'Heifers to hotels': Tipperary's Hill House features on RTÉ's 'At Your Service'
Hill House based in Cashel was the latest feature of RTÉ’s ‘At Your Service’
Cattle farmers Veronica and Ray, alongside some private partners, purchased the run-down 18th-century country house with the hopes of transforming it into 21st-century luxury accommodation.
The Georgian-period home was built in 1710 and has “loads of character.”
The episode follows the couple on their journey from ‘heifers to hotels’, as one of the show’s presenters, Francis Brennan, described.
The couple’s farm is in Dualla, where “every month is a busy month,” so taking on the added project of converting and running a luxury B&B was always going to be a challenge.
The episode was filmed in February 2025, with Veronica having bookings for May of that year, despite not even having beds for people to sleep in at that stage.
The hope was to convert Hill House into a boutique BnB, and then into a boutique hotel.
Hosts John and Francis Brennan described the location as hard to beat, with the historic Rock of Cashel in view from one side of Hill House and the busy town of Cashel on the other.
However, despite the advantages of location and views, the challenges of getting the accommodation up and running seemed never-ending.
Hill House was a former maternity hospital, doctor’s surgery, and B&B that hosted the late Daniel O’Connell.
The couple wanted to keep the house as original as possible, with a budget of €60,000 to €80,000.
That was set aside for five en-suite bathrooms, a dining room, hall, and a living room.
The small budget and mountain of work to be completed in less than three months seemed like an impossible task.
Francis and John decided, after much pushback from Veronica, that Hill House should be a B&B for good, rather than trying to expand from that to a hotel.
Veronica was taken to Perryville House in Kinsale, where she was advised that a B&B would reduce the running costs, as a kitchen and extra staff would not need to be accounted for.
She was also told that in order for her product to be premium, a larger investment had to be made.
Things such as curtain and bed finishes had to be considered in order to get the B&B to have the premium and luxury feeling being strived for.
“Give it your best shot…don’t bite off too much in the beginning,” the Perryville owner advised.
After the visit, Francis and John were forced to ask Veronica the uncomfortable question of doubling her budget.
Luckily, she and Ray have an abundance of support and were able to pull in friends and family to get a head start on the jobs.
Everything was looking positive for the couple until disaster struck just a month before opening.
Bathrooms had started, tiles had gone up, and they'd made fantastic progress on the build when the fuse box blew up.
The dense, black smoke meant the couple couldn’t see from one room to another, setting them back months in their progress.
Veronica and Ray contained the fire themselves and then called the ESB to get the house disconnected from the electricity.
“Any progress we made is now null and void, and we’re literally back to square one,” Veronica said with tears in her eyes.
It was mid-April at this stage of the episode, with just a month until the first guests were due to arrive.
Veronica was forced to cancel the bookings, with works at a standstill until a re-wiring report was provided.
This caused a huge delay on decor work getting done, with the grand opening being pushed out even further than the optimistic planned date of June 20th.
After six weeks of waiting, the report finally came at the beginning of June, meaning that works could resume.
When Francis visited, he described Hill House as being “worse than before,” so he and Veronica decided to do some retail therapy in the form of online auctions.
Against the advice of Francis and John, Veronica and Ray decided to allow guests to stay at the B&B.
The finances were “stretched to the limit” at this stage, so the couple decided to open three of the five rooms to allow the money coming in from bookings to help pay to finish the rest of the house.
A month after opening for guests, John visits and hears of teething issues such as a door handle falling off, upside-down key holes, and unfinished ceilings.
He noted a “missed opportunity,” which was a lack of a king-size bed that could have easily fit in a room with just a double, as well as a few small details that were taking away from a “premium” look.
“The more I look around, the more I see that’s just not right… just not up to standard,” Francis said.
Once again, the couple were advised to close for bookings until everything was finished, as protecting the reputation of Hill House was more important than “half doing it.”
This was a first for the At Your Service team, as they had never closed a business following its launch.
“It’s for the good,” Francis reassured everyone.
After time to reflect, Veronica and Ray came up with a plan, giving them four weeks to open the remaining bedrooms.
The full opening happened on September 20th, just a short while after the Dualla Show, which the family were competing at with their cows.
“Pedigree quality can be applied to Hill House,” Francis told Veronica, pushing her to apply the same level of dedication that she does with the farm to her new business venture.
On the day of the grand opening, last-minute preparations such as sweeping, dusting, and picture hanging took place.
“It looks fantastic,” Francis said.
“It’s uncluttered, and it’s very welcoming. Everywhere you look, there are stylish touches, fresh flowers, and a real sense of character,” he continued.
“The future looks bright,” he concluded.
Hill House is now available for booking, and the At Your Service episode can be rewatched on the RTÉ Player.