Hotel in Waterford City

Terraced thirteen-bay three-storey hotel, c.1895, on a corner site with three-bay three-storey gabled entrance bay, and five-bay three-storey side elevation to north-west. Renovated and extended, c.1970, comprising four-bay four-storey flat-roofed return to south-west incorporating fabric of earlier two-bay four-storey house, c.1820. Extensively renovated, 1998, with replacement shopfront inserted to ground floor. Pitched roof on an L-shaped plan (forming hip to corner) with replacement fibre-cement slate, c.1970, concrete ridge tiles, red brick chimney stacks and replacement aluminium rainwater goods, c.1970. Flat bitumen felt roof to return with timber eaves and aluminium rainwater goods. Painted rendered walls with moulded rendered coping to gable to entrance bay. Shallow segmental-headed window openings to first floor with moulded rendered sills, moulded reveals and moulded rendered continuous hood moulding. Square-headed window openings to top floor with moulded rendered sills. Replacement uPVC casement windows, 1998. Replacement timber shopfront, 1998, to ground floor with fluted pilasters, paired round-headed windows with fixed-pane timber display windows, glazed timber panelled double doors, and timber fascia over with dentilated moulded cornice. Road fronted on a corner site with concrete footpath to front.

This hotel is an attractive and extensive range composed of balanced proportions and subtle decoration. Extensively renovated, the building has lost much of its original fabric, while the distribution of openings to the remodelled ground floor does not compliment the entire scheme. The building remains an important anchor site at the west end of Waterford City and is an prominent landmark from the approach over Rice Bridge to the north.