On right track to the lap of luxury
IT can’t be easy this hotel business. If you think of it in terms of welcoming strangers into your home for a short visit, it quickly becomes clear that it is a very delicate balancing act. You want them to see your home at its best, naturally, and you want them to feel comfortable for the duration of their stay. You want to make sure that they have everything they require, but you don’t want to be in their faces all the time, constantly checking that everything is as it should be.
So it is refreshing to find somewhere that has managed to get the balance just right. And when you dig a little deeper, there is a common thread that seems to bind all the different elements that go to make a visit to Glenlo Abbey such an enjoyable experience. That link is passion.
You can feel it from the moment you climb the imposing steps and the unmistakable aroma of a turf fire hits your nostrils for the first time. You see it again in the greeting from general manager Rory O’Sullivan and his team. It is there in the food service, in the bars, the restaurants, the golf facilities — everywhere, in fact, the passion of the staff for the work that they do shines through.
And that’s what makes the difference.
Any good highlights reel should start with the best, for fear of losing the attention of the audience and in that spirit, I’ll jump to the main event, or what in this case might more appropriately be called the main course.
You will often see and hear the expression ‘unique dining experience’ bandied about in reference to dining experiences which are closer to cliched than unique, but in the case of Glenlo Abbey this is no idle boast.
In the grounds of the hotel are two railway carriages from the Orient Express which together form the Pullman Restaurant. The two dining carriages are of different vintages — Linda, dating from 1954 and Leona, where we had the privilege to dine, going all the way back to 1927.
As well as featuring in the silver screen classic Murder on the Orient Express, Leona also formed part of the funeral cortege of Winston Churchill in 1965 — her final journey. But even if you hadn’t been told all this, just sitting in the carriage you can sense the history and feel the luxury of a bygone era.
The food, of course, is excellent and served with the care and attention you’d expect from people who are proud of what they do and the surroundings in which they do it.
When we arrived on the previous day, unsure of how we were going to spend our first few hours, there was no hint of discomfort. It was immediately suggested that we might like to try the falconry experience, so we headed for the walled garden while our bags were whisked away to our room.
Jurgen guided us through the impressive collection of birds of prey they have at Glenlo, patiently explaining their characteristics — how they see, hear and hunt — over the course of a fascinating and memorable hour.
At least I think it was an hour. Time also flies, so it could well have been longer in the company of these magnificent creatures. Optimus, the barn owl, will look immediately familiar for his similarity to the one featured in the opening titles of The Late Late Show and will happily perch on your glove exuding an air of tranquillity.
Wolf, a European eagle owl, is a slightly different kettle of fish. This guy is huge and not only does his weight impress on you that you are in the company of a serious predator, the way he looks at you with a mixture of disdain and intimidation leaves you in no doubt that he is not to be trifled with.
Having taken a short taxi ride to sample the sights and sounds of Galway City on Friday night, we enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast the following morning. Call me old-fashioned, but there is something about drinking tea made with leaves, not bags, poured through a silver strainer out of quality chinaware that lends an air of luxury to the most important meal of the day.
We had one anxious eye on the sky, however, as the brooding clouds suggested that our planned round of golf on the hotel’s course might be under threat.
With almost limitless optimism, we strolled to the clubhouse to meet the professional, Gary Madden, who had kindly offered to spend some time polishing the extremely rough diamonds of our golf game. In the course of a relaxing chat in his very well equipped teaching bay, Gary coaxed from us the one aspect of our game each of us would like to improve. And then, having watched us hit a few balls he precisely pinpointed what we were doing, why it wasn’t quite working and what we should try to improve it. In a very short period of time, Gary had given us the technique and, more importantly, the confidence to try the shots that had been causing us such anguish.
Golf professionals aren’t equipped with magic wands and their advice will only reap benefits if the pupil is prepared to work on what they have been shown, but at least we came away knowing what we were supposed to be doing and subsequent practice has proved very fruitful.
Gary then took the time to show us a very valuable and practical drill to use when you only have five minutes on the practice green before your tee time because, as every casual golfer knows, life’s too short to spend it on the putting green.
Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate and we only managed one spin around the nine-hole course. Even that was a struggle as we were almost constantly assaulted by wind and rain. Our walk that morning had taken us down beside the first fairway to the furthest reaches of the course, so we were already aware of the variety of holes and the challenge they present.
When it came time to leave the sumptuous surroundings of Glenlo Abbey we did so with mixed feelings. Of course we were sorry to say goodbye, but we were delighted we had the opportunity to experience such luxurious surroundings in such good company. And there’s always the next time.