Five new spa experiences to try for your next getaway, from facials to massages to hot tubs
Anantara Treatment The Rooms Marker, At Dublin
DUBLIN
Anantara Marker
It is the ultimate urban retreat. Minimalist concrete floors, white walls, angled ceilings and the coolest interiors, all located in the heart of Dublin’s Docklands.
Upstairs the rooftop bar is like a retreat from another city. On a sunny day you could be in Barcelona, with sweeping views moving from the mountains to the sea to the edgy cityscape. There are stark white tables, chairs outside, sumptuous couches to lounge on inside. There was room for hotel guests only when we visited, creating an exclusive vibe.
We’re putting it out there – this really is the best getaway for girls in Dublin. The corner suite offered floor to ceiling views of the Docklands. The hotel’s refurbishment in 2023 showcases wooden walls, juxtaposed with mirrored features. The marble bedside locker is echoed again in the luxurious marble bathroom, stocked with Voya products. Dinner and breakfast are served downstairs in the foyer.
We are here of course for the spa.
The moment I walk into the elegant interior it’s like entering a different dimension. The whirring traffic on Pearse Street seems a million miles away; forgotten are the crowds of theatre goers queuing for the Bord Gais Theatre, the tourists on their Dublin bike tours.
I feel as though I’ve entered a decompression chamber – the scent is incredible, the interior uncluttered yet comfortable, and the hushed atmosphere instantly soothing.
I’m warmly greeted and then shown to the changing rooms – facilities for guests of the hotel and other clients to use when accessing the 23-metre infinity pool and thermal suite and gym or when having a spa treatment. I’m then led into one of the five elegant treatment rooms for my Balance by Seabody signature massage.
The spa offers a variety of treatments using two handpicked product ranges – Ireland’s Seabody and the UK’s Elemental Herbology — a range inspired by traditional Chinese medicine. In keeping with the hotel chain’s Thai roots, but keen to incorporate a local element as they do elsewhere in the hotel — not least in the kitchen of executive chef Gareth Mullins — the plant-based, cruelty free and sustain able Co Kerry brand Seabody brand co-founded by Dr. Helena McMahon has recently been introduced.
With clients that include locals, tourists and business travellers alike, the therapists at the spa focus on the clients’ needs and can tweak the treatments somewhat to suit the individual. My therapist, Priscilla, asks me if I have any particular areas of concern. As someone who uses a laptop daily, there is tension in my neck and shoulders, and, as I’ve just started exercising properly for the first time in almost a decade, my legs and feet feel tender and heavy.
My therapist gets to work using the Seabody massage oil which has been specially formulated for professional use. Tension and pain melt away as the therapist uses her forearms, elbows and thumbs in a wave-like massage technique designed to increase blood circulation, drain the lymphatic system and enhance relaxation. The incorporation of acupressure techniques and hot stones enhance this all over body treatment and I’m left feeling suitably invigorated yet relaxed as I walk on air towards the relaxation room where I almost drift off to sleep after my freshly squeezed juice and sorbet.
Afterwards, Spa and Wellness Manager Orjana Krota tells me that my Balance by Seabody massage is just one of a series of new treatments on offer at the hotel including facials, energising body scrubs, prenatal massage, scalp release and a blissful combined treatment of a 30-minute facial and 30-minute massage.
The signature Balance by Seabody massage at the Anantara Spa lasts for 60 minutes and is priced from €130 Monday to Thursday, and €140 Friday to Sunday.
The Shelbourne Hotel
It’s been a milestone year for The Shelbourne. Built in 1824, it’s celebrating 200 years; two centuries of history have seen the hotel host Hollywood greats. John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton have all stayed in the hotel, as well as heads of state, including John F Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy and Prince Ranier and his wife, Princess Grace of Monaco. The constitution was even drafted here.
The spa experience here reflects its five star vintage. Set over three floors, it has its own entrance — downstairs there’s a swimming pool, the ground floor hosts a gym and hair and nail salon.
But the real magic is upstairs. The relaxation room, lit by chandeliers, overlooks St Stephen’s Green. Muted green recliners are set back from the hotel’s iconic Georgian windows. It’s stylish, elegant, other worldly.
Sipping herbal tea here, you can imagine any of the hotel’s A-list guests sitting in this very seat, savouring the same famed view.
You’d book into the spa at the Shelbourne for the relaxation room alone, We are here though as a day guest to experience one of two new Swissline treatments. Founded in Switzerland in 1989, Swissline has set the bar in skincare and is a product of choice in five star spas around the world, including the Burj Al Arab. Since 1990, collagen has been a focus for the brand.
The new Swiss Oxygen Treatment, €230, is designed to breathe life into the skin. Boosting oxygen on a cellular level, the 75-minute experience stimulates, strengthens and purifies the skin. The invigorating facial ‘wakes’ up the skin, my therapist tells me, thanks to two new oxygenating products.
The Cell Shock Age Intelligence Super-Ampoule provides a surge of oxygen and hydration to the skin. It reduces the signs of fatigue, promotes skin recovery and minimises blotchiness. The Hydraholic Mask hydrates with an oxygen blast — with hyaluronic acid, it instantly hydrates, refreshes, oxygenates, and decongests the skin, while reducing the signs of fatigue and blotchiness.
The treatment delivered on its promise. Away from the Shelbourne that evening, without any make up, people commented on my skin’s glow.
It’s rare to see such instantaneous results. My skin felt tighter, softer, less congested. The treatment itself, including a shoulder and arm massage, struck the right balance of relaxation and efficacy — my muscles felt looser and yet at moments I dipped into waves of sleep.
