|
The Fitzgeralds Vienna Woods Hotel, Glanmire, was originally built by Davis Ducart in 1765 in a regency decor design style. It began its days as Lota Lodge on a large parcel of land surrounding Lota Beg. Following a great fire in 1905 Sharmon Crawford rebuilt the house.
Sharmon was the nephew of William Heratio Crawford of the famous Cork brewers Beamish & Crawford, trading in the city since 1792, who also gave his name to many of city's institutions including the Crawford Art Gallery and the Crawford College of Art. Following Crawford's reign, Lota Lodge was purchased by the brothers of Charity in 1951 where for 13 years it was used to train their Seminarians. In 1964 the old house was turned into a hotel by Joan Shubuek.
Having spent a number of years living in Austria the new owner thought the similarities between the Glanmire area and Vienna were too strong to ignore and as a result renamed the house "Vienna Woods Hotel". The Fitzgerald Family and Michael Magner took over as owners of the hotel in 2006 and since then have restored the house to its formal grandeur. Many of the original decor has been preserved and the original artwork restored to transform this once private residence into a luxurious 50 bedroom hotel with old-worldly, vintage charm.
|
