County Kildare in Ireland is best known as “Thoroughbred County,” where some of the world’s best horse trainers work at the Curragh racecourse. And then there’s the shopping and spa scene.
Kildare Village, one of the Chic Outlet Shopping Villages by Value Retail, is where you’ll find shops from around the world, from U.S.-based Ralph Lauren to Barcelona’s Desigual to England’s Aquascutum, you can shop away, with prices slashed up to 70 percent off, no waiting or sifting through unkempt piles. These stores represent ultra-luxury in window display and interior design; walking through the pleasant ambiance of the outdoor village is a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
Stop for a lunch break at L’Officina, inside the Kildare Village, where you can enjoy a light lunch of parsnip and carrot soup with a side of soda bread. Or get a plate of the smoked salmon and goat cheese to share among your table. And then, shop some more.
But after you’ve shopped, you’ll only want to drop, and that’s where the five-star Heritage Golf & Spa Resort comes in handy. Nestled in the village of Killenard, think cherry wood, mahogany and marble as design elements in the lobby designed with old-world Europe in mind. In fact, columns are in the suites that offer three spacious rooms, an outdoor patio and a bathroom with a claw-foot tub in pristine condition – awaiting you for a bath with salts provided.
The brands Pevonia and Voya make the spa scene unique. Voya is a family-owned Irish business — in the business of organic seaweed based products. Extracts from the sea are sustainably hand-harvested when ripe, by the Walton family themselves. The therapeutic properties are seemingly endless for the Voya Lazy Days seaweed bath ($32) that can be utilized three times before discarding on your garden soil for good composting. All this can be found within the spa that is part of the Heritage Resort.
And Christine, a massage therapist from the Baltic Sea region who would seem to be heaven sent, offers an expert hour-and-a-half massage called The Heritage Signature, a steal at €140. This is a full body relaxing hot oil (Pevonia lavender oil) massage that includes a scalp and foot massage.
When each part of your body is sore from traveling, holding shopping bags from a day spent at Kildare Village Outlets, it’s quite a treat to indulge in this massage that begins with warm washcloths, followed by Christine’s precision touch at working out the knots in your neck and shoulders. Christine clearly knows her job well, and without confiding in your problem areas, she will announce where they are and work to bring balance back to your body.
The spa itself is set in an oasis of calm, and has 20 private treatment rooms within the 7,000 square foot facility where you can cleanse your mind, body and soul through an exhilarating journey of heating and cooling sensations. Try the rustic sauna cabin, sanarium, caldarium, tepidarium and hamam to cleanse pores and relax muscles, or awaken your senses with the refreshing multi-sensory showers and tissue firming ice fountain.
While many tourists, not to mention locals, flock to Dublin for vacation in the city, vacationing countryside seems to be the more luxurious and rejuvenating way to go.
Visit www.TheHeritage.com to book a special package for your travel to one of the best spas on the scene in Ireland.
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