The Woodlands House Hotel & Spa in Adare, Co Limerick, was built from the ground up – literally! From humble beginnings as market farmers, selling strawberries and Brussels sprouts to hotels across Limerick, husband-and-wife team Mary and Dick Fitzgerald went on to start a business as one of the country’s premier farmhouse holiday destinations in 1977.
With business booming, there was more and more of a demand for rooms, says Mary.
“A rule came in then, that if you had more than six bedrooms you could no longer be in the farmhouse category, you would have to go into the guest house category.
"My husband had always wanted a bar anyway, so we went about getting registered as a hotel and that was some journey. It’s another story,” laughs Mary.
“We eventually got it and we are 35 years a hotel this year. We started off with 12 bedrooms, and we now have 92.”
Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Adare, Co Limerick.
\Clare Keogh
Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Adare, Co Limerick.
\Clare Keogh
Although the property has seen massive expansion, that family intimacy is still present in the hotel today, now run by Mary and her children.
Sadly, Dick died in 2014, but such is the importance of family at the Woodlands, he is kept present in the business daily through Dick’s Bar and Dick’s Garden.
This family hotel ethos is also at the core of the Original Irish Hotels group, of which Mary is chair. Original Irish Hotels was launched in recent weeks and represents the largest number of independent hotels in the country, with 60 members.
It is an amalgamation of two previous groups, Irish Country Hotels and Manor House Hotels.
Authentic Modernisation
Independent hotels has a major role to play in Ireland’s tourism industry, with visitors from both home and abroad, says Mary. Original Irish Hotels was set up to market the member hotels, as well as help them overcome common challenges.
“We made a huge investment in a reservations system. The beauty about it is, if you are in a travel agency in Idaho, Germany, Australia or China, you can make your real-time booking.
"There’s a dial-in with two operators and the travel agents can get the answers for their clients immediately.
It’s the modernisation of a really authentic product, using technology to do so.
"It’s allowing us to compete against all the others and it gives us an opportunity to define our uniqueness and our story to be told.”
Criteria for becoming an Original Irish Hotel member is very strict. The hotels are spread across the whole country and have a diverse range of characteristics. Central to the group is that each property can express its individuality.
Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Adare, Co Limerick.
\Clare Keogh
However, there are still many concepts they share, such as the whole group being aligned with Guaranteed Irish and a commitment that, where possible, all of the food served is either grown on-site or sourced locally.
Community
Mary explains that the brand facilitates independent hoteliers helping each other and passing on expertise. Rather than seeing one another as direct competition, the members think of themselves as a support network, sharing information and industry contacts.
Along with the community the members have created within themselves, it is also paramount that each hotel has strong links with their own local community.
“It’s a part of the Original Irish Hotels ethos that you have to be embedded in your community.
"That way, then, all the locals more or less come into the hotel and use it. So people are not getting a kind of touristy hotel, they are mixing with the locals all the time.”
Personal Touch
And, with a sense of community always comes the personal touch, which in itself is why these independent businesses have proven to be so popular.
“We had a group of Austrians here the other day and we arranged for them to get a hurling demonstration from my son Conor and his friend.
“They all got to have a go. They absolutely loved it,” enthuses Mary. “They came in then and they got to try whiskey off the hurley. We have whiskey tasting, they get three little nips of whiskey.
“They won’t get that in the larger chains. We think like individuals, so we try and develop an individual experience. It’s almost like they are the only people in the hotel in a way. They have the opportunity to talk to the staff, everyone has their own thing they want to get out of their trip and we will help them with that.”
Original Irish Hotels is a brand that promotes some of the best of what our country has on offer, allowing visitors an authentic experience. How could it be any other way when, like the Woodlands, these hotels were built from the ground up?
For more information on Original Irish Hotels and a full list of members, see www.originalirishhotels.com.
