24 Hours In CABÜ: A Restorative Recharge That’s Really Very Special

There’s something about returning to nature.

The sounds, the quiet. The stillness, the activity. The ability to take time for yourself, or spend it with those closest to you.

Too many of us are guilty of not taking enough time to slow down. I know I am. Generally, my idea of a reset is pulling down the blinds and ordering a takeaway. Maybe putting my phone on charge across the room, if I’m brave enough.

Rarely do I make the time to remove myself from the hustle and bustle to truly slow down. To retreat to the woodland with a book, to get some work done while watching water ripple in the near distance.

This month, however, I did – over in the calmness of Cavan’s Killykeen Forest where CABÜ By The Lakes is nestled among the trees and next to the water. Where rustic log cabins are hidden amongst the woodland and stillness is a given. Where isolation feels, for once, like exactly what you need.

I was invited down to CABÜ to experience what a slow stay is all about, and to check out their newly built cabins and barnhouses (more on those later). The first thing that struck me arriving to my little cabin in the woods was the attention to detail.

From the full length windows allowing you to look out upon nature no matter where you are inside, to the kitchen stocked full of beautiful Irish made crockery, to the bath inside the bedroom (yes, I know), there were no shortage of things to discover in my little wooden haven.

I checked in and did a little bit of work looking out at the lake before heading to the Cabin Club to meet the rest of the group, as well as CABÜ owners JP and Olivia.

There they told us their reason for choosing Cavan (it’s the lake district of Ireland, apparently), the inspiration behind the cabin design (classic, yet contemporary), and the types of people who have visited the site time and time again (families, artists, writers, couples, and of course, dogs).

CABÜ By The Lakes has been open since 2020, and if you’ve been anywhere near TikTok since then you’ve probably seen much of its homely, tranquil setting. But CABÜ is just as picture perfect as it appears online – if not, more so.

@stellarmagazine Team STELLAR got a sneak peak of CABÜ’s new barnhouse & woodside cabins, due to open in March – how stunning are these? 💫 #cavan #cabucabins #invite ♬ Shining Like The Sun – SpaDay365

Everywhere you look there’s something new to see, a piece of forest largely untouched, a corner of the landscape that couldn’t be more idyllic. Even on the greyest of days (and we’re all too familiar with those), every scene is a painting – one dominated by deep greens, lush woods, and fairy lights in the distance.

The cabins are stocked with just about everything you could need for a couple of days away in the wilderness. The Nature Spa gave me one of the best massages I’ve ever had, and the Sitooterie (sit-out-erie) was the perfect way to unwind by the fire after an evening of socialising.

There’s no restaurant on-site (there’s a shop in case you need to purchase some last minute groceries – or a hand woven rug), but there is a bar and an extensive cocktail menu. You can even order drinks directly to the hot tub, if that’s something you’re into.

For the considerably more adventurous than me, there’s paddle boards, boats, and kayaks to rent so you can explore Cavan’s hundreds of interconnecting lakes, or bicycles and forest trails so you can delve deeper into nature. You can even go fishing, if you so please.

The staff on-site are also second to none. From check-in to check-out they were more than helpful in getting me set up in my cabin and pointing me in the right direction of the spa, offering a friendly smile and a wave all through the day.

If you’re in the market for something a little more mod, CABÜ By The Lakes are opening a new collection of barnhouses and woodland cabins in the forest this spring.

Boasting signature architecture, natural materials and gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows so you can connect with nature from the comfort of your cabin, these new builds have the slow-living ethos at heart – and some of them even have a hot tub.

The most impressive piece of CABÜ’s expansion has to be the three-bedroom barnhouses. Sleeping up to six people, these builds include a superking master bedroom gazing out onto the forest, a private terrace, and of course, a hot tub – so you can recharge amidst the bubbles and look up at the stars.

When I checked out of my cabin the next morning, I felt like I had been in the Killykeen Forest for a whole lot longer than one night. Travelling back to Dublin there was a looseness to me, a relaxation that I felt in my bones.

And I already couldn’t wait to return.

You can find out more about CABÜ By The Lakes, and book yourself a stay, here.