It's as much as a small, two-bedroom apartment might cost on Manhattan's Upper East Side. But in Ireland, Paul Diver has purchased a spectacular 55 bedroom hotel overlooking the Donegal coastline for a mere $860,000, down from the $6 million price the original owners sought for the Sandhouse Hotel three years ago.
Diver, who managed the Sandhouse Hotel in Rosnowlagh for 20 years, was delighted to secure the 50 staff members their jobs. He told msnbc.com on Friday that he had been willing to go "a bit higher" when the hotel was auctioned this week in Dublin, but was delighted when his reserve-price bid was accepted by the auctioneers.
The 50-year-old hotel went into liquidation in 2009 after the previous owners failed to sell it during the dramatic skid in the country's economy.
Overall, Irish real estate prices have crashed since 2007-08, when the so-called "Celtic Tiger" economy collapsed. Home values have fallen more than 60 percent below their peak five years ago, and commercial properties have suffered similar declines.
For Diver, it was an opportunity he couldn't turn down.
"It's just a total adrenalin rush; I can't believe it. It's been a long, long road but we have made it," he told the Irish Independent newspaper.
Diver hopes the fantastic location off the Rosnowlagh beach will remain a lure for visitors from home and abroad. He noted the beach has hosted the European Surfing Championship a few times over the past 15 years and boasts "fantastic waves."
Related slide show: Ireland's faded real-estate dream
