The House Hotel

Spanish Parade,
Galway City Centre,
Co. Galway
The House Hotel enquiries
www.thehousehotel.ie

• Unpretentious luxury in a modern setting
• Renowned dining at Galway's popular Parlour Bar & Grill.
• You can move from the safe and secluded ambience of the hotel to the tumult of Quay Street within minutes!

Galway has to be one of the most vibrant, fun and interesting places to visit in Ireland. Whether you go for the fishing or the racing; the food or the shops, Galway is wonderful and now there is another reason to go there - to stay at The House Hotel, right bang in the middle of the city on Spanish Parade.

My daughter and I travelled from Kerry to Galway on a Sunday afternoon. The bypass at Ennis has made a considerable difference to the journey and to one’s state of mind so that when we arrived in the City of the Tribes we were in fine form. The House Hotel doesn’t believe in a reception desk but a discreet table in the lounge area. The lounge is spacious and well accommodated with intriguingly patterned chairs and sofas. There was also an art exhibition in here as part of the Arts Festival.

Hotel Accommodation

Our room was one of three that have a balcony on the corner of two streets, looking down through the narrow buildings to the docks. The distant masts of ships and the call of gulls within this ancient city, served as a backdrop to our ultra modern room, and added to our pleasure at this brief holiday. There is complimentary internet access throughout the hotel, as in their sister property, www.absolutehotel.com in Limerick.

There are 40 luxurious bedrooms in The House Hotel and everything is beautifully chosen and co-ordinated. A small sitting area looking out over the balcony had a sofa, flat screen TV, and mini bar. A sliding door, reminiscent of a Japanese screen, separated it from the bedroom. Twin beds were canopied with layers of tulle, and the fitted cupboards contained necessary paraphernalia such as a bright orange umbrella, shoe horn, and laundry bag, as well as towelling robes and slippers and a coffee machine. The bathroom was equally as well equipped and the shower was the best ever, with a huge overhead spray as well as detachable hose, or there was a bath to lie back and luxuriate in. If Galway wasn’t such an exciting place you could just take up residence in this apartment
for a few days and be perfectly content. The House Hotel likes to think of you as a guest not a visitor and that is exactly how we felt!

Dining at the House Hotel

We had an excellent dinner that night. Service was discreet but impeccable. The menu was short but very well balanced. There were just eight main courses, and as I chose the special for a starter it had to be specially prepared for me! Crab wrapped in Plaice with King Prawns. This appetiser prepared me nicely for more fish, Roasted Sea Scallops on a bed of outstanding Carrot Puree! I had chosen a bottle of Sancerre, which was refreshing and complimented these dishes well. My daughter had Deep Fried Brie. Not your regular bought in chunk of indistinguishable cheese but a good sized slice of Brie sharply offset with mustard dressed leaves and a blackberry Coulis. To follow she had Pan-Seared Atlantic Salmon, which met with approval, especially the pesto mash. We just managed to squeeze in a Warm Chocolate Brownie and Vanilla ice-cream, between us, before going out to experience the night life.

The next morning The Irish Times was delivered to our door, the sun was pouring in through the windows, and we ate breakfast downstairs. There was a good spread of cereals and juices as well as cold meats and cheeses. We both had scrambled eggs on nutty granary bread, which was very good, but we could as easily have enjoyed good-looking pancakes and bacon with maple syrup.

When we vacated our room later in the morning, we were able to leave our luggage in a safe location while we spent the afternoon in the city. We had complimentary parking throughout our stay. It was a perfect place for us to stay during our brief visit to Galway, we will return and I know we will be made feel welcomed home!