Laois' renowned hotel Castle Durrow is currently a talking point nationally, being the star of the More4 four-part docuseries Country House Auction. The series was filmed in August 2023, and captured an auction held on the premises through Sheppard's Irish Auction House. The first episode aired last Tuesday night, where viewers got an inside peek into the gorgeous 18th century home, and saw the preparations that came with hosting the auction.
Owners Tessa and Robin Leidig discussed their experiences while filming the show, and the trials and tribulations of today's hospitality sector. "It's exciting, it's obviously something we've never done before," said Tessa Leidig. "It was completely out of our comfort zone, and the first day was quite daunting.
We became so comfortable with it as time went on, and had so much fun with the crew," Mrs Leidig said. "We are very old fashioned, we don't need to spend much money on advertising," said Mr Leidig. "It's just an odd post on social media and word of mouth.
Every couple that comes in here has either attended a wedding here, or had a close friend who has attended one. "We don't know what's ahead of us now with the show, we are definitely reaching people we wouldn't have before, which is a bonus," Mr Leidig said. Before the episode had even aired, the couple had potential guests calling and flying over from the UK based on the programme's advertisements.
Pictured: Robin and Tessa Leidig, owners of Castle Durrow. The first episode of C.