Monart Spa: A Luxurious Spa Escape
This year, Andrew surprised me with a trip to Monart Spa for my birthday. I was absolutely over the moon as it is somewhere that I have always wanted to go, but never thought I would actually get the chance to. He literally knows me so well and I was counting down the days until we headed down.
After some wise words from a friend of mine, we decided to go for a midweek night stay. It also meant that we got an extra long weekend which we weren’t complaining about!
Getting there
Monart is located just a few minutes from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. All in all, the drive took us about an hour and a half from Dublin and there are some amazing views on route. On arrival at Monart, the beauty of the surrounding scenery really caught our attention. Green fields, horses and stunning views. Luckily for us, the weather remained bright and sunny for the duration of our stay.
Staying there
The hotel itself is out of this world, and you really do feel like you are escaping to a different world. Upon arrival, we received a warm, friendly greeting from the staff. They were on hand to take our bags and show us where the spa, restaurant and bar are located. When we arrived to our room, our bags had been delivered and we were informed of the various hotel facilities. At this point we were shown to the well-renowned robe and slipper combo.
One of my favourite things about Monart is that you are encouraged to wear your robe and slippers throughout your stay. The only place that this is not permitted is in the main restaurant. While it did feel a little strange strolling down for breakfast half dressed, everyone is in the same boat, and it is those who opt for clothes that tend to stand out.
Eating there
Throughout our stay, we ate in both the garden bar and the restaurant and also dabbled in some room service! As our treatments were booked for 3 pm, which happened to coincide with check-in, we chanced our arm for an early check-in.
Unfortunately, the earliest we could get was 2.30 pm so while we waited we headed to the restaurant for a light lunch and a glass of wine (or two!). We were seriously impressed with the lunch menu in the garden bar, and gladly would have eaten all of our meals here! Our waiter was chatty and he really did give a great first impression of the hotel.
Our dinner was booked for 8.30 pm and after having lunch around midday followed by some time in the spa we were pretty hungry by about 4 pm. We ordered chicken wings to the room to keep us ticking over and just wow…They were amazing! This was probably a rookie move, however, as by the time dinner came around, I wasn’t feeling too hungry!
After getting all dolled up and out of our robes, we headed towards the main restaurant. It was here that we indulged in a delicious five-course dinner. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. We left happily stuffed, and retired to our room for the evening, not before picking up a gin & tonic from the garden bar en route.
Relaxing there
As a therapist, it is always hard to switch off and really relax. However, I made it my mission to do exactly that on our trip to Monart. I really wanted to enjoy the whole experience and not think about what was happening every step of the way.
I had two treatments during our stay. The first was the ‘Tropical Escape De-Ageing Wrap’. It combined a full body exfoliation with a papaya and pineapple tropical wrap to nourish and rejuvenate the skin. While I lay in a cocoon of happiness, my therapist treated me to a face and scalp treatment. It was so good that it almost sent me off to sleep! I’ve had a lot of treatments throughout the years and this one was hands down the most relaxing. To finish, I showered off, before my therapist returned to finish the treatment. I left on cloud nine and fully relaxed.
The second treatment I had was the Pevonia Prescriptive Facial. I had never tried these products before but they felt really nice on my skin. They don’t contain many perfumes (if at all) and smell really natural. It really felt like a treat for my skin. However, if I had to choose just one treatment to have again, I would definitely opt for the wrap!
As a guest of the hotel, you have full use of the thermal suite and relaxation rooms until 2 pm on the day of check-out. So, after breakfast, we wasted no time before returning to the spa. We chilled out on the gorgeous relaxation pods and made full use of the thermal suite rooms. We really enjoyed the aromatic steam room and traditional Finnish sauna. However, there were some other rooms that I had never seen in a spa before such as the infra-red Pro. This targets tension specifically in the back and has an invigorating effect on your metabolism.
The entire stay at Monart was like escaping to a tranquil paradise and I would go back in a heartbeat.
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