Northern Ireland

Derry's Beech Hill country house hotel changes hands

The Beech Hill hotel was favoured by former US president, Bill Clinton.
The Beech Hill hotel was favoured by former US president, Bill Clinton. The Beech Hill hotel was favoured by former US president, Bill Clinton.

A DERRY hotel which has played host to high profile guests ranging from US president, Bill Clinton to U2 has been sold.

The Beech Hill Country House hotel at Ardmore also numbers former US Secretaries, Hilary Clinton and John Kerry, Senator Ted Kennedy, Will Ferrell and Ed Sheerin among its list of past guests.

Former owner, Patsy O’Kane, who ran the hotel for 26 years, has confirmed the business has been sold by the O’Kane and Donnelly families to The House Collection which also owns The House gastro pub in Donegal town.

Mrs O’Kane, who has retired, said she was filled with sadness at leaving the hotel.

Barry Kemp, of The House Collection, paid tribute to Mrs O’Kane. He said she had built a “true jewel in the crown of the Irish hospitality business.”

At the centre of a 32-acre estate, the Beech Hill traces its history as a manor house back 400 years through the Plantation of Ulster and the Siege of Derry.