Butler Arms Hotel
The Butler Arms Hotel is a historic hotel in Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland. It opened in 1884 and sits on the southwest coast near the Ring of Kerry, close to Valentia Island, the Skellig Islands, Lough Currane, and Waterville Golf Club.
The hotel was built and opened by the McElligott family. From 1915 to 2022 it was owned by the Huggard family, who also ran other local hotels. In 2022, the Butler Arms was bought by Press Up Entertainment, led by Paddy McKillen Jr.
When it opened, the hotel benefited from new maritime and railway links that made travel and holidays easier for visitors. Over the years, many famous guests have stayed here, including Charlie Chaplin, J. P. Morgan, Walt Disney, and later, stars from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens cast who visited while filming nearby in 2014. The Chaplin family visited many times, and a statue in Waterville honors him. Writers such as Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck, and Alfred Perceval Graves also stayed at the hotel.
The Huggard family also owned other local hotels, such as the Royal Hotel in Valentia, the Caragh Lake Hotel, and the Lake Hotel in Killarney. Today, the Butler Arms remains a well-known landmark on the Ring of Kerry, famous for its history and its famous guests.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:59 (CET).