A NIGHT IN THE KINGSLEY, CORK.

SHOP THE LOOK

Hotel Stays are definitely one of my favourite luxuries in this life. The feeling of just getting away from your day to day life, be it just for a night, can do wonders for the soul. 

AFTERNOON TEA AT THE HOUSE HOTEL | GALWAY.

Yesterday evening, myself, Aimee (floralesque.com), Ciara (ciaraswalsh.com), Kerrie (bellaandvogue.blogspot.ie) and Kieran (@galwayplayer) met for some afternoon tea in The House Hotel here in Galway. It was certainly an evening of firsts for me as I had never been in The House Hotel before nor had I ever had Afternoon Tea, which is a practically seen as a sin if you're a blogger as it's guaranteed to be an Instagramable experience.

The House Hotel is located in the heart of Galway's Latin Quarter and is renowned for being Galway's unique city centre boutique hotel. I had always heard great things about the interiors of the hotel so that was certainly something I was excited to see for myself and I can tell you now that I  was not disappointed in the least. It's vibrant, modern and is oozing with quirkiness which is something I adore in interiors. The afternoon tea was hosted in the lobby which has a main colour scheme of pink and is full of comfy couches and chairs to nestle into while you indulge in all of the scrumptious treats.

There are 4 types of Afternoon Tea in which you can choose from, the first being 'The House Traditional Afternoon Tea' and that costs €19pp, then there is 'Afternoon Tea with Bubbly' and that is €25pp, there is also 'A most unusual Afternoon Tea with Hendricks Gin' and costs €28pp and finally 'Afternoon Tea with Champagne' which is €30pp. Just a little note... all Afternoon Teas must be pre-booked in case it is something you are thinking of trying out! :)

We decided to book the first option which is 'The House Traditional Afternoon Tea' and we were required to put a deposit of one person so that was €19. We booked it for 6pm so it would suit everyone that was working etc. so it's good to know it doesn't necessarily have to be in the afternoon, it can also be a lovely way to spend an evening.

So you are firstly offered your teas/coffees and if you drink neither you can opt for a hot chocolate like Aimee did so everyone is catered for! Then comes the food and my god, were our mouths watering as it approached the table. Our first thoughts were - we are never going to get through all that food, there was loads so even though we chose the least expensive option, there certainly was no shortage of food given!

The first tier consisted of savoury food so it was sandwich type food I guess you would say. My favourite from that tier would have to be the brown bread with spinach and goats cheese as that is pretty much 3 of my favourite foods all piled on top of each other. The other choices were yum also, I literally can't fault them, there was nothing I didn't enjoy. 

Next, there was a layer of scones and to my delight, there was not only fruit scones but plain ones also as I strongly agree with James Kavanagh on his comparison of raisins to the devil's droppings. Everyone else nibbled on the fruit ones but I stuck to the plain and they were delish, I just find something so comforting about a scone accompanied with a hot drink.

Lastly, but certainly not least were the sweet treats, there were mini eclairs, salted caramel squares which by the way literally just melted in my mouth, oh my god, like I couldn't believe the yuminess! There were also brownies which had the most perfect hard layer/soft centre ratio and lemony cake bits which I also enjoyed immensely as anything lemon flavoured is guaranteed to be a hit with me. Can you tell which tier was my fave?

We finished off the evening with a cocktail each and firstly I couldn't get over the massive selection of cocktails The House Hotel have available, it is by far the largest cocktail menu I have ever seen. I chose 'Summer Garden' (the clear/green one in the pic) which contained Beefeater Gin, St.Germain elderflower liquer, apple juice, fresh lime and house infused rosemary. It was definitely right up my street as it was refreshing and didn't have any nasty kick to it. Feel like I need to make a few more trips to The House Hotel and make my way through their cocktail menu! 

I have sat back and tried to think about a downfall from the evening as I always want my reviews to be as real as possible but I honestly can't fault the evening, I really enjoyed it! It was a nice relaxed environment with good food and great people, what more could a gal want.

Love Shóna xo

FOLLOW SHOSTYLE..

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Night in Nox.

If you follow me on Snapchat (@shonalenehan), you would have seen that last Thursday myself and Kerrie (Bella and Vogue) spent a night in Nox Hotel Galway. Nox is Galway's trendiest new hotel and is located just minutes from the city on the Headford Road. Once we arrived we checked into our room and the first thing we both commented on was how clean the hotel and rooms are, I know hotels are supposed to be clean but everything seemed extra fresh in Nox, it was spotless! The room was bright and airy and didn't feel anyways stuffy like some hotel rooms tend to be. We were greeted by wine, fruit and chocolates in our room which we greatly appreciated :)

The beds were so comfortable, I honestly had the best nights sleep I've had in such a long time, I just sunk into the bed and drifted off to sleep effortlessly.

 The following morning we headed down to breakfast which is served between 7:30 and 10:30am which gives you lots of time. The breakfast was a buffet and there was also a pancake machine which seriously impressed me and kept me entertained for a while, definitely need one for my house!

And as if we weren't already spoilt enough we were later treated to lunch...

  

I opted for the Thai Beef Noodle Salad - (Served with Rocket, Chilli Glaze, Ginger, Garlic Spring onion, coriander & Chilli, & peppers). The beef was so tender and cooked to perfection, the seasonings used complimented the dish so well. 

 We were given Blueberry flavoured mocktails to try by the Nox's in house mixologist Rebecca. The minute I heard blueberry I knew I'd love it and it was hands down one of the tastiest drinks I've ever had! It was so refreshing and screamed summer even though the weather outside wasn't cooperating. Think I may have found a new favourite flavour :)

 As dessert time approached it had just been announced the Galway was named the European Capital of Culture 2020 which is an unbelievable achievement so naturally we were all bursting with pride and excitement and it was clear to see the chef's excitement when our desserts were presented to us, I absolutely loved the attention to detail! I went with Lemon Cheesecake as I'm always going to be a number one cheesecake fan and this one didn't disappoint, it was so light and airy and tasted deeelish!

I'd just like to thank Caroline from Nox for arranging this treat for myself and Kerrie and thank you to all the staff for being so helpful and friendly! :)

Make sure to follow Nox..

INSTAGRAM - noxgalway

TWITTER - noxgalway

FACEBOOK - Nox Hotel

Love Shóna xo