Loughrea Hotel and Spa
I’m just back from a lovely trip to Loughrea Hotel and Spa. I didn’t know a huge amount about this hotel apart from the fact that it was in Galway. It took just over 2 hours to get there from Dublin and when I walked in to reception, I was blown away. The decor is really stunning and sets the perfect tone for the rest of the hotel. In some hotels, you tend to find that the public areas are nice but rooms can be a bit lack lustre. Not in this case! Our room was AMAZING! It overlooked Loughrea Lake and was really spacious. There was a really cool and contemporary feel to the venue. We wasted no time and went straight to the roof top garden bar. I saw a picture of this on the website and it looked very unique. It did not disappoint one bit. We were so lucky with the weather and got to sit out on the big sofas with a nice glass of wine and some piri piri chips. It was like we were in the South of France. I really felt that I had escaped from it all. I could just imagine the day after a wedding having a small gathering up there.
The food at breakfast, lunch and dinner was really good. If what I tasted was an indicator on how good the food is for a wedding, then wedding guests…..you are in for a treat.
The following day I had a show around of the wedding and spa facilities. The spa is so different to others I have seen. It is spread over 3 floors and has an abundance of treatment rooms as well as a nail and pedicure bar. The icing on the cake is the thermal spa. Within this section you have the jet pool, steam rooms, specialised showers and relaxation rooms.
They have a party room where you can bring a group, have afternoon tea or drinks and get make up demos and applications. If you are getting married there, you can get your full bridal package there the morning of the wedding as they have a hair dresser, make up artist and all of the general treatments that you will need for your bridal party. It saves you so much hassle to be able to get everything under one roof. It is also great for a pampering hen weekend.
Now for the all important weddings! I have to say, I really like this hotel. As a guest you are spoilt and as the bride and groom you are spoilt. I’ll start with the ballroom. It is spacious enough to host a large wedding or flexible enough for a smaller wedding. It is such a versatile room. It has beautiful colour tones that are perfect to leave as is or neutral enough to allow you inject your wedding theme. The decor is a sage colour. The bar is in the room, meaning that you are not breaking up your wedding party.
There are rooms available for civil ceremonies, plus if the law is passed, you could have a ceremony on the roof top…weather permitting. The wedding team take great pride in what they do and are always looking at what trends are coming down the tracks. When I was there, there was a vintage wedding photo shoot going on with some of Galway’s main wedding suppliers.
They work very closely with event decor companies and can advise on themes and styling for your day. It can be really hard to get your head around how best to add special touches to your day but rest assured, the Loughrea wedding team are fully equipped to assist you.
Just outside the Ballroom you will find a huge, bright and airy pre-reception area with big comfy sofas and grand piano. Extending from the pre reception area is the outdoor reception area which again is very big.
Now for the bridal suite……it’s bigger than my house. It is massive! There is a dining area as well as a lounge. The king sized, four poster bed takes centre stage. The bathroom is the same size as some peoples bedrooms. I loved that the room had floor to ceiling windows and an outdoor balcony. The view is the landscape of Loughrea Lake which is breathtaking.
Overall, I would highly recommend this venue and cannot wait to attend a wedding there.
Here are my pictures!