By Róise Collins

AFTER three years of being closed to the public, the Nesbitt Arms Hotel in Ardara has officially reopened its doors for the summer season.

The 49-bedroom hotel had been closed to tourists since August 2022, after securing a government contract to accommodate Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Now though, with a decrease in the number of refugees in state-provided accommodation and the winding down of several contracts, the hotel is one of many that have transitioned back to their original role in the local tourism sector.

Hotel general manager Sharon Clancy told the Donegal News that the reopening of Ardara’s only hotel has been met with a “great buzz”.
“It really feels like life has been injected back into the town,” she said.
“We are such a busy tourist town anyway, we get lots of day trippers, but it will be great to offer somewhere to stay for people again.”
The family-run hotel, which is a central fixture in the town, closed their doors on August 1, 2022.“So its three years on the button since we last welcomed the public,” she added.

Nesbitt’s retained the same staff throughout their state contract, which Sharon says has made the transition much smoother.
“We were lucky to retain our staff the whole way through. It’s been a big change for them, but everyone’s really enjoying getting back into things.”
Although the hotel is currently operating a “soft opening” with just the bedrooms available, the response has exceeded expectations, with strong bookings already coming in. Fortunately, because the property was well maintained during its time under the state contract, the team had minimal work to do in getting guest rooms ready.
“We were very lucky,” Sharon added.

“It was just a case of getting the rooms back up to hotel standard.”
However, reopening the restaurant and bar this late in the season proved to be “unfeasible”.
“With the current staffing challenges across the hospitality industry, trying to recruit kitchen and bar staff this late in the season wouldn’t make sense,” she explained. “The businesses have been very supportive,” Sharon added.
The manager expressed her gratitude for the warm response from the community since the announcement and is hopeful that the hotel’s reopening will provide a welcome boost for the local economy.