If ever a trip seemed custom made for me — and probably you — it’s the one I’m on right now.
Led by acclaimed interior designer (and just plain wonderful person) Grania Murray, The Retreat Ireland is an amazing week-long luxury tour of Ireland that’s all about shopping, eating and spa-ing. Best of all, Grania takes you into the studios of some of the country’s best clothing and home designers and gives you experiences you’d never be able to have on your own.
On this debut press trip, Grania is hosting five writers, and after just the first day, we’re all ready to sign up for the official launch — which, by the way, is in November if you’re interested. And, trust me, you will be.
The East Coast girls arrived early Sunday morning, and Lisa Johnson Mandell and I — who took Ethiopian Air’s great new direct flight from LAX to Dublin — got in Sunday evening. This was perfect because we were able to just order room service and go to sleep so we could start fresh (ha!) on Monday morning.
Powerscourt, the five star hotel in which we’re staying, is absolutely gorgeous. The photo at the top is the view from my patio, and my room is huge and so comfortable. Besides its old world charm and sophistication, it has two modern conveniences that bring it to a whole new level.
One: You may have heard about my fiasco with my flat iron last time we visited Ireland. I plugged it in to the adapter and promptly blew it out. Hence, this hairdo.
Now, though, thanks to this baby, which waits for us Americans in every room, I can straighten my hair! And, I guess more importantly, I can plug in my laptop without worrying about frying it.
Two: In another spurt of genius, the drawers on both sides of the bed open to reveal these iPad-like masterpieces. With just a touch, you can turn the lights off or on, adjust the temperature of the room and flash the “do not disturb” sign outside the door. I want this at home! (Note: You can see what time I took this picture, thanks to the jet lag.)
Anyway, we all met for breakfast — a huge, delicious buffet — in the morning, and then got on our own private shuttle for a tour of Avoca, the oldest working woolen mill in Ireland and one of the oldest manufacturing companies in the world. This was going to be dangerous for me because I have a major blanket obsession and I had already had to convince Michael we should buy one last time we were here.
As soon as we walked through the doors, I knew I was in trouble.
I loved everything about the place: the colors, the textures, the craftiness and, of course, the blankets. There were mohair ones, cashmere ones, lambswool and angora ones.
The only thing that saved me from cleaning the place out was Grania’s advice to wait until we got to one of the bigger Avoca stores, where there would be a bigger selection. She compared the stores to Anthropologie, which, as you know, is another addiction of mine, and which is obvious in the decor of the mill itself.
I love these chairs!
After learning all about the weaving process — which was fascinating and proves you never realize how much work goes into something — we drove back to Powerscourt.
Along the way, I picked out our new house.
And we saw the bridge that plays a pivotal role in P.S. I Love You.
And our driver pulled to the side of the road (not an easy feat on these narrow, winding roads) so we could get a look at the estate owned by one of the Guinnesses (yes, those Guinnesses), who brought in white sand to make the lake look darker and more like his family’s famous beverage. There’s even “foam” on the shoreline. It’s awesome.
Plus, we saw cows and sheep and miles and miles of the beautiful landscape that makes Ireland one of my favorite places in the world.
We stopped at the Powerscourt Waterfall, the highest in Ireland, for a quick picture and then drove back to the grounds, where we grabbed lunch at the Avoca (yes, they sell food, too, because they’re so amazing) that just happens to be on the premises.
We sat outside, where we could enjoy a view of the magnificent garden — named number three in the world by National Geographic. It’s absolutely stunning, and I was immediately transported back more than a decade to when we had visited our good friends and taken all the kids to lunch here.
Although I would have loved to spend a leisurely afternoon enjoying the garden again, my massage awaited back at the hotel spa and you know I wasn’t going to miss that.
The spa at Powerscourt is beautiful and I gravitated right toward the Serenity Room, which is so lovely and aptly-named. I was planning to sit and read but I was mesmerized by the view and spent the time sipping tea and feeling grateful for just being there. This was a feeling I would end up experiencing every single day of this trip.
