The entire contents of the Jurys Ballsbridge hotel in Dublin have been bought by a British hotel chain for about €1 million.
The fixtures and fittings included nine kitchen sinks, chattels from eight hotel kitchens, two 15-person elevators, four service elevators, 80 safety deposit boxes, an air conditioning system, the booths in the Coffee Dock, which were once the epicentre of gossip circles in Dublin, and everything but the beermats from the Dubliner Bar.
Jurys Ballsbridge and the nearby Berkeley Court Hotel closed their doors to the public for the last time on Monday.
The Jurys Doyle Group, which sold the two hotels to the developer Séan Dunne for €380 million, had intended to auction the contents of Jurys Ballsbridge on Friday in 2,300 different lots.
It was billed as the biggest ever auction sale of an entire hotel to take place in Europe.
Viewings were due to start this morning. That was until an unnamed purchaser made Jurys Doyle an offer they couldn't refuse yesterday afternoon.
"It was literally made last minute," said auctioneer Mark Flynn from the UK-based Pro Auction, which was handling the sale. "We were informed just before people started travelling to the viewings."
Mr Flynn refused to divulge the name of the buyer except to say it was a hotel chain that operated exclusively in the UK and had expressed an interest in travelling to the auction.
A Jurys Doyle spokeswoman said the sale suited both parties.
"It makes sense. We wanted a clean transaction and this minimises the logistical hassle involved," she said.
A substantial proportion of the sum involved in the sell-off will go to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin. It was due to get the proceeds from the €5 catalogue charge on entry to the auction on Friday.
Those who had hoped to get their hands on some prime Egyptian cotton sheets or a cut-price Corby trouser press may get another chance when the contents of the Berkeley Court are sold off in the middle of next month.
