Holiday home potential for golfers with a lodge in idyllic Castlemartyr Resort for €350k

Castlemartyr Resort, East Cork
€350,000
Size	139 sq m (1496 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	4
BER	C1

WITH Castlemartyr Resort’s star shining brightly in the wake of an €8m investment by its latest owners, the spin-off for properties within its five-star grounds is looking good.

Just four months ago, a privately-owned golf lodge inside the seasoned walled gardens of the 220-acre estate went on the market for €280,000 (it featured here). It’s sale agreed now at €400,000 — a whopping 42% over the guide price.

That property, No 13, is much the same as the lodge now coming to market. Identical in size, layout and room count (three bedrooms, four bathrooms), the only thing that sets No 35 apart is a much higher guide of €350,000. Both are also end-of-terrace properties, on corner sites.

We speculated last time out that the owners of the resort might be interested in adding No 13 to their portfolio, as the hotel already owns 25 of the 42 golf lodges.

But while there was a bidding war for No 13 “between three or four parties” according to auctioneer Adrianna Hegarty, who is the agent for both properties, she adds that “the hotel did not bid”.

The buyer whose bid for No 13 was accepted is an Irishman living overseas, she adds, who is familiar with Castlemartyr Resort and who has stayed in the golf lodges many times and is well acquainted with its award-winning Ron Kirby-designed 18-hole golf course (Mr Kirby also designed the courses at Dromoland Castle, the Old Head of Kinsale, and Mount Juliet, as well as Scotland’s Gleneagles).

The buyer of No 13 is purchasing for his own private use and it is conceivable that No 35 could go the same way.

Equally, it could attract an investor given the easy rentability of the lodges: Well-maintained, in a glorious woodland setting, near several East Cork beaches (Garryvoe, Ardnahinch, Ring Strand).

The resort is looking particularly attractive right now given the level of investment over the past year by owners Stanley Quek (alumnus of Trinity College Dublin and current pro-chancellor) and Peng Loh (whose Irish portfolio includes Sheen Falls and Dublin’s Trinity Townhouse). The two bought it in 2021 for a reported €20m from the family of the deceased Chinese businessman, Zhenxin Zhang. Mr Zhang had bought the estate in 2015 for c€14m shortly after American rapper Kanye West and his then-wife, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, overnighted there while on honeymoon. Mr Zhang owned 80% of the resort, with the remainder held by British hoteliers Mark and Martin Shaw.

The hotel, a former Carmelite College, developed by the Supple family in the 2000s at an estimated cost of €70m, has also played host to the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bill Clinton. Rubbing shoulders with the glitterati is a possibility for whoever buys No 35, whether out on the fairways, or in the luxury spa, or over dinner, perhaps in the hotel’s newest restaurant, Terre.

It’s possible too that a buyer might put No 35 to dual use, which is what the vendor of No 13 — Midlands businessman Patrick Fagan (Fagan Office Supplies) — did after he bought his lodge in 2007.

He told this newspaper that what drew him to it was the prospect of good rental income and also good personal usage.

Ms Hegarty says there’s a good chance that No 35 will continue in private ownership. Its vendors bought it in a property transfer in 2021 for €130,000. It has been rented out on their behalf by Castlemartyr Management Company who charge an annual fee of €400.

Ms Hegarty says the c1,500 sq ft property has been maintained to a very high standard. It’s a three-bed, with one extra-big ground-floor ensuite bedroom with a door to a rear outdoor timber deck. The deck is accessible too from the double-height open-plan living area via French doors. All bedrooms are doubles, with ensuites and quality fittings.

The setting is “idyllic and tranquil”, Ms Hegarty says, adding that the decking area overlooks a large, communal walled garden. The resort itself is set within 220 acres of parkland and Cork City is less than a half-hour drive away.

VERDICT: Great holiday home potential for golfing enthusiasts, or as a permanent home for golfing retirees. And investors will like the rental potential.