Melissa and Richard Hogg with Cathy McCormick of Tourism NI
Kintala in the Roe Valley, which is run by Melissa and Richard Hogg, received the rating under Tourism NI’s Quality Grading Scheme.
Mr Hogg also owns Macrete, a pre-cast concrete business serving sea defence, civil engineering, railway infrastructure, sports stadia and water and utility sectors.
He and his wife decided to open the former Hogg family home as a guest house when it went on the market.
And since its opening last Easter they’ve welcomed tourists from America to Switzerland as well as domestic guests with full capacity during the summer.
Mrs Hogg, who trained as a nurse and has held roles in retail and education, said: “Kintala was built by my mother-in-law and father-in-law in the 1960s.
“It was the Hogg family home from then and we had the opportunity to buy it when it went up for sale.
“We have our own home which we love and we weren’t ready to move into it ourselves, but wanted to keep it in the family and setting it up as a hospitality business allows us to keep it accessible to us too.”
Kintala is a four-bedroom guest house sleeping eight and is priced at £200 per night. It is set within four acres of gardens with a tree plantation, while the River Roe runs along the bottom of the site.
And while Dungiven isn’t usually high on tourists’ itineraries, Mrs Hogg said the setting and Kintala’s “central location” – 40 minutes from the north coast and one hour from Belfast – appealed to guests.
The property is listed on Discover Northern Ireland, Trip Advisor, Airbnb and other online accommodation platforms.
“Everyone comments on the location because it is central to all of Northern Ireland’s big sights and even Donegal,” said Mrs Hogg. “We had Swiss visitors staying to golf at Ballyliffin and then they played all of the courses on the north coast.”
The proprietor said she hoped Kintala would receive a five-star rating given the high spec to which it has been decorated it.
“Whenever we were doing the house up we renovated it to a standard that we would like or aspire to have, so we always hoped for that rating,” she added.
Cathy McCormick, quality and standards schemes coordinator at Tourism NI, said: “Kintala is a beautiful property.
“It is located only 30 minutes’ drive from the city of Derry and is a fantastic addition to the accommodation offering in the area.
“I congratulate Melissa and Richard on their efforts to offer visitors an exceptional standard of accommodation and facilities in which to enjoy their stay.”
Tags: