My second Hotel review and I was spoilt. I was contacted by Juliet from ScarletPR and asked if I would review Gillie's Grill at the Galgorm Resort and Spa. I immediately accepted - then Laurie (unsurprisingly) suggested that we should get a room and stay over - so we did. Our food was complimentary but the Hotel Stay, Spa and Gin Library that will feature in this blog were paid for by myself.
So last friday we set off our our mini journey to Ballymena to begin our Spring Retreat - we arrived at the Galgorm just after 4:30 - WOW! Even the short drive from the road to the Hotel was impressive - we passed a cosy Gate-lodge cottage, A beautiful Manor House before arriving at the very impressive hotel - a true land of luxury!
This luxury continued; greeted at the front door by a extremely well dressed commissionaire (yes I googled it) we were quickly checked into our room and a bellboy gave us a short tour and a brief history lesson while carrying our bags to the room. So we got to our room - it was a deluxe room and the name lived up - a kingsize bed, a marble bathroom, complimentary minibar and treats along with our spa essentials and a host of Aromatherapy Associates products were abundant!
After a quick spruce up, some hairspray and some smellies, I was ready to rock; Lauren took a little longer... Anyway we made our way to Gillie's Grill and were show to our booth - Menus in hand I was in a predicament - what to get, do I go for the soup and homemade breads, the platter sounded great but in the end we went for the Salt n Chilli Chciken and the Nachos (with proper cinema Nacho cheese). Onto the mains and again a really impressive choice; split into four sections you could pick from, Salad, Fish, Chicken or Grill and these included dishes such as Tiger Prawns with Linguine, Bang Bang Chicken, The Gillie's Burger or a Steak of your choice. After uncontrollable drooling I decided on the Bang Bang Chicken - the sweet chilli & soya sauce with satay drizzle was superb, I could have happily had that sauce as a soup, yum! Lauren got the Gillie's Burger - I also got a bit of that burger and it was lovely, cured bacon, crisp lettuce, juicy meat all in a super Brioche and accompanied by some gigantic Onion Rings!! Unbelievably we had room for dessert - Laurie got the Cheesecake which was Oreo flavoured and I got the most amazing we deconstructed Raspberry Ruffle - jeepers creepers this was a joy, I'd def recommend this dessert.
So I am sure the above photos - minus the weird one of me giving a thumbs up? have you all wanting to rush off the Gillie's Grill for some super food! Well here's a bit more to get you convinced - they offer a main and drink for only £12.95 - and on top of that, cocktails are buy one get one free on Friday nights from 5pm to 9pm. Still need convinced? OK - there's even live music every night in February at Gillie's!
What about Valentine's Day - have a look below
Next we headed for the newly refurbished Thermal Village - well this was an experience! Joyful bliss, romantic relaxation or pamper's paradise are all great ways to describe this place of tranquility - from rainforest showers to ice rooms, with a little stop in a Celtic sauna and some chilling out in the Orangery Room, not to mention a dip in an outdoor hot tub makes this a Spa Experience I feel you can't top in Northern Ireland! This is a really special part of Galgorm - one I had heard about but now really appreciate. Here's a wee collage of my time - Apologies for the Hot Tub hair...
Next up we briefly hit the Gin Library - boasting close to 400 Gins and just off the conservatory there was no better place to end our night - Gins (yes multiple) in hand, live music in the background and very, very accommodating staff with excellent Gin Knowledge allowed us to peacefully and quite quickly get merry - I got a little more merry than Lauren - cheap date! We retired about 11:50pm, full to the brim, totally relaxed and a little worse for wear I climbed into my KingSize bed and awoke at 9:30am just in time for a trip to the River Room Restaurant for a scrumptious Galgorm Breakfast - fresh fruit, granola, hot breakfast, pastries and others all served in a room full of Grandeur was a splendid way to end our overnight stay!
All in all a majestic night - great food, friendly staff, super Gin (try a 6 O'Clock Gin) a wonderful spa and I suppose some tasty company made this a place I am already looking forward to returning to! In a word Superb from start to finish - I'd advise checking out their website for some fantastic offers - Here's a few more photos to get you excited.
Thanks once again to Juliet at ScarletPR for contacting me and giving me the chance to enjoy a fantastic day and night!
Conor
