Lets see, what to do on a wet, windy and boring Sunday afternoon? Not many windsurfers about, no action on Garretstown beach so why not commit a little trespass? With that in mind I bring you “The Atlantic Manor Hotel”, Garretstown’s finest (and only) establishment. About a hundred rooms (as far as I can see), half with sea views. A large function room and good sized bar, also with a sea view. Travel websites regard it highly and there are numerous listings for it.
There’s only one tiny snag… for further details, see below.
The reception, where you will be given a warm welcome on your arrival.
The function room, where you can dance the night away.
The world class kitchen, where all your meals are lovingly prepared.
But don’t forget to wash your hands before dinner!
And finally, some good advice for anyone wishing to visit The Atlantic Manor Hotel in it’s current state…
All in all a charming location to get away from it all for the weekend.
Coming back to reality, it’s an interesting building. Interesting in that I felt it nessecary to bring along my survival kit for the short time I spent inside the hotel. Yes, by survival kit I mean an extremely sharp lock-knife. The place has obviously been badly looted, however much of the furniture, office paperwork and fixtures/fittings still survive. On climbing the stairs to the first level, I suddenly came over all paranoid and found that no matter how I tried to convince myself I wasn’t going to die, I just wasn’t able to walk down that narrow, dark hallway. The wind was making strange noises in & around the largely empty building and panes of broken glass, still hanging from their window frames swung violently. I started to see things out of the corner of my eye as I walked around downstairs, so I got the fuck out of there and back into the daylight.
Before I fled like a little girl however, I did explore much of the ground floor. The kitchen remains oddly intact. There are appliances still in place, although presumably they are nailed down. The doors of several meat lockers and cold rooms swung open ominously, as if to say “c’mon in, there’s no dead bodies in here.” Needless to say, I declined on this occasion.
I fully intend on re-visiting and exploring the entire upper floor and the other half of the building I never saw. Although next time I’ll bring the following with me;
1. At least one other person
2. At least one torch
3. Six pairs of surgical gloves
4. One pair of heavy duty work gloves
5. A dozen large plastic ‘sandwich bags’ for evidence collection
6. Something to temporarily incapacitate anyone that may spring out of one of the dark, empty rooms.
Anyone up for a bit of fun? But hey, before you decide on something that could potentially scar you for life, take a look at the rest of the photos!