One of the great family hotels in the south of Ireland, The Butler Arms Hotel in Waterville, Co Kerry, is expected to make around €7 million when it is offered for sale on the home and overseas markets.
Sherry FitzGerald O'Connell in Tralee is handling the sale of the world renowned 42-bedroom, four star hotel which has been used as a holiday retreat over the years by leading film stars, sportsmen and politicians.
Film legend Charlie Chaplin and his family regularly stayed at the The Butler Arms in the 1960s and 1970s. In more recent years, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have taken a break there and other notable guests have included American football star Dan Marino and the former US vice president Dan Quayle. Waterville golf links has also attracted leading players, such as Tiger Woods and Mark O'Mara.
The hotel is located in the centre of Waterville, an unspoiled village with a tourist tradition going back over 150 years.
The earliest records show that the Butler Arms was a licensed fishing lodge from the early 1800s. It was bought in 1913 by Mr and Mrs Martin Huggard (grandparents of the present owner) who developed it into an internationally known hotel.
In 1972, ownership passed to the present proprietor, Peter Huggard, and his wife, Mary, who continued to upgrade the facilities. The hotel has uninterrupted views of Ballinskellig Harbour and frontage on to three streets.
