Leitrim hotel under set to reopen under new ownership

A Drumshanbo landmark, the Lough Allen Hotel, has changed hands and is now expected to reopen in the near future. 

The development is seen locally as a major boost for the area, with hopes high that the popular hotel and spa will once again welcome guests and events on the shores of Lough Allen.

The 3-star hotel and spa, which had been closed for several years, most recently served as accommodation for about 170 Ukrainian refugees, predominantly women and children. 

These residents, many integrated into the local area through schooling and employment, were asked to vacate the premises in May when the accommodation contract ended.

Situated on the scenic shores of Lough Allen, roughly 13 minutes from Carrick-on-Shannon and a short walk from Drumshanbo, the 40-room hotel is now expected to undergo renovations before reopening.

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Renovation notices are already in place at the site entrance, indicating that the hotel will be refurbished over the coming months and will reopen for business as soon as possible.

The Lough Allen Hotel and Spa was originally built in 2003 by the then registered owners Lough Allen Hotel and Spa Partnership, but the Hotel was leased to Dream Hotel, which then went into liquidation in 2008 during the economic crisis.

Earlier this year, local businesses called for more tourist accommodation in Drumshanbo, highlighting that although the Lough Allen Hotel had ceased housing refugees, it had not yet reopened for visitors—emphasising the area’s need for more guest lodgings to attract more visitors to the area.

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“I suppose during Covid it had been closed for a long time and it doesn't do the building any good to be lying vacant and it's good and positive news,” said Cllr Brendan Barry who believes the hotel will return to being used as a tourist destination, which he described as a “huge boost to the area” while speaking on Shannonside.

“I grew up on the shores of Loch Allen just overlooking the hotel here where it is built and it'd be wonderful to see people back in and using it and for all the locals for different events and things a lot of local people use the hotel but for all the many visitors then the area it is wonderful to see people in the town and around and about and enjoying the beautiful scenery in the area that we have here in Leitrim”