Located approximately 45 minutes outside of Dublin, there’s a perfect hotel that sits away from the city, nestled on acres of countryside, and oozing with hospitality. It welcomes you with open arms and embraces you with leisurely rest and relaxation. I promise, you’ll have a hard time saying goodbye.
I recently returned from a busy trip to Ireland. My days were crammed with activities, tours and sightseeing. Trekking through towns from Southern Ireland and all the way up to Northern Ireland. By the time our last few days arrived, we were ready for some much needed rest and relaxation.
We arrived at Killashee hotel located in the countryside of Kildare County a few days before our returned flight home. Killashee is located only 45 minutes from the Dublin airport and there are plenty of options for transportation from Dublin. We arranged a pick up through airport taxis and the extra charge for the distance was well worth it!
As soon as we arrived, I immediately knew this was exactly what I was looking for to end a wonderful, but exhausting trip. The hotel speaks for itself. As you pull up the circular drive, the immaculate landscaping greets you and the elegant entrance will have you thanking yourself for booking this upscale hotel.
Let’s talk about why this is a great place to end a trip. It sits on acres of gorgeous countryside surrounded by lush rolling green hills. The hotel possesses an immaculate well kept garden. You can spend time strolling through the gardens or sipping on a glass of wine on the terrace admiring the lush greenery, colorful flowers, and the charming fountain that sits in the middle of it all. The gardens were definitely a favorite of mine. I could have spent hours lost in my book, listening to the birds sing sweet praises as the morning dew disappeared from the lawn just as I finished my last cup of coffee.
There was no need to leave the hotel for food. The hotel boasts two restaurants and on the second floor, a large lounge with a bar provides the perfect area to conversate with friends or relax with a good book. Don’t worry about finding a seat; the lounge is large and you won’t have any issues locating a spot to settle in with that perfect cocktail. The two restaurants on site are Oak & Anvil and The Peppin. Oak & Anvil was a more casual restaurant and The Peppin was a bit more upscale such as business casual. Both restaurants were impressive, located in close proximity to one another and both offered great selections of food and we had impeccable service at both places.
My favorite part of my stay; okay it was all my favorite, but one of my favorites was spending the afternoon at their luxurious spa and hydrotherapy pool. When you book a spa appointment, they allow you to arrive up to an hour early to enjoy the pool and rest in the relaxation room. It really was a favored spa and I loved the touch at the end with a sorbet or macaroon to end your session. The prices for the spa were typical of any hotel spa and felt they were fairly priced. I would recommend booking the spa in advance in order to ensure availability during your stay.
Ok, now let’s really talk about my favorite part of this stay. Imagine it’s about 130 years ago, you’re sitting in the drawing room, layered in corsets, long skirts and white gloves. You’re laughing with your girlfriends about the latest gossip while sipping on your afternoon tea and blueberry scones. It wasn’t exactly like that, but you get the point. The afternoon tea was served in the historic part of the hotel, transforming you back in time. Of course, being our last day in Ireland, we added the afternoon tea that included a glass of prosecco. Go big or go home, right!
Having a room to myself at the end of our girls trip was icing on the cake. All week I had shared a room with my favorite girlfriends, but we all needed a break from one another. The rooms were adorned with lovely amenities such as new slippers, a heated towel rack in the bathroom, bottled water, and plenty of toiletries. The king size bed overflowed with luxurious pillows, comfortable bedding, and excellent mattress quality. I loved that they posted signs in the halls asking to please keep noise to a minimum. It was so quiet sleeping at night, I forgot I was at a hotel!
There were other wonderful amenities at this hotel that I didn’t utilize such as the lap pool and large gym. They were next to the spa, but who wants to workout on vacation! There were also areas in close proximity to explore such as the Kildare Village which boasted lots of designer stores.
I also can’t end this short blog post about Killashee without mentioning the amazing staff. Anything you do, see or visit can make or break depending on the people you are around. The employee’s of Killashee knocked their customer service out of the park! Every staff member we encountered whether it was the front desk, bartenders, waiters, housekeepers, etc. were all friendly, polite and attentive. They made us feel special and who doesn’t want to feel special every once in a while. Especially, when the next day we were getting on a plane to fly 9 hours back home to reality.
Killashee really was the perfect leisurely few days we needed to step away from the busyness of our trip and the chaos of Dublin. It allowed us to rest and recharge in luxury and was the perfect ending to a truly memorable trip.
Alexandra Stoddard said it best. “When you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go.”
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