Countdown is underway as refurbished County Limerick hotel gets ready to reopen

THE clock is ticking down rapidly until the opening of the Longcourt House Hotel in Newcastle West on December 8.

“We are on target,” said owner Jim Long, who has invested over €5m in the refurbished and renovated hotel which is providing 48 new jobs in the area.

But he admitted this week, he will not make it to the first night himself because of business commitments in London where he lives.

He is extremely pleased however that bookings for opening night and throughout the Christmas period are very healthy indeed.

“I am relegated to the Residents’ Lounge myself the weekend after opening,” he laughed.

Mr Long visited the hotel last weekend to monitor progress and met  all those involved. “I am extremely impressed. It looks fantastic,” he said.

Mr Long bought the old Courtenay Lodge Hotel shortly after it closed in October 2014 and his  multi-million euro investment has seen a massive transformation and refurbishment of the premises.

All 40 bedrooms in renamed hotel have been given a complete make-over in a new contemporary style with new colour schemes, carpets, soft furnishings and furniture. The bar has also been reconfigured and transformed and now includes a bistro. The style throughout, Mr Long said, is very modern and contemporary.

An old wing of the hotel was demolished and the  new wing contains the ballroom and other function and meeting rooms but this will not open until the Spring. The parking area has been extended, surfaced and fitted with CCTV.

“We won’t have an official opening until the ballroom is complete,” he said.

“There seems to be tremendous good-will toward it,” Mr Long continued. “Everybody feels the town needed something like this.”