Be rest assured ...
It is now part of the Flynn Hotel group. The Newpark was refurbished in 2009 and is a pretty, if slightly cold, four-star hotel.
The Newpark is off the main Kilkenny to Castlecomer Road. It is easily reached from the main towns and cities in the country. The building is unspectacular but inoffensive, with a barrel-shaped facade that is a curiosity. The reception area is unspectacular and seems more functional and spacious than cosy and intimate.
You are most certainly in a hotel and not a country house. Further investigation reveals beautifully-maintained gardens and spectacular trees and it must be said that the staff were lovely.
The Newpark has 129 rooms, but such was the silence in ours that you would never think it — bear in mind, we arrived the night of a wedding. We stayed in a ‘superior’ room, which offered plenty of space and a well-equipped shower-room, complete with a bath and a fantastic walk-in power-shower.
The beds were large and comfortable, and as a place to sleep we couldn’t have asked for more. Next morning, my best-half, Ciara, availed of breakfast in bed, which cost an extra €5.
I, on the other hand, wandered down to the lovely, and far more homely, breakfast room (no doubt, not part of the refurbishment) and helped myself to the array of fruits and fibres on offer.
Beginning to feel a little too healthy, I thought I should tuck into an Irish breakfast and I wasn’t disappointed. Buffet breakfasts can often disappoint, if sausages or rashers are kept in a shrivelling incubator for too long, but in the Newpark they’ve got it right and the breakfast (including a read of The Irish Examiner) was very pleasant.
Later on, we had dinner in the Gulliver restaurant. Rather unadventurously, we both went for the roast beef, which was beautifully-cooked and served with potatoes au gratin and a selection of home-grown vegetables.
We opted out of the starter, but instead went for the delicious desserts, which included cheesecake and a wonderful, cloudy meringue roulade with deliciously sweet strawberries and strawberry syrup. The accompanying Tocornal Cabernet Sauvignon, from Chile, was just the ticket and the meal was very pleasant.
This is where the Newpark shines. The Escape spa and its adjunct bathing facilities are a bit special and being in such a special place we felt it rude not to avail of a treatment or two. I went for the fusion stone massage experience. Being a massage virgin, I was a tad nervous before going in, but my masseuse, Joan from Waterford, has seen hundreds like me before, and when I eventually stopped talking she was able to go to work on what are apparently very tense shoulders (who knew?). After an hour-and-a-half-long treatment, involving hot stones and scented oils, I came out like a piece of rubber and jumped (sorry, floated gently) into the outdoor vitality pool in which I stayed for half an hour. While a powerful jacuzzi raged all around me, I sat back, breathing in the fresh air and listening to the birds, while contemplating the massive oak tree standing in front of me (see kids, you don’t need drugs). After a quick dip in the lovely, large pool it was off for lunch, before a prowl around the city of The Cats.
All that relaxing and pampering makes a man hungry, so myself and Ciara, looking fresh-faced from her facial, wandered towards the nearby Campagne restaurant for lunch. This is run and owned by husband and wife team, Garret Byrne (formerly of Chapter One in Dublin) and Brid Hannon, and has been open since 2008. The spectacular starter of deep-fried smoked haddock with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce was followed by a deliciously-pink roast leg of lamb. We topped it off with an exceptional cappuccino mousse, which included a frothy top. This was one of the highlights of my culinary year so far, and at €29 for three courses, good value.
Kilkenny is one of Ireland’s finest towns, but can get overrun with hens and stags at weekends. As one local told me, “nobody from Kilkenny goes out on a Saturday night.” But while all the party animals are sleeping their hangovers off, it is a wonderful place to visit. Its magical, medieval streets are a haven of little shopping gems, which naturally meant my (now relaxed) shoulders were being pulled from their sockets as we walked past every window that had little treasures on display. The main attraction is, of course, Kilkenny Castle, which dates from the 12th century and was later purchased by a fine bunch of upstanding citizens, the Butler family, who built and added to it from the 14th century onwards. If you’re not interested in paying the €6 (children €2.50) entrance fee, it’s nice to sit out on its abundant grounds and soak up the atmosphere on a sunny day.
For two nights B&B, with one dinner and a third night free, you’ll pay €169pp for a ‘superior’ room. But with current offers of five-nights B&B, including breakfast and two dinners for a family, for €299pp (children go free), you would be doing well to find better value than this anywhere in the country.
Telephone: 056-7760500; www.flynnhotels.com
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