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Taoiseach Micheál Martin officially opened a new luxury hotel, The Grace, at Westport Estate in County Mayo, a high-profile hospitality launch on a 430‑acre estate overlooking Clew Bay and the Wild Atlantic Way. The 129‑room property is intended to offer a contemplative, landscape-led take on modern Irish luxury and to support tourism and jobs in the west of Ireland.
A destination rooted in place
The Grace sits within a broader redevelopment of the historic Westport Estate, led by the Hughes family. Developers describe the hotel as part of a long-term plan to reposition the estate as an internationally recognised visitor destination, with knock-on benefits for employment and regional growth across Mayo and the wider west.
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Designs for the hotel draw consciously on local heritage and scenery. Interiors, materials and guest experiences are shaped by the surrounding woodland, mountains and coastline, and the scheme explicitly references two notable figures with links to Mayo — Grace O’Malley and Grace Kelly — as part of its identity.
What guests will find
The Grace markets itself as a slow luxury retreat centred on comfort, craft and local provenance. It features high-end accommodation and a focus on seasonal Irish produce at its destination dining venue.
Other guest amenities include a spa and wellness facilities, as well as direct access to the estate’s walking trails and heritage sites. Outdoor activities and curated experiences on the grounds form a key part of the hotel’s appeal.
Investment, jobs and ambition
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was pleased to open the hotel and noted that projects of this scale help sustain jobs, bolster regional economies and strengthen Ireland’s standing as a premium tourism market.
Owen Hughes of Westport Estate described the opening as a proud milestone in a strategic investment programme. He said The Grace occupies a central role in the estate’s vision to celebrate local heritage, nature and contemporary Irish culture while attracting visitors from overseas.
For Mayo, the new hotel aims to combine conservation of historic lands with a commercial model intended to draw more visitors to the region and extend the tourism season beyond existing patterns.
