It had been almost a year since I had seen my friend Rebecca.
Apart from a doorstop hello for two minutes, we had not been together since last June. So, when lockdown 3.0 was announced we began saving for when we could have a night away together.
Little did we know we would be locked down for so long. In the end, it served us well as we had saved a good bit – luxury was within reach.
The Intercontinental Dublin
We have always loved the Intercontinental Hotel. We’ve celebrated my brother’s wedding there. We’ve had milestone birthdays, communions and even Christmas Eve at this hotel – so, there was little conversation on where we were going.
So, on June 2 – on the reopening of hotels across the country – I grabbed my overnight bag, kissed the kids and my partner goodbye and with butterflies in my tummy I skipped off to the hotel to see my friend.
As I approached the hotel the familiar feeling came back to me. I was excited to see what flowers would be out in the lobby, one of our favourite spots to take family photos over the years. But, initially I wanted to see how everything would look and what new measures would be in place in the new world.
Naturally, everything was as it should be, with social distancing in place, screens and sanitiser in all the right places. There was no area of concern and I immediately felt comfortable.
As I checked in, I managed to see the top of my friend’s head and I could see that she was talking to Nicky Logue, the hotel’s popular General Manager – read here – Joan Scales interview with Nicky in her ‘Ask the Manager’ interview a few weeks ago.
Nicky is an incredible asset to the hotel and always makes time to talk to all his guests. It was lovely to see him again.
We had booked time in the spa, so time for a catch up was limited to an elbow shake and a quick hello. This was a much-needed treatment on my part, which was absolutely divine. A gorgeous lady called Suzanne gave me a mixture of reflexology, a head and back massage and I left the treatment room floating on air.
Afterwards, it was time for my friend and I to catch up on all things us. So, it was back to the hotel room for chats. We had booked a family room and it was so spacious and just perfect.
We hadn’t seen each other since I had taken over The Irish Travel Trade Network and my friend had also set off on a journey of launching her own podcast called everywherewego (for those of you who haven’t listened in, I’d highly recommend a follow, it is about normal people who have overcome extraordinary situations). We had lots to talk about.
After we had caught up, it was time to get glammed up and head down for dinner. The evening was balmy and we both decided it would be lovely to enjoy the garden. They are going through further enhancement in the coming weeks. Make sure to book your lunch or dinner quickly as this will become a summer hotspot.
Dining at Intercontinental
For dinner, we immediately agreed on the seafood platter with salad and we were not disappointed – it even came with lobster. Delicious. The joy of eating food served to us while sipping on a cold glass of rose was amazing. This was pure luxury.
Our bedroom had two large double beds and on return to our room we ran and dived in for a full night’s sleep. We left the curtains open on the French balcony and woke up to the joy of the sun rising over the Dublin skyline.
Breakfast was booked for 9.45am and after the morning catch-up – basically, marvelling on the luxuriousness of the beds – we arrived down to the breakfast room and were seated immediately.
Breakfast is currently run on a menu order service; buffet is currently unavailable. That suited me just fine.
Yogurt, pancakes and eggs benedict with hot coffee was on the menu for us.
What a way to end the perfect catch-up and we left hopeful that this past year would be the last time we would be apart for so long.
A perfect hotel for a perfect reunion.
Check out a special offer for the Intercontinental here.