As a lot of people know, I have long wanted to stay here, and my very kind family got me vouchers for my birthday.
Our first attempt to get there ended in disaster, but it’s strange the way things work out as having to reorganise a night there meant we could spend in with my sister and her husband, visiting Ireland for Christmas.
On arrival, we were greeted by the valet/porter, David, an incredibly friendly guy who took our car keys off us and our bags allowing us to head inside. Again, at the reception, we were met with another friendly greeting from both staff behind the desk, who advised us that our rooms weren’t quite ready but if we would go down to the bar, we could have some complimentary coffee while we waited. This was fine with us, and we went down around 3.15pm and were settled in some very comfy armchairs, looking out at the very angry sea, which was a really cool sight. Having said that, I had a facial booked at 4pm, and was supposed to turn up about 15 minutes in advance, so when the time crept around to 3.40pm and there was still no sign of anyone coming to get us to bring us to our rooms, I was getting ever so slightly anxious… So, I ended up popping back up to reception who said oh yes, your rooms are ready, back downstairs, got everyone else and back up to reception, where one of the staff brought us to our rooms.
Rooms are gorgeous, but I didn’t have time to really look around as I had to get into the Cliffhouse robe and slippers and peg it to the spa. Also our bags hadn’t made it to our rooms so Rory had to go enquiring after them.
Facial was amazing, I can’t fault it. Very relaxing, lovely hand/arm massage, leg/foot massage and neck/shoulders massage thrown in as well. It was a good 75 minutes and afterwards I was brought to the relaxation room where the therapist had set up some water, herbal tea and fruit if I wanted any. Sat in there for about 20 minutes then walked back to my room. Have to say, it’s very odd walking around in your dressing gown when everyone else is dressed, I did feel a bit odd!
Anyway, back to my room which I was then able to appreciate, beautifully but simply decorated, lovely white and blue colour scheme, obviously mirroring the sea outside. It had a private balcony with a table and chairs, which would have been lovely to sit out on had it not been cold, dark and fairly stormy outside! The main things I look for in a room are comfy bed (tick), robes (tick), good shower – hmm, not convinced o this one, they have those rainforest type big shower heads which are never great pressure wise, and another shower on the wall for rinsing I suppose! I say get rid of both and put in a normal proper decent pressure shower.
There was a bit of confusion re our dinner booking, I had booked the four of us into the bar for 7.30pm. My sister had a letter confirming dinner in the restaurant at 8.30pm and we later found a letter in our room saying we were in the restaurant at 7pm! At the end of the day, it was the 8.30pm in the restaurant booking that was correct, but it did cause a bit of confusion, although when brought up with one of the staff, he deftly batted our confusion aside, with aplomb I must say, and brought us the menus to look at in the bar instead.
At 8.30pm he came back and led us into the restaurant, to a very nice table. And so began what I must say, is one of the best meal experiences I’ve ever had. And I think I can say everyone else felt the same. We didn’t go for the tasting menu but it may as well have been with the number of courses we felt we had!
Once we ordered and had our wine, we were brought an amuse bouche which consisted of a trio of dishes. First was clay baked potatoes topped with an olive mayonnaise served alongside beetroot macaroons sandwiched with goats cheese. The other amuse bouche was cauliflower pannacotta with herb jelly and a savoury marshmallow. They all sound odd, but they were all incredibly tasty and the different textures were really interesting to try together.
When these were cleared away, there was a nice break till our starters arrived. Most of us had the scallops which were amazing, beautifully cooked and came with a parmesan crisp (always welcome!) while Fabio had the salmon four ways which he absolutely loved.
We were also served three full mini loaves of bread – one spelt, one cheese and one corn. None of us were that gone on the spelt bread, but the other two were gorgeous – we were just conscious of not filling up on bread when we had more to come! They were served with smoked butter (as well as regular butter) which I must confess I didn’t try, didn’t appeal at all.
And onto the mains. I went for the steak. It was incredible. Juicy and tender and really flavoursome. Came with a fondant potato (not a big fan of these) and onion crisps, along with baby veg. Very very good. Nic had the venison which I thought might be a bit gamey, but she said was very good. We cleared our plates basically.
Following our mains we were brought mango sorbets to cleanse our palates. For dessert I went for the cheese plate. Now this is where I was let down. It was 6 pieces of cheese on a plate. Full stop. No attempt at any sort of presentation really, I was quite surprised. Nic however had the chocolate dessert which looked fabulous.
We rounded off the night with an amaretto. The dinner had taken three and a half hours. Normally we’d have gone for a nightcap but I think we were all a bit wrecked and full and just wanted our beds! Amazing experience.
Next morning we met for breakfast, again in the restaurant. I think we were all still full from our magnificent meal but we gamely braved a full Irish for some and kippers for me! Delish. Really good selection of food to choose from. And great coffee.
Afterwards we went for a swim and Jacuzzi – timed it well as we had the place to ourselves…
The Cliffhouse is an experience. I would say there were a few things wrong, the lateness of getting into our rooms, the non-appearance of our luggage, the lift was out of order (God help you if you had mobility problems) and the confusion over the dinner reservation. Also the jacuzzi and sauna weren't working the day we arrived but were fixed by the next morning. And considering the cost of staying there, none of that should happen. But really none of it took away from the service and the lovely time we had there. It’s a bit of a trek from Dublin in my opinion and I think a two night stay would be better if possible. But overall, a great experience.
www.thecliffhousehotel.com
Ardmore, Co. Waterford
No comments:
Post a Comment