Killashee House Hotel review: A four-star hotel with a storied history
After several hours of navigating the Irish public transport system, Sarah Finnan was more than ready for a weekend of relaxation at Killashee House Hotel.
No, I still don’t have my licence, even at my big age. All of my siblings have theirs (or are in the process of acquiring it), while I haven’t so much as opened the theory book (or is it an app these days?). It’s not that I don’t wish I could drive; I do. I just wish I could bypass all the faff that goes along with it. I still have nightmares about the Leaving Cert, so sitting down to study the rules of the road is about as appealing to me as the offer of watching paint dry.
Between lack of money and other thinly veiled excuses, there’s always been a reason for me not to just get it over with and living in Dublin for the majority of the past few years has meant that I didn’t really need to. Most places were usually within walking distance, and Dublin Bus, unreliable as it is, has gotten me anywhere I needed to go, albeit usually 15-20 minutes late. The trouble, I’ve learned, starts when you venture beyond The Pale.
When I moved back home to Longford around 14 months ago (who’s counting, though, right?!), getting my licence was top of my agenda… until it wasn’t. Life got in the way, as they say, and one year later, I’m no further along with the process than I was when I first floated the idea of returning back to my childhood bedroom. As a result, I’ve become adept at navigating Irish public transport. I’m a regular on Iarnród Éireann, I may as well have stocks in the Pret at Connolly Station I eat there so often, and I’ve mastered the art of tuning fellow commuters’ conversations out so I can focus on my laptop screen. When the invite to Killsashee House Hotel in Naas arrived in my inbox, I quickly Googled whether it was reachable by public transport and then swiftly replied with an enthusiastic, ‘Yes, please!’
Naturally, nothing is ever as easy as Google Maps makes it seem, though, and the trip from Longford involved a train journey to Maynooth, a short walk, 15 minutes of wondering whether we’d missed the bus we needed to get or whether it was just late (it was the latter), a 45-minute drive and then a taxi. Safe to say, we were incredibly happy when we finally arrived – just in time for the previously torrential rain to stop and the sun to peek its head out from behind the clouds. A four-star hotel with a storied history, the grounds are incredibly impressive and comprise a Victorian Manor House, acres of beautiful gardens and wild woodland trails and a separate leisure centre and spa. Check-in is at 4pm, which is slightly later than other places, but the lobby area was already milling with people by the time we arrived, so it’s clear they’re always busy.
Both my boyfriend and I audibly gasped when we entered our room, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of our stay. Inside, a gorgeous four-poster bed awaited us, along with a huge bathroom—with both a free-standing bath and a shower—and an interconnecting sitting room should we need some time apart. The tea and coffee station gave the option of fresh milk (a major bonus as I loathe those little UHT sachets), and there was even a Dyson hairdryer to help tame my mane before dinner. Usually, when I visit a hotel to review it, I feel pressure to get out and explore, but the room was so comfortable that, honestly, I found it hard to leave. I mean, The Devil Wears Prada was on TV, would you blame me?!
Arriving just before the Sunday light turned to dusk, it was actually lovely to spend the evening relaxing in the room, particularly after a long day of travel. There’s little I love more than a hotel robe, and a couple of hours lounging in a deliciously comfortable bed was exactly what I needed. At 7pm, we peeled ourselves from the bed for a cocktail in The Larkspur Lounge (highly recommend the Woo Woo) before heading down to The Pippin Tree for dinner. A couple of glasses of wine and a few too many truffle fries later, we returned to our kingdom, full and ready for sleep – blackout curtains are one of my favourite hotel luxuries, and we both slept like the dead that night.
Sorry to be that person, but waking up in a sumptuous hotel bed on a Monday morning—while everyone else was at work—really set me up for the week. After breakfast, we set out for the spa (which is a little hard to find, admittedly). Located in a different building, you have to be extremely good at following directions (which I’m not) because it’s not very well signposted. However, after a few wrong turns, we finally found the entrance and got ourselves set up. The building was undergoing work while I was there, so there was a bit of noise, but not enough to cause too much of a disturbance. The changing facilities are a little dated and probably need updating, but the range of treatments on offer more than makes up for that. In need of some serious TLC, both my boyfriend and I opted for deep tissue massages.
If you’ve never had one, please know that it is absolutely not a relaxing experience. It differs from other massage styles as it’s tailored to ease tension and target deep-seated muscle knots using slow, firm pressure. It’s more intense than Swedish massage, which primarily focuses on relaxation, so expect your therapist to use their fingers, knuckles, elbows and forearms to work on problem areas. I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but there was a lot of heavy breathing needed to get me through it. I knew it would be worth it, though, and my upper back and shoulders have ceased causing me daily discomfort, which is truly a miracle! I spend most of my time hunched over my laptop like a prawn (not advisable), so my therapist really had her work cut out for her.
After an hour of mild discomfort (please don’t think I’m complaining; I knew exactly what I was in for), I was ready for part two of our day of relaxation. I was already lying on one of the beds in the relaxation room, enjoying some sorbet, when my boyfriend came out to join me. From there, we spent approximately twenty minutes in the hydrotherapy pool, putting the world to rights and then made a beeline back for the main building to have lunch at Oak & Anvil—a burger for him, a prawn caesar salad with fries and a Diet Coke for me and obviously, a sticky toffee pudding to share (the best I’ve ever had). Simply perfect.
Twenty-four hours after we checked in, we lugged our bags back to the curb to await our chariot (a bus back to Dublin). Considerably more relaxed than when we arrived, I’ve learned that sometimes having nothing to do is exactly the antidote, and there’s little a cuppa in a king-sized hotel bed won’t fix. Before I go, a special mention for the incredible team at Killashee House Hotel; every single member of staff I interacted with was so professional and lovely. They offered us bottles of water and helped with our bags and really couldn’t have done more to make sure we had the best stay possible. Hospitality can be a tough—and, oftentimes, thankless—job, so it’s important to celebrate the good ones.
Sarah Finnan was a guest of Killashee House Hotel.
