More to Citywest Hotel than just corporate conferences

It’s the country’s largest hotel – yet the Citywest is no aloof, corporate accommodation. Kids clubs and pool parties make it a must for families, writes Esther N McCarthy.

A property with the moniker of being the country’s largest hotel can be advantageous to a mother on a mission.

Citywest has 789 rooms, an 18-hole championship golf course, vast conference facilities and a separate leisure centre.

Although recommended by a friend who had a wonderful stay with her two children, I did wonder, as I browsed the website, if such a big hotel would cater for little old us. I needn’t have worried.

Although the hotel is huge, so is the welcome and the one-on-one attention we got, the exemplary kids club, the attention to detail for those little worries we usually have when we’re getting ready to stay en masse anywhere other than our own gaff, all make it one of the most successful and relaxing stays we’ve had with the little nutjobs, I mean darlings.

There’s information everywhere, an electronic notice board announcing conferences, a family noticeboard outlining daily activities, (there’s disco and karaoke every Tuesday and Friday, we missed that, dammit.) The day’s weather is there, the family swim times and a different fun local attraction for families are on display.

There’s daily details about the movie club in the Swiftbrook Suite. There’s also info on the golf packages and express check outs and even a notice advising when they carry out their bell tests.

Information, it seems, is key at Citywest.

The Room

As we wind our way towards the Palmerstown Wing, we pass a notice outlining that all bedroom areas are Quiet Zones, in consideration of all guests, the hotel appreciates our cooperation to be quiet so guests can look forward to a restful evening.

I cannot tell you the satisfaction I get just pointing at the sign whenever one of the kids raises their voice in the corridor upstairs, or gives me lip or just inhales in preparation to speak.

A raised eyebrow, a triumphant finger towards the sign and they know they were beaten. It’s on a sign, ergo, gobs must remain shut. It is one of my highlights of the entire stay, frankly.

I’m thinking of installing my own one in the landing at home.

The room is spacious, with a big double bed and three singles fitting easily.

Speedy Wifi, an interactive TV, neutral tones, luxurious bedding and a beautiful bathroom, it was a lovely treat for all us to fit so comfortably into one room.

And miraculously, we all slept wonderfully, an uninterrupted night’s sleep is still precious and rarely happens at home, so we take this as a very good omen for our stay.

The Food

The breakfast at Citywest is a calm, relaxed affair.

We help ourselves to the continental breakfast from the buffet and there’s lovely little surprises that make it extra-special.

For example, as well the usual selection of fruit juices, there’s daily smoothies created by the chef and water infused with lemon, lime, cucumber and mint.

There is a hot counter too, with traditional Irish oaked smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on wholemeal soda bread, the full Irish and then some, and a protein hit four egg white omelette.

Crucially, the coffee is spectacular. What makes the breakfast really enjoyable though, is the staff. Waitress Kay Lambe arrives over to us both mornings, chatting abut GAA and helping distract the kids, expertly tidying and fixing while telling us funny stories about her own, now-grown-up children and her grandchildren.

We also run into the duty manager, Trevor O’Neill, as we’re strolling back to our rooms, he hears us yapping with the boys, recognises our Cork accents (he’s from Leeside) and starts to chat.

Indeed, all the staff are so friendly and go out of their way to make us feel welcome.

Dinner is a delight, not something I say lightly with three young terrors in tow, but from the second we step into the Woodlock Brasserie, Emmet Maher the restaurant manager, is on the case. And he’s the same with every single table. He starts with high fives and kindly guessing that the kids are a year older than they actually are - a real talent - which immediately wins them over.

The menu is perfect, a mixture of fine dining and child friendly with enough of the good stuff during the main courses not to mind when Emmet arrives with triple icecreams for dessert and copper pots full of white buttons, hundreds and thousands and chocolate sprinkles for the boys to use to decorate at will.

A special surprise is when Harriet the Hedgehog, the life-size kids club mascot, arrives to wave and take photos with all the kids in the restaurant and hand out goodie bags.

Outstanding.

The Amenities

There are lots of amenities, including the aforementioned championship golf course, but for a family break, the Citywest is hard to beat.

Harriet’s Kids Club is set up in a gorgeous room, complete with a fairy tale circular window with eight giant petals. There’s every possible distraction a child could want, from slime making to dress up to colouring to fluffy paint to balloons to bubble machines... and a fabulous team headed by Jennifer, who is possibly the biggest Harry Potter fan ever. She’s even made her own Hogworth-themed Monopoly board.There’s a whole host of things to do in the hotel for kids so we narrow it down to the pool party in the fabulous leisure centre, afternoon tea, movie night, hanging out in the kids club and the movie club.

There’s also a really cool games rooms with foozball and free arcade games. It’s fair to describe them as vintage because I had a little bit of a misspent youth playing one of them, Super Sprint, in the old Mardyke complex in the early 1990s, possibly when I should have been in double maths, ahem. But it turns out it was all wasted time as the nine year old beats me with a nonchalance that is hugely irritating. Damn technologically advanced youth of today. Afternoon tea was another highlight, delicate but delicious sandwiches, perfect pastries, swoonsome scones with fresh cream. We all pretend we are sophisticated and fancy for a good hour. The boys, to my slight surprise, love it.

What to do

There’s no need to ever leave the hotel, honestly, there’s so much to do but Citywest is located such that lots of family outings are in easy distance. Like Dublin Zoo, and Tayto Park.

The bottom line

There’s a range of family themed breaks available, see www.citywesthotel.com/hotel/family-getaway for more.