After an aromatherapy massage that left me unknotted and in a state of bliss, I took a quick shower and got ready for dinner at Sika, Powerscourt’s gorgeous restaurant. Everything we ate was so fresh and so beautifully presented, I will just let the photos tell the story.
OMG! Aren’t you drooling already?
Because we definitely needed to get up and walk a little before dessert came, we got a tour of the kitchen, which was so much fun to see. Yes, those are our desserts they’re putting together.
Now, I am all about any restaurant that has a hidden stash of cookies because as you saw in our Viking River Cruise video, that’s what Michael does on every cruise. So I just smiled when I saw this.
We took a group shot at the Chef’s Table, where, hopefully, future guests of The Retreat will be able to enjoy their meal. What a treat to be able to get an up close and personal look at the kitchen drama we all love watching on those reality food shows. I adored every one of these women after just one day together!
Happy and full, we ended our day after midnight and went to sleep dreaming about tomorrow and the rest of the week on The Retreat Ireland!
Oh wow what an amazing looking time away, stunning pictures, delicious food and fantastic shops I love that patchwork quilt. x
That quilt is so soft and so cozy, I could have bought a dozen!
Where oh where do I begin, Lois? It all looks so amazing, sumptuous and simply Utopian. What an incredible trip you went on. I can’t wait to read what else you have to say about it. What a wonderful place to visit. So lush, so gorgeous.
PS I want that touch screen for my house!
It was all awesome! I wish you had been with me, Cathy!
Shut up and take my money! This looks like an amazing adventure! Can’t wait to read more.
OMG you just made me laugh so hard! You would absolutely LOVE this trip!
I loved everything about Ireland and especially Avoca. Oh, did I say I love that hairstyle? I do!
Thank you! That’s the windblown, no straightener look. Isn’t Avoca the best?!
So beautiful, so amazing…I am so happy you were able to take this trip and let us practically ride along in your luggage. I love blankets also so I would have been such an enabler!
It wouldn’t have taken much for me to buy more blankets! I’ll show you the one I ended up with in another post!
Sounds like a great trip. Ireland is one place I’d like to re-visit. Hiked there in ’98…lovely.
Incidentally, I hope I’m in the right place because I sure do know the song, but I’m more familiar with Ella’s version. Thanks for the memories…
Thanks for commenting! Isn’t Ireland so beautiful? You’re definitely in the right place – and I hope you’ll come back often – although I don’t know the Ella version, and would love to hear it!
Sounds like a wonderful trip. So happy to hear you had fun!
What beautiful country that is. I’ve heard only good things about Ireland.
Ireland is on my “bucket list” for must visit places.
Our family comes from Ireland and Scotland so It’s been a dream of mine to go and see exactly where we come from. I don’t want to say I am jealous but I would love to be in your footsteps!!
Enjoy your week 🙂
What a beautiful place to stay! What an amazing up close visit to see how the blankets are made too! What wonderful experiences!
If only I had the income to be able to afford a vacation this would be the place.
I wish I can visit Ireland someday. Aside from their beautiful castles they always have towns like this, untouched by time.
What a beautiful place! So idyllic! I wish I could visit Ireland someday. I just can’t get over scrolling back and forth looking at your photos!
What a beautiful trip! I truly love the photos and that you kind of took us along with you! Definitely looks beautiful, relaxing and such a wonderful adventure!
This looks like an fantastic time indeed and such gorgeous pictures. I would love to visit there some day. The hotel looks gorgeous along with the landscaping. This is on my list of places I would love to see. Thanks for sharing.
Considering we’re only an hour’s flight from Ireland I need to add it to my list of places to visit!
Beautiful country – what a fantastic trip. I woudl love to visit Ireland one day.
yep I’m officially jealous. But seriously what a wonderful trip. So much learning and beauty all in one place.
I don’t blame you for loving it. I’d love to visit there too. Everyone loves a nice retreat from time to time. 🙂
Wow, this looks like the dream trip of a lifetime! I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland to see the old castles and churches.
what a beautiful countryside My husband and I hope to make it there as he has family in Ireland
Wow this looks amazing. I would absolutely be blown away to do something like this. Looks like a fantastic trip.
what delicious food! The chefs table sounds wonderful.
