Hotel is a Grand buy for just €550,000

A seaside hotel with a history of 219 years is for sale in Waterford.

The Grand Hotel sits on high in the town of Tramore, overlooking the seafront.

The hotel’s owners, Tom and Anna Treacy, are retiring having run the Grand since 1984; it’s been an institution for generations.

Des Purcell of Purcell Properties guides the 81-bedroomed hotel at €550,000, noting it needs investment.

Despite its venerable age, the vast majority of Tripadvisor reports give it positive ratings for friendliness and atmosphere.

Now, the challenge of new owners will be to build on the affection for its quaintness, while increasing creature comforts and facilities and finishes.

“The Grand Hotel, in Tramore, has been a landmark in the hospitality industry in the south-east, trading for the last 219 years,” says Mr Purcell.

“Very few hotels in the country can boast that. It should help to generate lively interest for the forthcoming sale.”

It acquired it current name, the Grand, in 1920, and was, indeed, very grand: gentlemen needed white tie and tails to dine in the formal dining room, which was graced for decades by Waterford Crystal chandeliers.

The Treacy family added 30 en-suite bedrooms in a new block, making for 81, with en-suites in all, and main rooms have views over Tramore beach.

Business comes from the locality (as an effective seaside commuter location, Tramore has got a population of 10,000) as well as from Waterford City, seven miles away, along with visitors from around the country and further afield.

The dining now seats 90, with function facilities for 250 guests, and there are four bars and basic catering kitchen.

“Generations of Waterfordians have ‘tied the knot’ at the Grand,” notes Mr Purcell, saying it has had a strong function trade.

“It’s acknowledged in the hotel industry, generally, that The Grand offers very considerable potential for further development and expansion, and the guide price of €550,000 reflects this,” says Mr Purcell.

* Details: Purcell Properties, 051-8765145.