- Oct 16, 2016
- 3 min read

Steam to Snow at Galgorm Resort & Spa

I think stay-cations are often underrated.

Especially now that my constant globe trotting seems to have caught the attention of various security forces. I can’t seem to go anywhere these days without being pulled aside for extra questioning and extra screening.

When searching for places to go on my own home turf I came across Galgorm Resort and Spa in Northern Ireland.

Photo credit: Galgorm

It’s very popular in the North, but nobody I spoke with in Dublin had heard of it. Though I guarantee that will change, it’s impossible for a place with as many hot tubs as Galgorm has, to remain undiscovered for long.

Photo credit: Galgorm

So on a Friday afternoon a couple weeks back we made the two and a half hour drive up to Galgorm. Unfortunately we had left Dublin slightly later than anticipated and were 20 minutes late for our treatments. The ladies at the spa couldn’t have been nicer about it and so the treatments went ahead despite our timing.

Before the treatments started we filled out a form stating what kind of background music we liked, how much pressure we wanted for the massage, and if we would like the therapist to speak or not.

I loved the effort to personalise the experience! For the treatment itself, I opted for the signature Taste of Galgorm treatment, which included inhaling different aromas to open up the lungs, a massage, and a face mask.

My skin is quite dry and I constantly have dark bags under my eyes so I was delighted that the products specifically targeted brightening the eye area and moisturising the skin.

Photo credit: Galgorm

When it came to the massage I opted for firm pressure as like many others, I spend most of my day hunched over my computer in the least back friendly posture possible. Unsurprisingly, my entire upper back is knotty minefield.

Photo credit: Galgorm

The massage was definitely firm and it felt more therapeutic than relaxing, but you do have a choice and the therapist kept checking in to make sure the pressure was ok.

After de-knotting my back we hit the Thermal Village, which is AM-AZING!

The Thermal Village is this sprawling area of tranquility with multiple hot tubs, river tubs, jacuzzi pools, steam rooms, and saunas.

Photo credit: Galgorm

There is even a snow room!

The things I will do for a photo…

Post snow room we hustled rather quickly to the hot showers. Once we had changed it was time for dinner in the River Room Restaurant.

The River Room is definitely a special occasion type of place.

In fact I’m pretty sure most of the other diners were celebrating anniversaries as they all seemed to be staring deep into each others eyes and holding hands across the white table linen.

Yup even in the photo behind me you can see the man leaning forward and showing positive body language while she appears to be listening intently… true romance.

Overall our meal was very good, and I happily finished my scallops followed by hake, but I did feel the dishes lacked a certain originality in flavour.

Despite not having a ‘wow’ factor in terms of taste the presentation of each dish was excellent as was the service.

Also the ambiance was lovely, with dimmed lighting and candle lit tables.

Feeling more stuffed than your average roast chicken, we made it back to the room.

Only to find that we weren’t alone.

Don’t worry, Ellie was carefully moved so that she didn’t fall apart.

The amount of space was great and I particularly liked the very funky bathroom mirror.

Being a spa place the toiletries were fab. At this point I have collected enough hotel shampoo bottles that I may start ranking hotels solely on their toiletries… hmm future blog post idea.

Oh can’t forget to mention the welcome treats..!

After careful consideration, I have decided that the macaroon was my favourite.

In the morning we booked in for a Celtic Sauna Ritual followed by a private riverside hot tub with a glass of champagne!

The Celtic Sauna Ritual was very enjoyable and consisted of breathing in 3 different essential oils infused in the air, followed by a meditative session.

SO MUCH ZEN!