If there’s one thing I love it’s a staycation in a fabulous hotel, at a beautiful destination in Ireland. The last staycation I had prior to my recent trip to Knightsbrook was a trip to Kilkenny to celebrate my Baby Moon a few weeks before Lottie was born. This time however, it was my very first family vacation with my partner Anthony, our daughter Lottie and Anthony’s son (Lottie’s brother) Harry.
After hearing amazing things about Knightsbrook Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort we decided to book one of their family packages for Lottie’s first fancy hotel getaway and our first getaway as a complete family.
We booked the 2 night family package which includes:
1. Two Nights Bed & Breakfast
2. 2 Course Evening Meal in Rococo Restaurant
3. Family Pizza Night in The Terrace Lounge
Upon arrival the lobby just oozed luxury thanks to the larger than life, glittery chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Once we checked in and got our room keys we were given the cutest little vouchers to redeem during our trip – one was for our family pizza night, one was for our fancy 2 course dinner and the other was for our family picnic. (Typically you would use the family picnic voucher for a planned day trip to emerald park which is close by – the hotel can also arrange this for you on request)
It was time then to check out our room but first… a family elevator selfie.
Our family room exceeded all expectations in terms of size and space. It had a massive King size bed along with 3 single beds. Harry being unable to choose which of the 3 single beds he wanted to sleep in decided to push all 3 together to create the biggest bed in the world and plonked himself right in the middle. He thought this was the coolest thing in the world by the way!
To top if off our room also had the most beautiful view overlooking the golf course.
As if our room couldn’t get any better we were gifted with a hamper full of goodies for our family movie night.
It was full to the brim with Fruit Shoots, Doritos, Haribos, Chocolates and as a treat for mama bear there was face masks and other beauty treatment products inside. Harry thought this was THE coolest thing ever – it was literally like surprise after surprise after surprise. First the redeemable vouchers, then a giant bed made up of 3 single beds and then massive goodie bag for movie night. All this and we weren’t even 30 minutes into our trip!
After coming down from all the excitement we started to get ready for our fancy meal at Rococo Restuarant where we would redeem our voucher for our 2 course meal.
Both myself and Anthony decided to pay the small supplement and opt for a Fillet Steak. (I know the image quality isn’t great so forgive me – these were screenshots from all the video footage I captured during the trip which you can find over on my Instagram page within the ‘Staycation’ highlight underneath my bio.)
The steak was cooked to absolute perfection and was served with red onion marmalade, brandied pepper sauce, onion rings and a choice of mash potatoes, chunky chips or skinny fries.
After our delicious meal we went back to the room to wind down and prepare for an early night as the hotel had arranged family tickets to Emerald Park for us the following day. Emerald Park (formerly Tayto Park) is Ireland’s only theme park and zoo and because it’s so close to Knightsbrook it’s a great activity to include as part of a family staycation.
Breakfast was also included as part of our family package so the first thing we did when we woke up was get dressed to go down for breakfast and fill our tummies ahead of a spectacular day at Emerald Park. The breakfast buffet was delectable. I wouldn’t be the biggest fan of breakfast buffets as I never find they look all that appealing but often times you will find a diamond in the rough and this was one of those times. The bacon was cooked to perfection and the fat was nice and crispy – just how I like it. Along with the full hot buffet options there was a huge selection of cereals, pastries, fruit, yoghurts, ham & cheeses on offer.
After having our fill at breakfast it was time to redeem our Family Picnic voucher in preparation for our short spin down the road to Emerald Park. Not only will Knightsbrook provide you with tickets for Emerald Park they will also prepare a massive picnic to take with you so you don’t need to incur any other costs at the park. The picnic hamper was massive! It was full of sandwiches, fruit, yoghurts, chocolate, crisps, cookies, muffins, juices and water. Once we packed up we were on the road.
In an unfortunate turn of events this particular day was a total wash out however, we purchased a couple of rain ponchos on arrival and decided to make the most of it! On the plus side the park was more or less virtually empty and we had to queue for nothing! On a previous visit to the park on a very warm sunny day we experienced queues over an hour long for some rides so this actually seemed like a fair trade.