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The Woodlands House Hotel & Spa in Adare, Co Limerick, was built from the ground up – literally! From humble beginnings as market farmers, selling strawberries and Brussels sprouts to hotels across Limerick, husband-and-wife team Mary and Dick Fitzgerald went on to start a business as one of the country’s premier farmhouse holiday destinations in 1977.
With business booming, there was more and more of a demand for rooms, says Mary.
“A rule came in then, that if you had more than six bedrooms you could no longer be in the farmhouse category, you would have to go into the guest house category.
"My husband had always wanted a bar anyway, so we went about getting registered as a hotel and that was some journey. It’s another story,” laughs Mary.
“We eventually got it and we are 35 years a hotel this year. We started off with 12 bedrooms, and we now have 92.”
Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Adare, Co Limerick.
\Clare Keogh
Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Adare, Co Limerick.
\Clare Keogh
Although the property has seen massive expansion, that family intimacy is still present in the hotel today, now run by Mary and her children.
Sadly, Dick died in 2014, but such is the importance of family at the Woodlands, he is kept present in the business daily through Dick’s Bar and Dick’s Garden.
This family hotel ethos is also at the core of the Original Irish Hotels group, of which Mary is chair. Original Irish Hotels was launched in recent weeks and represents the largest number of independent hotels in the country, with 60 members.
It is an amalgamation of two previous groups, Irish Country Hotels and Manor House Hotels.
Authentic Modernisation
Independent hotels has a major role to play in Ireland’s tourism industry, with visitors from both home and abroad, says Mary. Original Irish Hotels was set up to market the member hotels, as well as help them overcome common challenges.
“We made a huge investment in a reservations system. The beauty about it is, if you are in a travel agency in Idaho, Germany, Australia or China, you can make your real-time booking.
"There’s a dial-in with two operators and the travel agents can get the answers for their clients immediately.
It’s the modernisation of a really authentic product, using technology to do so.
"It’s allowing us to compete against all the others and it gives us an opportunity to define our uniqueness and our story to be told.”
Criteria for becoming an Original Irish Hotel member is very strict. The hotels are spread across the whole country and have a diverse range of characteristics. Central to the group is that each property can express its individuality.
Mary Fitzgerald of Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel and Spa, Adare, Co Limerick.
\Clare Keogh
However, there are still many concepts they share, such as the whole group being aligned with Guaranteed Irish and a commitment that, where possible, all of the food served is either grown on-site or sourced locally.
Community
Mary explains that the brand facilitates independent hoteliers helping each other and passing on expertise. Rather than seeing one another as direct competition, the members think of themselves as a support network, sharing information and industry contacts.
Along with the community the members have created within themselves, it is also paramount that each hotel has strong links with their own local community.
“It’s a part of the Original Irish Hotels ethos that you have to be embedded in your community.
"That way, then, all the locals more or less come into the hotel and use it. So people are not getting a kind of touristy hotel, they are mixing with the locals all the time.”
Personal Touch
And, with a sense of community always comes the personal touch, which in itself is why these independent businesses have proven to be so popular.
“We had a group of Austrians here the other day and we arranged for them to get a hurling demonstration from my son Conor and his friend.
“They all got to have a go. They absolutely loved it,” enthuses Mary. “They came in then and they got to try whiskey off the hurley. We have whiskey tasting, they get three little nips of whiskey.
“They won’t get that in the larger chains. We think like individuals, so we try and develop an individual experience. It’s almost like they are the only people in the hotel in a way. They have the opportunity to talk to the staff, everyone has their own thing they want to get out of their trip and we will help them with that.”
Original Irish Hotels is a brand that promotes some of the best of what our country has on offer, allowing visitors an authentic experience. How could it be any other way when, like the Woodlands, these hotels were built from the ground up?
For more information on Original Irish Hotels and a full list of members, see www.originalirishhotels.com.
Read more
Francis Brennan: The art of hard work and cushions
Relaxation and rejuvenation at The Kingsley
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