Luxury options will keep downsizers to the manor born

Three homes which show apartment living doesn’t mean lowering your expectations

No 26 Hollybrook, Foxrock, Dublin 18
No 26 Hollybrook, Foxrock, Dublin 18

NO 26 HOLLYBROOK, FOXROCK, DUBLIN 18

A two-storey apartment more than double the size of many suburban houses is for sale in Hollybrook, the luxury development near Foxrock village built by developer Sean Dunne in the early 2000s.

Hollybrook, on Brighton Road, is designed to look like a grand period redbrick building: outside, it has formal landscaped gardens with lawns and ponds; inside, a smart reception area opens into common areas with wide halls and wainscotted walls. There’s a gym and sauna with a plunge pool in the basement, two underground car park spaces, a large underground lock-up storage facility and a 24-hour concierge service.

No 26 Hollybrook, a 306sq m (3,296sq ft) four-bedroom apartment with high ceilings, is for sale jointly through Sherry FitzGerald and Knight Frank for €785,000 – a relatively modest price for a home this size in this location. But it doesn't have a balcony, and it comes with an annual service charge of €16,817. It would rent for about €3,500 to €4,000 a month.

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Number 26 is in very good condition, and is decorated in a smart period style: part-panelled walls are painted a shade of grey/green, floors are polished dark oak or carpeted, there’s recessed lighting everywhere and tiled bathrooms (four in all). At one end of the hall through glazed double doors there’s a large dual aspect drawingroom with a sandstone fireplace and a coal-effect gas fire.

At the other end, through more glazed double doors, is a diningroom that opens into a kitchen fitted with smart timber units. Off it is a huge utility room. In the middle, off the front hall, is an open area described as a study. The large downstairs toilet has a tiled floor and black polished granite finish, as do all the bathrooms.

Upstairs, there are four under-eaves bedrooms, two large and two smaller doubles, all with deep Veluxes. The main bedroom has a walk-in dressingroom, a small “shoe room” and a tiled en suite bathroom with a bath and a shower. Two more bedrooms have fitted wardrobes. A large main bathroom comes with a bath and there is a separate shower room on this floor too.

Hollybrook is a short walk from Foxrock village.

114 WYCKHAM POINT, DUNDRUM, DUBLIN 16

114 Wyckham Point, Dundrum, Dublin 16

A three-bedroom penthouse with views of the Dublin mountains near Dundrum Town Centre could appeal to investors or well-to-do downsizers. Number 114 Wyckham Point, has been a rental property but comes to the market in good condition, with all its modern-style furniture included in the sale. Built 11 years ago, it is large, with two reception rooms and two separate terraces outside adding over 85sq m (900sq ft) of space to the 135sq m (1,450sq ft) apartment.

The property, which has two basement car-park spaces, is for sale through Lisney for €720,000 and has an annual service charge of €2,200. The Wyckham Point apartment complex has a 24-hour concierge service and a gym. It was renting for more than €2,500 a month.

The entrance hall is bright, with a white-tiled floor and two Veluxes lighting it. It opens at one end into the large corner open-plan kitchen/diningroom/family room. This has floor-to-ceiling windows looking over neighbouring apartment blocks across the Wyckham bypass towards the mountains. Doors open on to a large outside terrace with views in two directions. The living room has a dark timber floor and the kitchen is floored with white tiles. It is an efficient modern kitchen with polished granite countertops.

Double doors off the other end of the entrance hall open into a separate livingroom, with doors from here on to a completely separate and larger terrace. This has some mountain views, but looks down over the roof of the apartment block. The agent suggests that new owners might screen those with fencing or planting.

The rest of the accommodation includes three bedrooms, two doubles and a single, and a fully-tiled family bathroom. The main bedroom has a tiled en suite shower room and a door on to the terrace. The single bedroom is currently fitted out as a study.

The Wyckham gym is in a separate building a short walk from the outside of the apartment block. Residents also have access to the wooded grounds of nearby Carmelite Gort Muire centre, a good spot for walking dogs – which are allowed in the complex, as long as they are well-behaved.

Wyckham Point is a brisk 10-minute walk from the Balally Luas stop, and a short drive to the M50.

13 RUSSELL COURT, 96 ST STEPHEN’S GREEN, DUBLIN 2

13 Russell Court, 96 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2

A one-bedroom apartment overlooking St Stephen’s Green through two tall sash windows in a Georgian building where WB Yeats once lived is for sale for €475,000 through Property Team Lappin Estates.

Apartment 13 Russell Court, 96 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, a 72sq m (775sq ft) second floor property with nearly 9ft high ceilings, is decorated in ornate period style and is for sale with all its furniture included. It comes with one surface car park space at the rear of the building, and has an annual service charge of €1,650.

Originally an investment property, its current owner bought it about a year ago for €450,000 as a city base but is now moving on. The apartment’s location could attract investors, downsizers or or perhaps someone in the market for a city centre pied-a-terre. It rents for between €700 and €800 per week

The entrance hall with a coved ceiling opens into a livingroom that also has coving and a large marble fireplace. The fitted kitchen has a tiled floor, polished granite countertops and Neff appliances and the double bedroom has fitted wardrobes. The fully-tiled bathroom has a shower.

Russell Court is on the south side of St Stephen’s Green, near Iveagh House and University Church.