If you’re looking to get away from it all — really get away from it, like phone signal and all — head to Cavan in Northern Ireland, where Farnham Estate offers complete country bliss, along with great massages, facials, fine food, and a stunning pool.
Getting there
It’s not the easiest place to get to, a bit of an adventure, but worth it when you arrive. Take a flight to Dublin (cheap and quick from various airports in the UK!) and Farnham is roughly a 1.5-hour drive. Book a cab in advance to save yourself the hassle when you arrive, and enjoy the journey through the countryside. The dramatic driveway up to the hotel alone is about a mile-long alone, winding through the golf course, so once you arrive, don’t expect to go anywhere until you check out!
Accommodation
400 years old, Farnham Estate is quite something and very handsome from the outside, standing alone upon 1300 acres of land. Inside it’s all crisp and contemporary, with a light and airy lobby, 3 drawing rooms, 158 guestrooms and 12 elegant suites. All of the rooms have flat screen TVs, armchairs, views of the estate, and modern marble bathrooms with This Works toiletries. Room 204 is particularly special with its large windows that let you watch wild hares run across the fields, king-size bed, gas fire, lounge area, and roll-top bath.
Spa
The Health Spa is the real reason to visit with Farnham and just a quick Google image search of the pool will have you sold. A glistening blue infinity pool looks out over rolling green acres and is flooded with light in a glass conservatory in the spa. On a sunny day, swim out into the open-air pool and breathe in the benefits of all that fresh country air. Not just a pool there’s also 19 treatment rooms, various relaxation areas, a salon, and multiple saunas and steam rooms to enjoy and while away a day in. The extensive treatment menu includes packages such as the Yummy Mummy Spa Package, and the Couple’s Retreat, along with individual treatments including deep pore cleansing facials, head-to-toe hydrating exfoliation, and anti-ageing treatments using organic peat. For something truly satisfying and beneficial, go for the Vigorous Rumble Derrygid massage, a rough and rigorous full-body massage that will get out all those niggling knots and leave you floating.
Food
You’re hungry but you don’t really want to change out of your swimmers? No problem! Pear Tree Restaurant within the spa is an informal eatery where you can eat in your robe and tuck into fresh light bites such as the Beetroot & Orange Salad or the Vegetable Frittata.
Come dinner time when you fancy something a little fancier, change back into your clothes and head down to the Botanica restaurant. The Seared Scallops are particularly good, as is the Monkfish with Chorizo Cassoulet. If you’re in the mood for a night cap (when are we not?), the estate’s Wine Goose Cellar Bar does a good G&T, and often put on live music too. A spa break with all the trimmings, huh?
Nightly rates at Radisson Blu Farnham Estate start from €105, and suites from €140; spa packages are available €145 and individual treatments start from €35.
Other glorious spa breaks in Ireland:
Farnham Estate isn’t the only spot for relaxation in Ireland. Here’s our pick of the rest:
ESPA at The G Hotel.
G Hotel is quirky, that’d be down to the design director being milliner Philip Treacy, a Galway native. The hotel is luxurious throughout, including the ESPA spa, which is a complete oasis of calm. With 8 treatment rooms, a Crystal Steam Room, Rock Sauna, various tepidariums and a vitality pool, you can easily while away a day here, and that’s before booking in for a treatment!
Bellinter House
Less than an hour from Dublin, Bellinter House is a glorious mansion with 34 ultra contemporary if not slightly moody guestrooms and a fantastic spa, The Bathhouse. Here, revel in the delights of holistic wellbeing therapies and organic seaweed treatments, and feel at one with nature in the outdoor hot tub.
Tankardstown House
Treatments start at €35 at The Hideout Spa at Tankardstown House, an 18th century property in County Meath. There’s all sorts from hot stone massages, to waxing and tanning.
Alice Tate