The Fabulous Five go on a Journey of Relaxation

When our Online Editor Kirsty Johnston was invited for an overnight stay at the Galgorm Resort & Spa recently, she could not have been more excited

The Galgorm is well known as one of Northern Ireland’s top luxury hotel and spas. Located only 30 minutes from Belfast (and just under an hour away from where I live on the County Down coast) the Galgorm is the perfect place to relax and get away from it all, and trust me, I like to relax.

My cousin Jill was just fresh back from New York with her new fiancé (he gave her a rock at the Top of the Rock… come on now lads) and she was looking at venues for her Hen Party next year and had mentioned the Galgorm as an option. Since the invite was for two people, I ditched the husband (he proposed on the sofa) and we took ourselves off for a relaxing girly night away.

We never do things by half in our family, so as soon as we said we were off to the Galgorm we had three more additions to our party – my aunt, mum and dad (it was the oul fella’s birthday and my mum decided to treat him) all booked in for the night too.

After a cup of tea and some birthday cake to celebrate the oul fella’s receding hairline, the fabulous five were on our way to experience the Galgorm for the first time.

Set within 163 acres of lush parkland with the spectacular River Maine flowing through the estate the Galgorm Resort has a truly unique setting, it’s also pretty central to both Belfast airports and near to the North Antrim Coast (popular with local and international tourists… and especially Game of Thrones’ fans), so it’s a great base to do some exploring if you’re staying more than one night.

We were booked into a Deluxe Two Bedroom/Family Room, which can sleep up to four people and a one bedroom Fisherman’s Cottage, a cosy hideaway for two. The hotel has two separate reception desks – guests in Lodges, Cottages, Standard Rooms and Superior Rooms can check in at the reception desk just inside the front door while guests who have booked a Deluxe Room or a Suite can check-in just down the hall beside the lift to their rooms. I promised Jill that I wouldn’t mention that she embarrassingly spilled a full tub of Pringles over the carpet at the swanky reception desk, so we will just move on and say nothing about that.

We had arrived half an hour early for our recommended check-in time under the pretence that we would go for a walk around the grounds, but the rain put paid to that and we ended up in The River Room Conservatory with a drinks menu. Of course it was gin all round, we’re on that bandwagon. The River Room Conservatory is an absolutely splendid setting to while away an hour or two. The Conservatory is a magnificent bespoke glass creation that perfectly frames the stunning setting of the cascading River Maine and the lush green of the parkland of the resort. Sitting beside one of the floor length windows, it feels like the trees are enveloping you in a big hug of peace and tranquility.

A portrait of my gorgeous sister-in-law also graces the wall of the River Room near the piano – see if you can spot her.

While it would be all to easy to spend the whole afternoon in the River Room, we had a Serenity Bath Experience booked in the spa so we nipped up to the room to change into our swimwear. The Galgorm boasts 122 luxurious guest rooms including Suites, Deluxe, Superior and Standard Rooms. The Riverside Cabins and Fisherman’s Cottages are set in the hotel grounds, just a short stroll form the front door and are perfect for families or groups and also couples who want a little bit of extra privacy.

The Resort’s Deluxe Two Bedroom/Family Room bedroom is very generously proportioned with two sumptuous kingsized beds (one located in a separate annex room), a lounge area (also smaller lounge area in annex), spacious marble bathroom with a separate bath and shower and stunning country views of the estate including the the unique Serenity Garden and Thermal Village & Spa, the first of its kind in Ireland and where we would shortly be enjoying our treatment.

All guests can enjoy complimentary use of the Thermal Spa Village and Serenity Garden during their stay. Robes and slippers for each guest can be found inside each room while Aromatherapy Associates minis can be found in all bathrooms – so no need to worry about bringing your own shampoo or soap! One very important and amazing thing to mention is the free mini bar… yes you did read that correctly I said free mini bar… in every room. The Deluxe Rooms also benefit from a complimentary turn down service and a late checkout up to 12pm.

All guests can also make use of the complimentary wifi so you can post jealousy-inducing selfies from your private hot tub while sipping Champagne (yes Champagne, not Prosecco) and eating Belgian Truffles and chocolate dipped strawberries. I’m not even going to pretend that I didn’t do this. I totally did.

Whether you’re looking to indulge the senses or detox body and soul, the Serenity Bath Experience is the perfect hideout to retreat from the world for a precious hour. We chose the Indulge option. Our secluded hot tub was nestled amongst the olive trees and apple orchards of the Serenity Garden and while it was being infused with a relaxing aromatherapy oil we filled our glasses and laid back to relax on the heated beds in our private wooden cabin. There was a slight drizzle of rain, but that didn’t put us off! After getting nice and toasty in the cabin we had a quick refill of Champagne and sank into the bubbling warmth of the hot tub. We had both the hot tub and cabin for an hour and it was genuinely pure bliss.

After our Serenity Bath Experience (and a few glasses of champagne) we decided to continue our journey of relaxation in the Thermal Village.

The Thermal Village is designed with the sole purpose to make you as relaxed as possible, and it works. We were very happily pottering about the Serenity Garden in the drizzling rain… that’s how relaxed we were – and no it definitely wasn’t the Champagne. All guests of the hotel have access to the Thermal Village facilities and access is also a part of the Day Spa Packages. Even if you don’t want to stay overnight, you can escape here for a full day and just unwind.

