Recently, the OnTheQT crew spent a weekend of bliss at the Inchydoney Island Resort and Spa. Nestled away a few kilometres outside the beautiful town of Clonakilty in West Cork, lies the beautiful Inchydoney Island Resort and Spa. As we drove down to Inchydoney from Clonakilty, we were taken back at the beautiful scenery surrounding us at every angle. A little piece of heaven. We arrived to a warm welcome by the friendly staff and a lovely welcome treat (they knew us so well with our sweet tooth!!).
We were shown to a wonderful room overlooking the beautiful open spacious and sandy strand stretching out into the wild Atlantic sea is the … what a perfect escape from reality! With crystal clear waters, fascinating sand dunes, and glistening rock pools, it is no surprise the beach has been awarded the coveted Blue Flag status. Check out our blog post on the beautiful sandy beach here. We love that the Inchydoney website have a live web camera of the beach… so you can see if the surf is good or not before you visit. What a great idea – check it out here.
After settling into our beautiful room, we decided to go for a bite to eat in the bar. As soon as we entered we could smell the beautiful tasty dishes. We went for the traditional fish and chips, along with a tasty seafood pesto pasta dish. I must say the seafood pesto pasta dish was amazing with a huge selection of fish. Just the perfect tasty dish after our drive down to Inchydoney. We enjoyed the comfort of the residence bar, overlooking the beach after our dinner. Peace, tranquility and relaxation. A perfect Friday night after a busy week.
The following morning we woke and experienced a once in a lifetime experience. We were lucky enough to be sharing the hotel with President Michael D Higgins and his wife that night. We were amazed when we were seated next to them for breakfast, overlooking the beautiful sandy beach. The highlight of our stay. Breakfast each morning was a wonderful treat. A wide choice from the cold buffet, along with tasty hot dishes such as delicious local sausages, the famous ‘Clonakilty Pudding’ as well as bacon and local free range eggs. You can also order dishes cooked in the kitchen, such as homemade pancakes, free-range scrambled eggs with local smoked salmon and a range of fluffy omlettes. Our favourite dish was the beautiful light pancakes.. YUM!
QT Tip: Their brown bread is the nicest brown bread we ever tasted… YUMMY!!
We headed to enjoy a relaxing day in the spa after our delicious breakfast. We entered a world of tranquility as we entered the spa. Firstly, we enjoyed the Seawater Therapy Pool, along with the unbelievable ocean view relaxation areas. Listening to relaxation music while enjoying a fresh juice and views of the Atlantic… what more could you want? Pure bliss! We enjoyed lots of beautiful relaxing treatments, including the beautiful sea salt body scrub and a heavenly body wrap which cleansed and rejuvenate our tired body. Perfection. We also enjoyed a seawater massage bath which has seawater pumped directly from the ocean is heated to 32 degrees and added to the multi-massage bath. A little piece of heaven.
QT Tip: For the Spa be sure to arrive 30 minutes before your treatment to give yourself some tip to enjoy the ocean view relaxation areas as well as the Seawater Therapy Pool.
After a lovely day of relaxation, we enjoyed a delicious dinner with pnoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and Irish coast. You were surrounded by the perfect backdrop for an unbelievable dining experience. The menu featured delicious dishes, offering something for everyone. What struck me was the way in which it offered the very best cuisine from local produce of the West Cork Region. It was perfect with the beautiful surroundings accompanying the local food. The food concept is based on modern French and light Mediterranean, using only the finest oils, pestos, salads and herbs. There is a strong emphasis on fresh coastal seafood in particular turbot, sole and fresh shell fish. What I loved about this restaurant is the way it was able to alter it’s menu for any allergies with no problems at all. For me, I am allergic to onion and it was no problem at all to alter the dishes to suit my allergy. It’s a great feeling to eat dinner out with confidence in the kitchen that no onion will be produced. They even adapted the appetisers to suit… I was very impressed.
For main course we went for roasted fillet of Macroom beef with a horseradish and black pepper crust, oxtail gateau, smoked onion purée(obviously no onion for me haha!) and West Coast clams. The beef was honestly the nicest beef we ever tasted. Pure Perfection. The flavor was absolutely sublime. It was out of this world.
For dessert… you all know us! We always find room for dessert. We enjoyed two delicious desserts… Heaven on earth!
Unforgettable, perfection and delicious are the three words that come to mind when describing our dining experience in the Gulfstream Restaurant. We ended the dinner with a sunset walk on Inchydoney beach. The perfect way to end a perfect day.
We woke up the following morning to another delicious breakfast and we even went to relax once more in the beautiful seawater therapy pool, sauna and steam room before heading back home.We decided to take a bit of Inchydoney home with us for the busy week ahead so we picked up a few homemade breads and jams from the reception. We said goodbye to our room with a view and went back to reality feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to face the world. A weekend of pure relaxation. Looking forward to visiting again soon to switch off from the world for a little bit.
Heaven for me has the beach attached to it.
For more information visit the Inchydoney Island Hotel website here.
Gems we discovered nearby to explore while visiting Inchydoney Island Hotel:
- Red Strand Beach
- Inchydoney Beach
- Atlanic Sea Kayaking
- The Ring Road Trip
- more to come soon…
