Weekend break: Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa, Killarney
A WEEKEND break, which circumstances dictated had to be delayed by 48 hours, saw us arrive at our destination three hours after we should have checked out.
The circumstances are irrelevant, but the delay made all the difference.
Most weekend breaks can be rushed affairs. You know the drill, pack a suitcase on a Thursday, load up the car before heading off for work on Friday, and then deal with rush hour traffic to get away.
More than likely arrive at your destination slightly frazzled ... and before you know it, it’s Saturday and you are already thinking about going home.
Instead, we — my wife and I — had a weekend to relax and prepare for a two-night break before leisurely heading off at Sunday lunchtime for a break in the hills overlooking the lakes of Killarney.
Killarney has been a destination in its own right since England’s Queen Victoria popped by for a visit in the 19th century.
Even more of a destination, though, is the Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa, located on the northern hills of the Co Kerry tourist town overlooking Lough Leane and the MacGillicuddy Reeks.
It is where we rolled up to just after the 3pm check-in time for a couple of nights of five-star luxury and pampering.
The hotel on first viewing is sure to split opinion with its modern steel frame, cubed, glassed and cladded facade, but I liked it.
More impressive however was the hotel entrance, on a bright sunny day, the long lobby is lowly-lit with a designer fireplace as a focal point at the end.
Noreen at reception couldn’t have been more welcoming as she showed us to our room..
The room was more than a mere ‘room’; it was an impressive lakeside suite, more like an open-plan double room.
With a wall of window 12 metres wide, the architects ensured that nothing was getting in the way of the view from the Aghadoe Heights, it was spectacular.
The suite also featured a dining/lounge area and there was an impressive six-foot bed on the other side of the suite.
Best of all was the sound system; a Bose Acoustimass with speakers suspended from the ceiling and a bass unit covertly placed in the cabinet below. Lyric FM was never so serene with the accompanying view.
However, special mention must go the bathroom, with a super-sized bathtub, a separate walk-in shower, and a sink for each one of us.
Best of all was the dual lighting system, practical lighting to illuminate the entire bathroom, and separate low-level mood lighting ... perfect for a long, meditative soak in the bath. Fog free zones in the mirrors over the sink are also a useful novelty.
Fresh bottled sparkling and still water, from an organic source, was also supplied, with a welcoming fruit bowl.
For our entire stay, we didn’t dine anywhere else; such was the extensive choice of food at the Aghadoe Heights.
Our first night in the formal hotel restaurant, the Lake Room, we dined from the Table d’Hote / an lá carte menu; I went for the Dingle Bay Crab starter, which was superb, and almost as good as the Scallops my wife had.
Following the intermediary course, I had a lovely tomato soup and my wife had the sorbet, we had the mains of Lamb and Hake, again delicious and no complaints. I have to mention the service was faultless from the friendly waiting staff.
Equally, the menus available for more casual dining in the piano lounge and terrace bar tick all the boxes from light lunches and snacks — they even had my favourite, the classic Club Sandwich — to a wide selection of hot meals.
A special mention must go to the works of art, which line the walls of the hotel, many of which are for sale, even though some do stretch into four- figure sums.
They surround the piano bar, so we found ourselves occasionally leaving our seats to inspect some, or get suitably distracted while walking the corridors.
One of the attractions of the Aghadoe Heights Hotel is the award-winning spa, so we were both tempted to check it out.
Treatments were selected and appointments made, but first up was a pre-treatment taste of the Thermal Suite, featuring a range of four individual cabins including a ‘Hammam’ of aromatic scented steam room; a ‘Rock Sauna’; a ‘Laconium’ featuring gentle dray air and ‘Aroma Grotto’ a lower heated scented steam facility which has bronchial benefits.
These were paired with a number of showers — a ‘tropical rain’, Aghadoe hill mist shower and a deluge shower. This was a terrific experience and perfect for a spa pre-treatment.
I took the ‘deep release massage’ option from the ‘for him’ section of the brochure, and this was an intense — almost to the point of pain — proper professional massage. I was completely in the chilled-out zone afterwards, and rather surprisingly, completely exhausted. Never was doing nothing, so tiring.
My wife opted for a facial massage and the reports were good; she was equally blissed-out from her experience. So that’s a thumbs up from both of us.
The hotel have a booklet of guided ‘Track & Trail Walks in the Killarney Valley’ providing for six different walks of varying duration.
Walk number one is a 7km starting from the hotel which is expected to take just one-and-a-half hours, so we did that one.
It took us down the Bohereen na Marbh or the ‘little road of the dead’; this was the route by which remains were taken from Killarney for burial at the cemetery located near the hotel.
Five stars for a five star hotel. Check out the hotel’s website for the wide range of packages/deals on offer. A two-night B&B stay with dinner on one night starts from €289 for a lakeside double/twin room.
There is also a Summer Sale offer — stay one night and save 15% on Bed and Breakfast.
Spa treatment only packages to include treatment lunch and use of the thermal suite starts at €79.
Details: www.aghadoeheights.com
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