Hot Tub Heaven & A Weekend Away At Kilkenny’s Newpark Hotel

Kilkenny is a gorgeous city. It’s one of my favourites to visit, with its medieval streets, historical vibe, and so many delicious cafes and restaurants.

It’s also home to the award-winning Newpark Hotel, a resort on the very edge of the city that really has something for everyone, whether you’re a couple on a romantic night away, or a family of five away for the weekend.

Newpark Hotel is incredibly family orientated. Between their aptly-named Jurassic Newpark, their family-friendly rooms, and their enchanted fairy trail, there’s something to keep the kids entertained all the live long day.

But there remains the opportunity for an adult escape. If you are child-free, after a girlie getaway, or simply want to leave the kids at home for the weekend, there’s plenty to be doing.

Myself and my partner checked into Newpark on a Friday afternoon for a two-night stay in one of their Hot Tub Suites  — a beautiful room with a four poster bed overlooking the landscape and infinity pool below.

But we had our own water-based hub in our own room, a huge hot tub that was bubbling and ready for us to slink into with a glass of prosecco in hand and not a care in the world.

Our room was on an adults-only floor, leaving us far from the excitement of the rest of the hotel and that suited us just fine. Philip greeted us there before we got settled and couldn’t have been more helpful in telling us about the hotel and all its offerings.

The next morning we had breakfast on the terrace, a quiet spot away from the breakfast buffet where we indulged in a stacked feed of fruits, breads, and pastries, before ordering a hot meal off menu.

The food was delicious and the vegetarian options were very impressive — but more on that later.

After breakfast we got ready for our spa treatments: a back massage for me and a facial for my partner. I had been to The Escape Spa before a few years back, and had fond memories of the relaxation room, the general vibe, and of course, the treatments.

The Escape Spa uses products from Aveda and Dermalogica in their treatments, making the entire experience that little more special. My massage was so needed after a night on the prosecco and left my muscles relaxed and my mind at ease.

We spent as much time in the relaxation room as we could, not wanting to return to real life, content in our little spa bubble. Alas, eventually it was time to return to our room to get ready for dinner in Scott’s Bar and Brasserie.

It was a Saturday night, so the bar was super busy — primarily filled with families and young kids, a few other couples dotted around. Our server was so lovely and informed us that there was an additional vegetarian menu we could choose from, meaning we had around four options for our starters and mains.

This may seem like a small thing, but when you don’t eat meat and are used to ordering the sad risotto or bean burger from a lot of restaurants, it was really appreciated.

I went for a baked camembert to start with a veggie pasta for my main, and my partner had a bruschetta and a vegan steak.

We dined with a bottle of albariño and took our desserts (apple crumble and a cappuccino mousse that was maybe the best part of the meal) and cocktails back up to the room, eager to squeeze one last dip in the hot tub in before our stay was over.

And then it was. We had one last terrace breakfast with our tower of pastries and off we went back to Dublin, a visit to Jurassic Newpark pending.

The writer was offered a stay in this hotel in exchange for an honest review.