Cosgraves seek €50m for new Smithfield hotel

Dublin Loft Company puts Hendrick hotel on the market just six months after opening

The lobby of Dublin’s Hendrick Hotel, which is for sale for €50m
The lobby of Dublin’s Hendrick Hotel, which is for sale for €50m

Just over six months on from its official opening, Dublin's first street art hotel, the Hendrick in Smithfield, is being offered for sale quietly by its developer owners at a guide price of between €45 million and €50 million.

The Dublin Loft Company, which is led by siblings Mark, Andrew and Kelly Cosgrave of the well-known Cosgrave developer family, is understood to have engaged London-based Eastdil Secured to find a buyer for the 146-room hotel.

It is understood prospective purchasers of the Smithfield property may also be given the option to acquire another 163-bedroom hotel which the Dublin Loft Company is in the process of developing on the site of the landmark Big Tree pub on Dorset Street.

A standard guest room at the Hendrick Hotel in Dublin’s Smithfield: prices start from €119 per night
A standard guest room at the Hendrick Hotel in Dublin’s Smithfield: prices start from €119 per night

While efforts by The Irish Times to contact the Cosgraves for comment on the matter proved unsuccessful, their decision to sell the Hendrick may yet prove to have been timely, as the supply of new hotel rooms in the capital edges closer to meeting demand.

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Located on Hendrick Street, a small street within close proximity to Smithfield Square, the hotel is a six-storey property which the Dublin Loft Company designed inhouse.

Contemporary

While the Hendrick offers its guests all the amenities required in a contemporary hotel, the emphasis is on function as opposed to the pampering associated with the luxury end of the market.

Standard rooms measure as little as 10sq m (107sq ft) and are laid out as twins, doubles (with the bed against the wall) and triples (with a bunk over the double bed).

All guest rooms are well-equipped however with King Koil mattresses, power showers, USB ports, high-speed wifi, air conditioning, blackout blinds and safes. All 146 rooms feature an item of street art, while the hotel common areas serve to showcase another 124 art works, including a section of wall in the lobby from the former Windmill Lane studio, which the members of U2 signed during a recording session.

The Hendrick’s reception includes a full bar, onscreen room check-in, and a “grab & go” self-catering facility offering guests the option of a continental breakfast, sandwiches and salads, as well as crockery for guests who order in food from outside.

Room rates are tailored towards the budget end of the market with prices currently starting at €119 per night according to the hotel’s website.

Ronald Quinlan

Ronald Quinlan

Ronald Quinlan is Property Editor of The Irish Times