As I was with Lottie there wasn’t much I could actually do at Emerald Park and even more so because the weather was absolutely torrential however, before you start feeling sorry for me rest assured I had my afternoon all sown up with some spa treatments back at Knightsbrook’s River Spa. I let the boys do their thing and once they had their fill we all headed back to the hotel together so I could offload my responsibilities and have some much needed “me time”.
As an addition to our family package I added on the Sparkle Package as a little treat for myself which comprised of full use of the Thermal Suite which boasts Experience Showers, Salt Grotto, Essence Steam Room, Laconium & Herbal Sauna. Treatment wise this package included a relaxing head & scalp massage, a mini facial and a hot stone foot & calf massage.
Laconium (pictured above) is a very mild heat bath to cleanse and detoxify the body. The cabin temperature is mild, around 20°C and the humidity very low, between 20-30%. It produces a dry, relaxing environment making it an ideal starting point for the whole spa experience. The body heats up slowly and gently and you’ll start to perspire leaving your skin tingling and feeling refreshed.
The Experience Shower (pictured above) is a multi-sensor shower allowing one to smell aromas and have visual experiences with the warm lighting while cool or warm water refreshes the body.
In the first experience shower you will experience warm tropical storm-like rain, drenching one with droplets from the shower head. An essence is released to give a true tropical feeling. Six side body massage jets produces a vigorous massage to give an overall feeling of well being for a healthy body.
The second experience shower includes a cold spray mist, six body massage shower heads and thunder rain. This is a refreshing and revitalising shower experience. The cold spray mist shower along with the cool thunder rain shower helps to reduces body temperature between thermal treatments and eliminate toxins while cleansing the body.
The Salt Grotto (pictured above) is a steam room with a central crystal giving a meditative Roman bathing experience stimulating and promoting blood circulation and detoxification. It offers a steam treatment which stimulates the blood circulation and initiates a purifying and detoxifying process combined.
Moderate heat 40-42° and 90-100 % high humidity with sea salts permanently infused into cabin essence benefit the respiratory system, and if allowed to crystallise on the skin, act as a mild exfoliate.
The Steam Room (pictured above) is the perfect environment to overcome fatigue, strengthen the immune system and overcome anxiety. The body heats up gently and you will start perspiring in the steam which stimulates the blood circulation and initiates a cleansing and detoxifying process. The temperature in this cabin reaches 40-42°C and the humidity amounts to 90 – 100% .
After my Thermal Suite experience it was time for my treatments and despite each of them being blissfully relaxing I was still reluctant to leave the spa and return to my family who at this point were probably desperately awaiting my return.
Anxious to get my monies worth and avoid all responsibility for even a few moments longer I spent some time in the relaxation room where I could listen to therapeutic music and treat myself to some much needed refreshments. It wasn’t long before I realised that it was family pizza night so I hurriedly returned to the room to meet up with Anthony & the children and redeem our Family Pizza voucher.
The pizza was absolutely DIVINE! Not a crumb was spared and shortly thereafter we returned to the room for our movie night.
The following morning we lazed around the room and prepared for our checkout at 12pm. Plenty of time to get some last minute snuggles in! All in all we had an absolutely fabulous weekend and we couldn’t of asked for a better experience for our very first family staycation.
Knightsbrook Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort put immense thought and precise planning into their family staycation packages and every last detail down to the vouchers upon check-in, the goodie bag in the room for movie night and the family picnic for Emerald Park make the experience utterly magical for the kids.
The staff must also be highly commended – no stone was left unturned when it came to making our weekend absolutely perfect! It was so pleasurable and relaxing – even with 2 children!
If you are interested in booking a staycation at Knightsbrook Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort they have given me an exclusive discount code for my followers.
You can get 20% OFF all Knightsbrook Hotel, Spa & Golf Resortpackages excluding prepay offers & holidays homes for stays from now until March 2024 using the code CLIONA20!
Better hurry though, the discount code is only valid until 30th Sept which is mere days away.
To avail of the discount simply use the code CLIONA20 online at www.knightsbrook.com or message the reservations team directly at info@knightsbrook.com and quote CLIONA20 in your enquiry.
If this editorial wasn’t enough to convince you, you can watch all the video footage I captured during the trip over on my Instagram page within the ‘Staycation’ highlight underneath my bio.
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