Book in for the relaxation room alone and channel your Grace Kelly. It’s the ultimate indulgence.
LIMERICK
No 1 Pery Square
It’s always a strange moment when you are introduced to your spa therapist for the first time. Whether we like to admit it to ourselves or not, there’s an intimacy to a treatment — this person will see parts of your body you usually hide behind layers of Spanx.
So when I meet my therapist at the Heritage spa reception of No 1 Pery Square, I ready myself for a polite smile and nod of head, or at most an awkward handshake.
Instead, arms outstretched, she embraces me. She releases me from this warm bear hug, beaming, and walks me through the caverned hallways to the treatment room. It’s built, I’m later told, in an old coal bunker. Everything, I’m about to discover, is unique about the spa in this Limerick boutique gem.
Further into this underground ‘cave’, hidden deep beneath the streets of the Georgian Limerick, there are saunas and steam rooms to meander and explore. I opt for the new menopause journey option from the spa menu. My radar is well and truly up for miracle lotions and potions to ease women through night sweats and brain fogs. I’m cynical and wonder if Davina’s right, and that stick on patches really are the only way through.
On paper the 90 minute balancing journey promised a full body massage, foot reflexology, a hydration boosting facial and deep scalp massage.
But the second my spa therapist begins I know this is going to be as unique as our introduction.
A simple pull of my feet and I feel long, almost stretched. Finding the right pressure for a body massage is a fine line — too much and you’re fighting tears on the bed, too little and you feel like you’ve paid to have a doze in a darkened room.
Here though, the pressure is perfect. She needles tightness not just from the usual suspects — the shoulders and neck — but also from my calves. She massages my right side and as she moves to the left, I can feel the lightness on that half my body.
It is the strangest sensation, as though one half of me is floating. The facial is another revelation. Setting out to cool and calm, my eye and forehead massage did so much more. My skin felt taut again. No need for Botox after an encounter here.
This journey, and it truly felt like one after 90 minutes, ends with a deep scalp massage using rosemary essential oil to help clear the mind. Afterwards, there’s one last hug as I’m led, all but floating, to the lift to return me to my room.
Back on the fourth floor, it’s a world away from the darkened brick walls of the reformed coal bunker. Here there are sweeping balcony views of Georgian Limerick, across the road from the People’s Park.
First impressions of No 1 soar with its lush interiors, fresh floral arrangements in the room, and sweet treats from the dessert menu on arrival. Downstairs in the restaurant there are other stunning touches to showcase a sensational dining experience. The sharing board, a beautiful mix of local produce including a memorable homemade hummus, is served on mismatched places you’d find in your grandmother’s. A sublime chocolate dessert with honey comb is served in a China tea cup.
That warm embrace set the scene for No 1 Pery Square. Check in for a unique Irish hotel experience.
KILDARE
The Club at Goffs
It’s a low key arrival at The Club at Goffs. Unusually for Ireland, there’s a motel vibe — the flat roofed, two storey building, located just off the motorway, seems built for location and convenience. But this is so much more than a motorway pit stop.
You step into polished concrete floors, with deep, lush walls and sleek interiors. The hotel restaurant and room balconies overlook paddocks, complete with grazing horses.
This is in fact beautifully pitched for a couple’s break, or a girls’ getaway. Kildare Village is just 10 minutes away — and there’s a 10% discount on shopping there for hotel guests who book dinner or afternoon tea.
But it is the addition of new spa that really completes the package. The brand new outdoor hot tub and sauna seal the deal. You book in for private hour-long sessions, with Prosecco on arrival. There’s nothing more luxurious than being submerged in a cloud of hot air while gazing at the scenery on a cold autumn morning.
Outdoor bathing is having a moment — and The Club at Goffs has nailed the trend. Spa treatments — from facials to massages — are also an option but need to be booked in advance. A word of warning: you will need to wear your robe walking outdoors for the brief distance to the spa.
The Club at Goffs had a high-profile opening with Derry Clark as chef de cuisine, James Sheridan as head chef, and Sallyanne Clarke to greet the punters. Under such expert watch, the food here will not disappoint, from dinner to breakfast.
Planning a girls getaway? Book in now, and don’t forget your togs.
The Escape Rest Reset package, including access to The Deck, starts from €150pps. The Couples Retreat which includes an in room treatment starts from €200pps.
KERRY
Sheen Falls Lodge
Sheen Falls Lodge is tranquility itself. The sense of serenity is palpable from the very moment the concierge greets you with a welcome drink at check in.
Set on 300 stunning acres, the mountains, river and waterfall make for a jaw dropping background canvas.
Staff tell us there have been “complaints” about it — incredibly, the sound of the water was keeping some guests awake at night.
There are cosy nooks throughout the hotel, the library a haven if reading is your means of meditating, a yoga mat is tucked away in the wardrobes in every bedroom, Elemis toiletries add a touch of luxury. Outside there are woodland and river walks.
With this level of stillness and tranquility a spa doesn’t even feel necessary. But Easanna spa is there for those who need that extra calmness.
New treatments have launched at the hotel spa courtesy of Seabody, the lauded Kerry based wellness experience.
Suaimhneas Le Sheen, 90 mins and €200, begins with guided breathwork, easing you into a state of deep relaxation. Gentle pressure is applied to
reflexology points, releasing tension and promoting balance.
A rhythmic body palming and therapeutic back massage follows, with a 60-minute signature touch facial. To end the treatment, hot stones are placed along your spine, mimicking the serene flow of the Sheen River’s cascading waters.
This signature treatment also includes a foot rub. Stay for longer with the indoor heated pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi.