A quaint hotel, located in the picturesque town of Kinvara in south county Galway near the border of county Clare, has just recently been put up for sale. The Merriman Hotel will be offered by auctioneers O’Donnellan & Joyce at 3pm on Friday 25th May in the Victoria Hotel in Galway city. The Merriman is expected to have an Advised Minimum Value (AMV) of €400,000.

The 32 bedroom hotel is located right on Kinvara main street. The town of Kinvara is one of the main tourist attractions in County Galway and can be considered as a gateway to neighbouring county Clare. Kinvara main street is part of the busy N67 road which brings hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to two of the most famous tourist attractions in Ireland, namely the Burren and the cliffs of Moher. The Burren, (coming from the Irish Boireann), meaning great rock, is one of the largest karst-stone landscapes anywhere in Europe. The area is a National Park and, along with the cliffs of Moher, forms an almost obligatory pilgrimage for any tourist visiting the west of Ireland.

Given its strategic location and huge potential from passing trade, the Merriman is sure to attract interest at the sale in Galway later this month. The hotel has a traditional look, complete with whitewashed walls and a thatched roof. Apart from the thirty two bedrooms, which are spread over the first and second floors, the ground floor contains a bar called the M’Asal Beag Dubh, which is one of the busiest pubs in Kinvara and a large function room with a fully-equipped kitchen. The hotel overlooks Galway Bay and, according to Colm O’Donnellan form the auctioneers, offers “a tremendous business opportunity to acquire a distinctive hotel in one of the west of Ireland’s main tourist destinations at a very attractive price.”

The event will be a city-wide festival involving many restaurants, hotels and other food outlets in the city. There will be many activities for guests to take part in like restaurant trails, cookery workshops and demonstrations as well as cookery competitions with renowned Galway chefs and other personalities. Various ‘Know Your Vines’ workshops involving industry experts will be held as well as tours to local artisan food producers and open air food markets including the well-known Galway Market.

Dave Keogh, chairman of the Latin Quarter, welcomed the announcement of this latest festival: “Galway is synonymous with good food, award-winning restaurants and great festivals. The city is renowned for its high number and quality of restaurants and it is important Galway should have its very own food festival.”

In order to market the festival special accommodation packages will be available and there will be other cross-promotions involving hotels, restaurants and entertainment providers throughout Galway. A ‘Stay, Catch and Eat’ idea is sure to be popular among visitors who will be able to take a trip on a local fishing boat, then bring whatever they catch along to a restaurant in the evening where it will be cooked and served to them. The package will also include a stay in one of the top hotels in Galway for an all-inclusive value price.

Over recent weeks the Harbour Hotel in Galway has undergone some extensive refurbishments with a view to attracting ever more business from the corporate meetings market. This three-star Galway hotel has four meeting rooms that have all been given a make-over for the New Year. In addition, there are two syndicate rooms of various sizes and layouts. These various meeting rooms can accommodate anything from two people up to 130 delegates. Each of the rooms has plenty of natural daylight and all have the latest, modern AV equipment installed.

Thanks to these developments at the Harbour Hotel holding meetings in Galway city centre is now easier than ever. The hotel is on New Dock Road, only a few minutes walk from Eyre Square, and has extensive, free, onsite parking available as well as free WiFi throughout the building. The Harbour Hotel is a great option for breakfast seminars, interviews, boardroom meetings, or training events. The meeting and events co-ordinator, Anna Byrne, will look after customers right from the booking stage to ensuring the event runs smoothly on the day.

For larger events, the John B Keane suite is a more than suitable space. This room has a large ceiling atrium, state of the art audio and visual technology, private bar, and the added bonus of a loading bay. The room is perfect for training, seminars and private dining. It is located just off the bright and spacious lobby that has both open fires and modern furnishings making a wonderful reception area or break out space.

The Harbour Hotel is a family-owned establishment that is celebrating 10 years in business. To succeed in these difficult economic times the management has placed the focus firmly on providing improved service and customer experience to all guests. Both management and staff pride themselves on their personal service and attention to detail, whether you are organising a meeting, function, or dining in the hotel.

The Harbour Hotel Seafood Bar & Grill is also a new addition to this Galway hotel. Head chef Patrick Anslow provides a menu with a focus on homemade, wholesome food using fresh ingredients from local suppliers. This philosophy is also carried through to the home baked scones provided fresh each day for breaks in the functions going on in all of the meeting rooms.

The Galway festival season is now under way and should bring some welcome benefits to those involved in the hotel sector in the city in terms of occupancy rates, room rates and restaurant and bar takings. Although the tourism sector in Ireland in general has had to face tough times over the last two years, Galway can always rely on its summer festivals like the Galway Arts Festival, the Galway Film Fleadh and, of course, the famous Galway Races to bring tourists and their disposable incomes to the capital of the West. In total it is estimated that these festivals are worth as much as €90 million to the local economy in Galway. The Film Fleadh is estimated to bring in around €5 million, the Arts Festival some €20 million and the Galway Races between €50 and €70 million.

The Galway Film Fleadh took place last week running from Tuesday 05th July to Sunday 10th July. The Galway Arts festival started on 11th July and runs through to July 24th and this year includes artists like Misterman, De La Soul and Blondie. The Galway Races takes place during the last week in July and this year runs from Monday 25th through to Sunday 31st.

We can see the importance the hotel sector places on these events from the fact that for the last three years some of top hotels in Galway have come together to sponsor the first day of the Galway Races. This year the sponsors include the Radisson Blu, Hotel Meyrick, the Clayton, the Carlton, The G, the Galway Bay, the Salthill Hotel, the Ramada and the Claregalway. Paul Gill, chairman of the Galway branch of the Irish Hotels Federation recently said: “Galway’s Best Hotels are delighted, once again, to be a part of such a wonderful event. The Galway Races brings people and businesses together every year, and gives such a positive boost to the city; both economically and socially”.

In September a major sporting attraction, the Ironman competition, will come to Galway for the first time. In fact, it will be the first time such an event has been held anywhere in Ireland. Peter Kern, a top German triathlon trainer, believes Galway is a great location for the event and said recently: “Galway has the structures to deal with lots of people. There are enough hotels and the landscape is quite famous. It was almost the natural selection for an Ironman race.”

It is expected that the event could attract as many as 2,000 visitors to Galway and generate revenues of nearly €5 million for the local economy. Indeed, as Ironman could use Galway as its base for the Irish leg of the competition for a further five years it could prove a very lucrative relationship for the city. However, at a recent meeting of Galway City Council a number of councillors expressed concerns that the hotels in Galway could be tempted to use the event to push up their prices over the first weekend in September. Labour Councillor Collette Connelly said: “It is bad for the city when hotels put up their prices for events such as Race Week. It is great that this event provides a positive alternative to the drink culture that Galway is known for. But is it too much to hope that there will be standard rates in the hotels rather than having people fleeced continuously whenever there is a major event in Galway?” These sentiments were shared by Fine Gael Councillor Frank Fahy who said that the hotels in the city should do their best to help ensure the success of the weekend so that people did not leave Galway with the sense that they had been “ripped off” during their stay.