Owners ‘excited’ by hotel takeover

Owners ‘excited’ by hotel takeover

10 February 2016

THE Portaferry Hotel will reopen on Friday.

Almost four months after the hotel suddenly closed due to financial difficulties, its new tenants have confirmed for the first time that they will reopen the shorefront property this weekend.

Cahal and Mary Arthurs, who already run several businesses in the town including the nearby Dumigan’s Bar and Ferry Grill, said they are putting the finishing touches to the 14-bedroom hotel for the relaunch, which will create 20 full and part-time jobs in the town.

The news has been welcomed across Portaferry, which was devastated by October’s closure with many fearing it would seriously damage the town’s image and tourist appeal.

Politicians, residents and staff lobbied for its reopening, saying they feared the empty shorefront property sent out a bleak message for Portaferry.

Mr Arthurs yesterday revealed he had been interested in the hotel since its closure, which he said had had an impact on their other businesses in the Portaferry. Having signed the lease, he said their vision was to restore the hotel to the popularity of its pre-2000 heyday.

“We are coming to this with the hope of making it great,” he said.

“This is a long term plan for us and we are looking forward to working hard to get the reputation back. This will be about good food, good accommodation and good service.

“This is a traditional country style hotel and because we only have 14 rooms we will be able to make it more personal. 

“When we open on Friday we will encourage people to have a wander through the hotel and its rooms to see what we have done. We have not had much time to get it ready, but we have been very busy over the past few weeks making it right.”

Mrs Arthurs, who is mum to to three small children, likened their new business project to having a new baby.

“We are very excited about this. It is a big decision in our lives,” she said.

“We have made lots of small changes to get ready for Friday and we are excited to show people what we have done.

“There has been great support in the community, everybody is excited and has been wishing us well. It is creating a lovely atmosphere and has given the town a lift to see something is happening again.”

While Mr Arthurs said Portaferry has a lot to offer in addition to the hotel, he said he believes it is an important landmark.

“The hotel is the first thing people see coming across the lough. It is important to have it painted and lit up. It makes Portaferry more attractive,” he said.

“We hope it will give the town a boost when we open on Friday and in the springtime we will have an official launch to celebrate the hotel being back on track.”