Stretch Tents for Pubs and Restaurants – Winter Installation at The Horse & Hound, Wicklow
Outdoor areas can be incredibly valuable to pubs and restaurants during the summer — but in Ireland, the challenge is making those spaces work when the weather changes.
For the second year running, Stretch Tents Ireland has returned to The Horse & Hound in Delgany, Co. Wicklow, to install a semi-permanent 10x10m stretch tent over its courtyard area for the winter months.
The 100m² installation transforms the courtyard into a substantial covered space, helping the venue continue to make use of its outdoor area through the colder and wetter part of the year.
It's a great example of why stretch tents for pubs and restaurants can be much more than temporary event structures. With the right installation, an existing courtyard, beer garden or terrace can become valuable additional hospitality space for an entire season.
Back for a Second Winter in Delgany
One of the best measures of whether an installation works is whether a client asks you to do it again.
This is now our second year installing the winter stretch tent at The Horse & Hound.
Rather than covering the courtyard permanently throughout the year, the stretch tent provides a seasonal solution.
The venue can enjoy its courtyard during the warmer months and then introduce substantial weather protection when winter arrives.
For pubs and restaurants, this type of semi-permanent installation can offer an excellent balance between flexibility and practicality.
The structure isn't simply being installed for a weekend event.
It's there to help the business make better use of its available space throughout the winter season.
A 10x10m Stretch Tent Creating 100m² of Covered Space
For this year's installation, we're using a 10x10m stretch tent, providing a nominal canopy footprint of 100m².
That's a significant amount of covered space from an existing courtyard.
And that's one of the major advantages of a well-planned hospitality installation.
You don't necessarily need to construct an entirely new building to make better use of an outdoor area.
A stretch tent can provide weather protection while retaining much of the character and atmosphere that makes a courtyard or beer garden attractive in the first place.
Depending on the venue and configuration, these spaces can be used for dining, drinks, private functions, entertainment and additional customer seating.
Making Outdoor Hospitality Space Work Through Winter
Every square metre matters in hospitality.
A courtyard that's busy throughout summer but largely unusable during poor winter weather represents valuable space that isn't reaching its potential.
A stretch tent can change that.
Providing overhead protection allows pubs, restaurants and hotels to extend the usefulness of terraces, courtyards and beer gardens beyond the traditional outdoor season.
It can also create a very different atmosphere from simply adding a conventional temporary marquee.
Stretch tents retain their distinctive flowing shape and can work particularly well around existing buildings and outdoor hospitality spaces.
For The Horse & Hound, the result is a covered courtyard that remains recognisably part of the venue rather than feeling like a completely separate temporary room.
A Historic Wicklow Pub Making Modern Use of Its Courtyard
The venue traces its history back to 1790 and today operates as a pub, restaurant and accommodation venue. Its own website highlights local food and drink, private celebrations, its beer garden and regular events.
The Horse & Hound also describes its restaurant as a five-time winner of the Greystones Guide's best eatery award, while its current autumn information specifically tells customers that the beer garden tent is up for the season.
That makes this installation particularly relevant.
The stretch tent isn't being added purely for appearance.
It forms part of how the venue prepares its hospitality space for the autumn and winter season.
Semi-Permanent Stretch Tents for Hospitality Businesses
There's an important difference between hiring a tent for a one-day event and installing a structure that will remain in place for a season.
Semi-permanent stretch tent installations need to be approached as part of the venue.
The structure needs to suit the available area, existing buildings, access and how customers and staff actually use the space.
For hospitality businesses, potential applications include:
Restaurant terraces
Pub courtyards
Beer gardens
Hotel terraces
Outdoor dining areas
Smoking areas
Function spaces
Wedding areas
Live music spaces
Seasonal hospitality areas
Every site is different, which is one of the reasons stretch tents work particularly well for this type of project.
They can be configured around existing environments where a standard rectangular temporary structure may not be the best solution.
Hire for Winter – Open Again for Summer
The Horse & Hound project also demonstrates another useful option for hospitality businesses.
A stretch tent doesn't necessarily have to stay up permanently.
For this installation, we return for the winter season and install the 10x10m structure over the courtyard.
This allows the business to gain weather protection when it needs it most without permanently changing how the courtyard operates throughout the year.
For some venues, a seasonal installation can be the ideal solution.
Other businesses may want a structure to remain in place for considerably longer.
That's why we provide temporary hire, seasonal and semi-permanent installations, as well as permanent stretch tent solutions depending on the requirements of the site.
Stretch Tents Can Unlock Existing Space
For a pub or restaurant owner, one of the most interesting aspects of a stretch tent isn't necessarily the tent itself.
It's the space underneath it.
A courtyard, terrace or beer garden already exists.
The business is already paying for that footprint.
The question is how often it can actually be used.
Irish weather can significantly reduce the number of days an uncovered hospitality space is comfortable for customers.
Providing appropriate weather protection can help turn an underused outdoor area into a much more practical part of the business.
For venues where additional indoor construction isn't practical or desirable, a professionally designed stretch tent installation may provide another option worth exploring.
More Than Just a Roof
A successful hospitality installation can also be developed beyond the canopy itself.
Depending on the venue and project requirements, Stretch Tents Ireland can provide:
Clear and solid wall systems
Festoon lighting
Fairy lighting
Battery uplighting
Flooring
Professional sound
Fixed posts
Building attachment systems
Gutters and kedar systems
3D site scanning and visualisation
This allows us to look at the complete outdoor space rather than simply supplying a tent.
Lighting in particular can completely change the atmosphere of a winter hospitality installation once the evenings get darker.
Stretch Tent Hire Wicklow and Nationwide
Although we're based in West Cork, Stretch Tents Ireland works with hospitality businesses throughout Ireland.
Our projects include pubs, restaurants, hotels and venues in Cork, Kerry, Dublin, Galway, Wicklow and across the country.
The 10x10m winter installation at The Horse & Hound in Delgany adds another genuine Wicklow project to that portfolio.
For businesses considering an outdoor hospitality structure, we can assess the site and recommend an appropriate tent size and installation approach.
Where a project is more complex, our 3D scanning and modelling service can also help us plan around existing buildings and restricted spaces before installation begins.
Hire or Buy a Stretch Tent for Your Pub or Restaurant?
For some hospitality businesses, seasonal hire makes the most sense.
For others that expect to use the structure throughout the year or for several years, purchasing their own stretch tent may be worth considering.
Stretch Tents Ireland supplies new stretch tents in Ireland as an official QTents partner, alongside our hire and installation services.
That means we can discuss the project based on what actually suits the business — whether that's seasonal hire, a semi-permanent installation or purchasing a structure for longer-term use.
Another Winter at The Horse & Hound
Returning to The Horse & Hound for the second consecutive winter is something we're delighted about.
The 10x10m installation creates 100m² of covered courtyard space and demonstrates exactly what a seasonal stretch tent can offer a hospitality business.
Rather than accepting that an outdoor area becomes less useful once summer ends, the right structure can help make that space work considerably harder throughout the year.
For pubs, restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues considering something similar, we'd be happy to discuss the site and what's possible.
Have a courtyard, beer garden or terrace you'd like to use more throughout the year? Get in touch with Stretch Tents Ireland and we'll help you explore the options.
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