Galway Bay Hotel,
Salthill,
Galway
Galway Bay Hotel enquiries
www.galwaybayhotel.com
It was the birthday weekend and we decided to head to the City of the Tribes. Buzzing Galway is the undisputed capital of the West, and full of culture, drama, shopping, scenery and ‘great craic’. We settled into the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill, and despite the rain loved the views from our room over the infamous bay and Blue Flag Beach.
The promenade at Salthill reminded us of where I grew up in Sandycove in County Dublin, where you can walk alongside the sea right down through Dun Laoghaire to Monkstown – as we often did. But while that area is so built up now, Salthill has that lovely get-away-from-it-all feeling, and a real holiday atmosphere.
Situated just a short distance from the city of Galway it has the best of both worlds for the visitor. We were able to enjoy leisurely walks on the promenade and also spin in to Galway for some serious retail therapy! We also ventured in on Saturday night to see what the “buzz” was like and felt a lot more relaxed than we would in Temple Bar! People in Galway has such a friendliness about them, that visitors feel both welcome and at ease here.
But back to the birthday girl and her wish-list for the weekend! While Galway Bay Hotel does not have the super spa that her sister hotel in Athlone does – www.hodsonbayspa.com – it does offer some lovely relaxing treatments at Calmer Waters Health & Beauty. A first experience of reflexology was a great hit, and she immediately became a convert. I settled for smartening up the fingernail and toe nails with a French Polish, something I find impossible to do myself. After that it was back into town for more shopping!
There is nothing like serious shopping to what a girl’s appetite and so we hungrily headed down for dinner at 8.
Dinner choices are from either the Table d'Hôte or A La Carte menus and offer a range of dishes to suit the all tastes. It was the birthday night, and as we sat at our bay window table, we began with an inspiring cocktail and then choose salad starters followed by Medallions of Beef with a red wine and balsamic reduction; and a grilled Turbot. The birthday girl choose ice-cream for dessert and it arrived with birthday wishes written in chocolate sauce around the plate!
Enough to say that food was sumptuous and service was great. In fact, since the hotel is so busy and popular it is something of an achievement to have service that is so good. With two weddings going on that day, and two more the following day, and a hotel that was full for the weekend; there was a surprising air of calm about. While the adults can relax and unwind, the children are having fun at the Penguin Kids Activity Camp. Everything is done so well, and with so many people for both dinner and breakfasts, the service is an art in itself.
After so much food we decided to take a short stroll along the road to visit the National Aquarium of Ireland, known as Atlantaquaria. This is a fabulous facility where you can see underwater animals in their natural environment. It is a delight for adults and kids alike - the kids particularly like being able to touch and feel all those wet, slimy and prickly sea things!
On our second night we decided to just have one course – baked cod for me and Cajun salmon for herself before we headed into town. But in the end we shared a fabulous cheese plate afterwards!
Our weekend was a great success, while four weddings happened during our stay, and many families and friends were entertained and looked after, this was all done with an accomplished professionalism on behalf of the staff. It is no wonder that guests return again and again to this popular hotel. We may become regulars ourselves!
Salthill,
Galway
Galway Bay Hotel enquiries
www.galwaybayhotel.com
- Dream setting on Galway Bay
- One of Ireland’s most family-friendly hotels
- Excellent food and service
It was the birthday weekend and we decided to head to the City of the Tribes. Buzzing Galway is the undisputed capital of the West, and full of culture, drama, shopping, scenery and ‘great craic’. We settled into the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill, and despite the rain loved the views from our room over the infamous bay and Blue Flag Beach.
The promenade at Salthill reminded us of where I grew up in Sandycove in County Dublin, where you can walk alongside the sea right down through Dun Laoghaire to Monkstown – as we often did. But while that area is so built up now, Salthill has that lovely get-away-from-it-all feeling, and a real holiday atmosphere.
Situated just a short distance from the city of Galway it has the best of both worlds for the visitor. We were able to enjoy leisurely walks on the promenade and also spin in to Galway for some serious retail therapy! We also ventured in on Saturday night to see what the “buzz” was like and felt a lot more relaxed than we would in Temple Bar! People in Galway has such a friendliness about them, that visitors feel both welcome and at ease here.
But back to the birthday girl and her wish-list for the weekend! While Galway Bay Hotel does not have the super spa that her sister hotel in Athlone does – www.hodsonbayspa.com – it does offer some lovely relaxing treatments at Calmer Waters Health & Beauty. A first experience of reflexology was a great hit, and she immediately became a convert. I settled for smartening up the fingernail and toe nails with a French Polish, something I find impossible to do myself. After that it was back into town for more shopping!
There is nothing like serious shopping to what a girl’s appetite and so we hungrily headed down for dinner at 8.
Dinner choices are from either the Table d'Hôte or A La Carte menus and offer a range of dishes to suit the all tastes. It was the birthday night, and as we sat at our bay window table, we began with an inspiring cocktail and then choose salad starters followed by Medallions of Beef with a red wine and balsamic reduction; and a grilled Turbot. The birthday girl choose ice-cream for dessert and it arrived with birthday wishes written in chocolate sauce around the plate!
Enough to say that food was sumptuous and service was great. In fact, since the hotel is so busy and popular it is something of an achievement to have service that is so good. With two weddings going on that day, and two more the following day, and a hotel that was full for the weekend; there was a surprising air of calm about. While the adults can relax and unwind, the children are having fun at the Penguin Kids Activity Camp. Everything is done so well, and with so many people for both dinner and breakfasts, the service is an art in itself.
After so much food we decided to take a short stroll along the road to visit the National Aquarium of Ireland, known as Atlantaquaria. This is a fabulous facility where you can see underwater animals in their natural environment. It is a delight for adults and kids alike - the kids particularly like being able to touch and feel all those wet, slimy and prickly sea things!
On our second night we decided to just have one course – baked cod for me and Cajun salmon for herself before we headed into town. But in the end we shared a fabulous cheese plate afterwards!
Our weekend was a great success, while four weddings happened during our stay, and many families and friends were entertained and looked after, this was all done with an accomplished professionalism on behalf of the staff. It is no wonder that guests return again and again to this popular hotel. We may become regulars ourselves!