, bay windows, and stairwells.

Artists' impression of the proposed redevelopment of Tramore's Grand Hotel.

Existing windows and doors would be replaced with a re-rendering and feature tiling of the new façade. The hotel’s pitched roof would be removed and replaced with a flat roof.

Along with the changes to the existing structure, ancillary works would see the development of planned new footpaths, raised terraces, planters, front entrance steps, wheelchair-accessible paths, and 12 new car parking spaces.

The hotel has operated under different names throughout its 230-year-old lifespan, such as the “Walsh Hotel” and “Great Hotel.” 

While the Grand Hotel is not a protected structure, construction plans acknowledged it sits in “the environs of the Tramore Architectural Conservation Area.”

In 2022, a long-standing dereliction prosecution case involving the hotel was settled.

Waterford City and County Council told the district court it was satisfied all works had been taken at the site to make it non-derelict. Two years earlier, the council had taken a dereliction order against Colm Wu, also known as Guo Qing Wu.

The property first came under Mr Wu’s control in 2014, but the hotel was not brought back into commercial use. A derelict sites notice was issued in 2018 for the property, with the council approving a compulsory purchase order of the hotel the same year.

The prosecution involved around a dozen court hearings.

Waterford City and County Council is expected to make a decision on Frisby’s plans for the hotel by July 17.

Frisby director Noel Frisby Jr declined to comment on the development.