Wow! You are so lucky! Ireland is on my bucket list and I hope I can visit it soon. The hotel looks amazing, I’d love that iPad thingy for my home too!
I think it a lot on Facebook too – but I’d love to travel like you!
I’m seriously more relaxed just looking at photos of that garden and thinking about the aromatherapy massage.
Oh Looks like a great adventure so far. What spectacular surroundings.
That landscape is just incredible. I just can’t believe how good all of the food looks. Lucky!
This is such a beautiful trip .. the food , the landscape , the culture. It’s always good to travel and get a taste of something new.
What an amazing experience for you. The photos of the scenery are breath taking. THank you for sharing and yes, that food makes my mouth water! lol
I have never been to Ireland. I enjoyed seeing the place, the artistry and even the food through your eyes and photos.
Those linens and chairs and gorgeous and what beautiful scenery! What a fabulous trip!
I have never been to Ireland, but it was a beautiful place, i think you had a wonderful trip
What a great opportunity. I love the blankets and the food, you just captured every dish!!!!
What a beautiful trip. I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland, now I do even more.
That might be the best 12 hours I’ve ever read about. What more could a person want? I guess 5 more days of it. Look forward to reading more!
Sounds like an amazing trip and a side of Ireland I haven’t seen before.
Love living vicariously through your adventures…and what an adventure this one is!!
This is incredible! What a time and place and treat and WOW!
I must admit, though, one big wow I had about reading this was: WHAT? You straighten your hair??? I want to see it curly! My middle daughter has FABULOUS curls and she straightens them! I love curls. I want to see you with curls. 😀
We stayed at a hotel in Singapore where you could control everything in the room from one of those bedside consoles. It’s a good thing my mother wasn’t there to tell me to stop playing with the window shades which I delighted in raising and lowering from bed—just because I could. Everything else you photographed looked pretty cool too. The last time I was in the beautiful Irish countryside, my husband was driving on the “wrong” side, so unfortunately, I was distracted and I didn’t get to enjoy the lush green countryside you captured.
I LOVE those chairs! OMG want! I love how you picked out your house, cracked me up! I actually love the wavy curls in your former Ireland pic.
Beautiful! I’m a sucker for Irish woollies of all sort…only promise of a fab dinner would have gotten me out of that shop (as it did you), then out to explore more of the Irish countryside.
Looks like such a fabulous trip, Lois! Officially on my radar now!
Gorgeous views, scrumtious food and spa time? I’m sold!
On my recent visit I happened to see Powerscourt for the amount of time it took to drop some people off from my own tour of the area. I’m pleased to have this chance to see what is actually there. I took this video while waiting in the rain, https://youtu.be/EqqqrdjohrM I also LOVED Avoca and probably went to the same branch you did.
This sounds like an amazing time – and yes, totally custom made for me. I looooove Ireland, and can’t wait to go back, this retreat sounds like the perfect “excuse”! I’d love to see that bridge, btw.
Shop, eat, use the spa! What could be better?
Everything about the Powerscourt looks amazing. I didn’t quite understand—was there also a curling iron in your room?
No, there was a heavy duty adapter/converter that I could plug my straightener into without worrying about it blowing out. The straightener is crucial, especially in Ireland, as you can tell from the picture of me with that wild, windblown hair! That was au naturel — no curling iron necessary for that look!
those chairs are so pretty! haha i do that too when i’m visiting new places.. pick out our house and make sure jacob knows it! lol
OMG, this hotel us to die for. How plush and gorgeous. And the blankets are so pretty. The shopping on this trip is amazing!
I just loved following all the updates of this amazing retreat! My passport arrived yesterday and I’m really looking forward to my upcoming trip to the west of Ireland for my cousin’s wedding!
I love Ireland, as I am sure I’ve told you in a previous comment.
The food is great and shopping was a lot of fun. I brought home some Guinness glasses, a classic wool sweater and of course some delicious cheese.
i hope to go back next year!