Henry Reid and his wife, Elaine, had to clamber over a large gate to catch their first glimpse of Ross Lake House in Oughterard, Co Galway. It was a St Stephen’s Day and they were walking off the turkey. Their exertion paid off, in more ways than one: within a matter of weeks they were the proud owners of the hotel and have entered by more civilised means ever since.
Reid comes from Salthill, while Elaine is from Wexford. They worked together at the former Great Southern hotel in Rosslare, he as general manager and she as receptionist. After they married, the pair decided to strike out on their own. They viewed several potential properties, but none had appealed and some were too pricy at the time.
While in Galway visiting family over Christmas of 1980, the couple were convinced by an old friend to take a look at Ross Lake, which lies off the Galway to Clifden road. “We had nothing to do,” says Reid. “My father, Elaine and I drove out to have a look.”
The trio climbed over the gate, took one look and knew that this was the one. “We fell in love with it; it’s that kind of place. It was exactly what we wanted, with the river running down one side, and the avenue and all the lush greenery.”
Now, the couple are ready to move on from the business — and home — that has been their passion since that first sneak viewing, three-and-a-half decades ago. The 13-bedroom, Georgian, four-star hotel, which sits on a five-acre site in Rosscahill, just outside Oughterard, is on the market for €1.6m.
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Part of the Manor House Hotels group, a non-profit organisation that markets 29 luxury hotels around Ireland, the hotel also includes a separate, three-bedroom private house with its own entrance, where the owners live. Prospective buyers can buy the hotel with or without the house, although it is most likely that both properties will sell together.
The three-bay house that makes up the hotel was originally known as Killaguile House. It was built by local landowner James E Jackson in about 1860. He had bought the property on 1,200 acres and built the house after he married. At the turn of the 20th century, following Jackson’s death, the Land Commission divided the land into smaller parcels and sold off the house on a smaller site. From the 1920s until the 1960s, the house passed through several hands. In 1969, it was bought by a German couple who turned it into a hotel and renamed it Ross Lake.
When the Reids bought Ross Lake, it had lain idle for a few years. The previous customers were mainly coarse fisherman from Germany, and most of the bedrooms were single rooms with wash basins, so the Reids had to do substantial work to get it to meet modern standards.
They converted the rooms to doubles with en suite bathrooms and revamped the banqueting area. The hotel was for many years one of the county’s top wedding venues, but this came to a halt in 2008 when the owners decided to concentrate solely on the residential side of the business. “We stopped doing weddings when the crash came,” says Reid. “We couldn’t compete with newer hotels on price.”
The banqueting space, which can cater for up to 200 people, is still there and needs only a revamp; Reid estimates that between €50,000 and €80,000 would be enough to put Ross Lake back on the weddings map again.
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Over the years, the Reids have got to know many of their guests — their visitors tend to return. About 85% of bed nights go to international guests, many of whom are repeat visitors. It is popular with French, German and Swiss people.
One of its most loyal visitors was Willy Brandt, a Swiss man who came in May and September every year for 16 years. He loved to fish on Lough Corrib, and formed a friendship with the Reids. One year, he did not turn up and, when Elaine inquired, it turned out he had been taken ill and he later died. His ashes were scattered on Lough Corrib, at his request, and the Reids had a party in his honour.
Among Ross Lake’s more famous guests was the actress Maureen O’Hara, who stayed there with her family before she was conferred with an honorary degree at National University of Ireland Galway in 1988. It also hosted Russian ambassadors in the Gorbachev years, as well as the former US ambassador to Ireland Richard Egan.
The Reids will miss this interaction with guests; it has been a way of life for so long, but they feel it is time for them to move on. “The place needs new blood, and we don’t have children. We will miss it desperately, but the time has come for someone else to fall in love with it.”
Whoever buys Ross Lake will have three main options: run the hotel as it is now; redevelop the banqueting area and take on wedding business again; or convert the place back into a family home.
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The main house on four-and-a-half acres is a sizeable 1,400 sq metres. It includes a drawing room with built-in bookshelves and large Georgian windows. Hotel-like features include function rooms and bars, which could be transformed into family rooms. Outside stores, staff rooms and laundry services could also be adapted.
There are three guest rooms on the ground floor, all with en suite bathrooms, that could become reception rooms. The remaining 10 bedrooms are upstairs. There is also an office and a bathroom here.
The separate three-bedroom house was built in 1986 and comes with half an acre. It measures a much cosier 92 sq metres.
The gardens with their rolling lawns are surrounded by large mature trees, some of which were planted in Jackson’s time.
Until they find a buyer, the Reids will continue to run and invest in their beloved hotel as they have always done. “We’ll keep going until we sell — we’re not going to stand still,” says Reid.
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The lowdown
What it is: A 13-bedroom hotel with banqueting facilities and a separate three-bedroom private home
Where it is: Rosscahill, Oughterard, Co Galway
Rooms: The hotel has a tea room/drawing room, cocktail bar, dining room, function rooms, office, store rooms and staff quarters. The house has three bedrooms, a living room, dining room and utility room.
Grounds: The hotel and house are on a site of five acres. This comprises mature wooded gardens with lawned areas and ponds and substantial car parking space
Location: About 22km from Galway city, just off the N59. The hotel is about 10km from Moycullen and 7km from Oughterard.
Agent: odonnjoyce.com
They say: One of the most outstanding properties to come to market in recent years
We say: This would suit a special kind of home business.
