A great stay
December 30, 2010A good stay can often be hard to come by, but Aidan Ryan has managed to locate it in more ways than one. Since becoming the General Manager of the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, he has settled nicely in his role and three years continues to play his part in help business kick on in such tough times for the industry.
Established first way back in 1863, the hotel is located in a prime South Dublin position overlooking Dublin Bay. Its unique location, close to Dublin City Centre and Dun Laoghaire ferry port, but also within easy reach of County Wicklow, The Garden of Ireland, makes The Royal Marine Hotel an ideal accommodation choice for leisure and business travellers alike.
"We're based here at Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire and employ about 130 people," explained Aidan. "We re-opened in June 2007, but the hotel was established back in 1863."
As for what's inside, the Royal Marine boasts 228 bedrooms which include executive rooms, junior suites and two presidential suites, while Aidan is able to fill us in on the rest.
"We have one main bar called Hardy's Bar, named after Laurel and Hardy who stayed here in 1955 for six weeks," he said. "The main restaurant is called Dún Bistro and it has a relaxed style of food, which is contemporary-modern.
"We have an excellent Spa called sansanaSPA, with nine treatment rooms, tanning, manicures, water-beds and a full range of all treatments for both females and males. We have full gym facilities along with an 18-metre swimming pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi.
"Bedrooms-wise, a lot of our rooms are overlooking the Dublin bays and we have a large function room which holds up to 500 people for dinner," added the General Manager.
At a very reasonable rate, the above attractions are hard to for competitors to match and perhaps that explains why the Royal Marine Hotel is holding up well in such a difficult climate.
"Business is good," explained Aidan. "We're positive here and we are lucky because we know we have such a good product for our guests. This is November and we probably have many different parties booked for Christmas already and in the New Year, so we're keeping busy enough thank God."
While business is positive for the Royal Marine Hotel in December and January, Aidan is also looking forward to the new season with St. Patrick's and helping the club to do all it can to reclaim the Joe Ward Cup in 2011.
"The first time I would have played for St Pat's was at Under 12, so you could say I've been playing with the club 20 years. I'd be on the senior panel at the moment, but mostly I've mostly played junior football over the years," he said.
Three years ago, Aidan experienced the highlight of his playing career with St Pat's when the club captured a long-awaited championship title when now Louth boss Peter Fitzpatrick was senior manager at the club.
To this day, Aidan is still full of praise for 'Fitzer' and after the Wee County's brave journey in the All-Ireland SFC this past summer, it's there for everyone to see why.
"He was over us in 2007 and we won the championship that year," Aidan put it simply.
"I have the absolute height of respect for Peter. From the first training session that year there was a feeling among everyone that we could win the championship. He just gets the best out of fellas and it doesn't matter what level you are at, he'd push you as hard as anyone. He's a great coach."
Louth's epic trail from being ranked outsiders to just minutes away from a historic Leinster title triumph may have ended in heart-breaking circumstances last July, but Aidan is well over the trauma of that well-documented afternoon at Croke Park and is now hoping that Fitzpatrick's team can bounce back in 2011.
While they will more than likely to do it without the services of a few key players, namely marksman Brian White, he believes they are well capable of mirroring their championship form of this past summer next season.
"They were absolutely fantastic this year," Aidan said of the Louth team. "He (Fitzpatrick) believed in the team and it helped them believe in themselves. Probably the biggest thing this year was the players' mindsets and that was down to Peter.
"Getting to the Leinster final was a great achievement and a lot of supporters travelled in hope rather than expectation.
"What happened in the final was wrong, but I think everyone is over it by now. Hopefully, we can push on and I think they're well over it; if anything it can drive them on for next year."
Aidan's attitude is spot on at that.
As for the achievement of his fellow clubman Paddy Keenan in earning Louth's first-ever All Star award, Aidan doesn't agree with some that argue that it was a consolation prize for the county after being harshly denied the Leinster title.
Speaking about the midfielder, he couldn't laud his fellow clubman enough.
"Knowing Paddy, he's an absolute example of what you need to be at that level," said Aidan.
"One of the stories that I've heard about Paddy was that on a Christmas Day he went out and practiced kicking balls at the St Pat's pitch. He's always the fella at training pushing boys on to be better.
"He was out playing for St Pat's the morning after togging out for Ireland against Australia in the International Rules series, which says everything about his commitment to the game and his club."
As for his own agenda with St Pat's, Aidan commented: "I absolutely love playing for the club. People ask me why I travel back, but it's everything to be togging out with fellas you've grown up with."
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