There is so much on offer in the Thermal Village that we just couldn’t experience it all in the time we had there. We managed a few graceful lengths of the pool, a brief stint in the Sanarium and an even briefer stint in the Snow Cabin before relaxing on one of the lounge water beds beside the pool

The Thermal Village boasts a full 20 metre indoor pool surrounded by a polished pebble floor to gently massage the pressure points in your feet. Apparently this assists blood flow and eases tensions. To be honest I’m not sure what it really does, all I know is that it feels bloody good on my tootsies.

The Sanarium offers a comfortable and relaxing heat experience and is supposed to be the perfect precursor to a spell in the Snow Cabin. Scented with essences and with a lower temperature than the other Saunas (50-60oC) it feels a bit like you are lounging on a beach in Cannes and not just outside Ballymena.

The Spa recommends that you use the Snow Cabin after the Sanarium. This invigorating (aka. bloody cold) experience is meant to have a positive effect on the lungs and respiratory system. I braved it. Picture opening the door to a little wooden cabin and walking into Narnia, a landscape of powder snow and ice crystals kept at a chilly -10oC. Sounds good right? My skin positively tingled. But as fascinating a as this winter wonderland was, I was basically standing in the snow as good as naked. The phrase ‘freezing your tits off’ comes to mind.

We topped off our Thermal Village experience laying on the water beds and to be honest I would have happily spent the entire day there.

We had reserved a table in the Bar & Grill at Gillies for 8pm. You would have thought that we would have had plenty of time to enjoy the Thermal Village and then get ready for dinner. Oh how wrong we were! The Thermal Village is open until 10pm and it was all to easy to loose track of time. We only just managed to polish off one drink each from the complimentary mini bar in the room, get washed and changed then head back down in time for dinner.

With its warm and relaxed ambience and charming views of the Resort’s stables it’s easy to see why the Bar & Grill at Gillies is a favourite among both guests and locals alike. I had phoned ahead to check that they offered a vegan dish (being vegan and all) but was pleasantly surprised to find that they didn’t just offer one vegan dish, they had a whole vegan menu! We ordered the obligatory bottles of red and white for the table and I opted for the vegan nachos to start. I had a lovely curried rice and vegetable dish for mains and a brownie with mango sorbet for dessert… if there’s a vegan dessert, I will ALWAYS have it. The service was excellent and we weren’t rushed from our table – always a bonus as I like a long leisurely dinner and a bit of craic!

After a full day of relaxing, plenty of booze and a good feed in us we were just about ready to turn in, but first we decided to take a quick trip round to the Fisherman’s Cottage where my mum and dad were staying for a night cap. I was dubious about this since it was raining blooming hard by this point in the evening, but one of the guys at reception pulled the Discovery round – how posh do I sound – and we all hopped in. He promised to come back and collect us later, all we had to do was ring reception. How’s that for service! We had a good nosey around the cottage, as you do, had a wee chat and then called for a lift back to the main hotel.

Back in the room we finished off the rest of the mini bar and went to bed with promises to get up and have a swim before breakfast – does everyone do this or is it just us? Come morning there was clearly no chance that I was getting up for a swim, so the other two headed on down without me – show-offs.

Breakfast was served in The River Room, overlooking the beautiful River Maine and the surrounding parkland – a stunning setting for a leisurely breakfast. We all did the usual stroll round the continental buffet, picking up the orange juice and fancy cereals – I had muesli with almond milk – and even a bit of fruit made it on to the table. The waitress came round with hot tea and coffee then offered us a selection of toast – white, brown or sourdough. Of course we opted for a ‘selection’ as you do. I ate the sourdough because I was feeling well and truly fancy. Then once we had been sufficiently healthy and felt good about ourselves we all ordered a full fry each. They had a vegan option for me – homemade potato bread with grilled portobello mushroom, tomato and spinach. A vegan sausage wouldn’t have gone amiss, but overall I was very happy. A second round of tea and coffee was offered, and accepted, and we took our time with it, admiring the scenery and avoiding thinking about having to check-out.

Because we were in a Deluxe room we had the option of a late checkout up to 12pm so took the opportunity to get a tour of the spa facilities, namely the Group Treatment Suite where Jill was thinking of hosting her Hen Party. The staff in the spa were absolutely lovely and ever so helpful – the lady who showed us around was actually getting married the following week and had hosted her own Hen Party at the Galgorm. Needless to say a few days later Jill rang up and booked us all in for next year – I even splashed out and upgraded my mum and I to a Junior Suite – for only £40 extra for both of us! Luxury has never been so affordable!

The Galgorm is one of Northern Ireland’s best kept secrets. An absolute little gem and my new favourite retreat!

Take advantage of one of the Galgorm’s fantastic Summer offers while you can – you can thank me later!

The ‘1 Night Summer Escape’ includes overnight stay in a Standard Guest Room, full access to the Thermal Village and Serenity Garden, three-course evening meal in either Gillies Bar + Gill or Fratelli’s including a bottle of House Red or White wine and full Irish Breakfast priced from only £245 – that’s you and a mate (or your husband if he didn’t propose on the sofa) for only £122.50 each!

If you’re not really fussed on the dining experience you can ditch it and opt for the ‘Summer Treat 2018’ offer for £170. It includes an overnight stay in a Superior Guestroom, complimentary use of the Thermal Spa Village, full Irish breakfast and complimentary mini bar. You can also upgrade to a Deluxe Guestroom for a £25 supplement – that’s £85 each or £97.50 each including the upgrade to the Deluxe Room.

P.S. The husband would like me to mention that his proposal was actually very romantic and I may have downplayed it just a tad here. Spoil sport.

You can follow more Kirsty’s adventures HERE. Also check her out on instagram @kirstywjohnston.

 

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The Fabulous Five go on a Journey of Relaxation

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