The mission To see whether “Ireland's leading spa”, as the Monart
website boasts, is all it's cracked up to be.
USP With bolt-on hotel spas springing up like mushrooms, Monart has
gone one step further and claims to have been the first in Ireland to market
itself solely as a spa hotel.
Ambience Set in 100 acres of woodland a few minutes' drive from the
busy market town of Enniscorthy, Monart is near enough to civilisation if
you get fed up with being good, and fancy a stroll to a pub for a pint of
the dark stuff, and far enough in the country to feel in tune with nature.
The hotel is centred around a fine Georgian house, from which a glass walkway
leads to two arcing modern glass and wooden arms: one for accommodation; the
other for the bar, restaurant and spa. Attentive staff extend a warm Irish
welcome and there's enough plate glass to help this part of the country make
the most of its reputation as Ireland's “sunny south-east”.
Guests are encouraged to pad around in slippers and fluffy robes, though not
at dinner, when the dress code is as formal as you like.
Quality of experience The two treatments I had were good and the
therapists were efficient and quiet. From a wide menu of treatments I chose
the tropical wrap (55 minutes) “to nourish and rejuvenate the skin”. Papaya
and pineapple combined with crème fraîche in a fruity cream which did indeed
leave my skin feeling silky-smooth, if a bit whiffy. I was keeping my
fingers crossed that the fruit-fly season hadn't got underway, not to
mention the wasps - yikes!
The tension-busting Deluxe Monart massage (55 minutes), with rosemary oil for
tired muscles, did everything it said on the tin, and included a soothing
hot-stone back massage. Slippers warmed in the microwave was a nice touch,
widening the smile in my eyes as I toddled off to the candle-lit relaxation
room to snuggle under a blanket for some beauty sleep.
Products Pevonia Botanica products are used in all the treatments and
claim to marry science with all things natural to promote the body
beautiful.
Food A great place for indulging either a passion for good food
(sourced locally or as near as dammit) or a more pared-down regimen. The
star of the show for me was the Guinness and molasses bread; rich, dark and
worth breaking any diet for.
Breakfast is a splendid affair with everything from porridge to fruit-and-veg
smoothies and, of course, the full Irish. Dinner includes fish and fowl,
such as turbot and roast squab pigeon.
In-crowd The Celtic tiger may have lost some of its bite, but it still
likes to be pampered. When I was there, even during the week the spa was
busy with mostly youngish professional men and women and local residents
popping in for a day visit, warming their hides in the spa's thermal suite
and taking a dip in the heated hydrotherapy pool. Homegrown celebrity guests
include Cecelia Ahern, the chick-lit author and daughter of the former
Taoiseach.
Wallet watch The huge double rooms (with beds you can get lost in) cost
from €160 (£125) per person for bed and breakfast with a single supplement
of €42 a night. The papaya and pineapple tropical wrap costs €120; the
Deluxe Monart massage, €115.
Need to know Monart Destination Spa, 00-353-53 9238999, www.monart.ie,
is two-and-a-half hours from Dublin. Aer Lingus (www.aer
lingus.com) and British Midland (www.flybmi.com)
fly from Heathrow. Flight time: 1hr 20min.
