Glamorous Galgorm
- Feb 10, 2017
- 4 min read
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.
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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!
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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.
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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
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