Saddle up for a slice of heaven at Goffs in Kildare

If our kids ever ask – the new Club Hotel at Goffs in Kildare is adults only. Ok? Because last week we dumped them with their grandparents for less than 24 hours and made the very-doable 30-minute trek to the newly-renovated hotel to see what all the hype is about.

The venue is synonymous with horses, and particularly horse sales, so when the team behind some of the most exclusive hotels in the country got involved with a much-needed and ambitious renovation – you knew they would be embracing the equine heritage of the famous site.

There isn’t a single piece of art dotted throughout the 4-star spot that doesn’t tip the cap to its former iteration.

Restricted to its original surrounds means that this hotel does not exactly look like a hotel. Not from the outside anyway.

But once you have parked up (we had to use the overflow carpark due to the its popularity) and walk inside you are in no doubt this new venture knows what it is doing.

It was a Saturday evening by the time we got there and the place was buzzing. There were girly nights out being celebrated, large family milestone birthdays and lots of couples like us trying to get away from the humdrum of normality.

There is a stunning circular bar to navigate before you get to the restaurant. A bar that almost charms you into perching yourself on one of the stools to sample the cocktails. If we had not been so late arriving we would have adored taking a starter drink there before grabbing our table.

Despite the Brasserie being full service was quick and comfortable and our every query and question was answered perfectly. No tweak or quirk to the menu was ridiculed or ignored.

Steaks were cooked to perfection and every morsel of our three-course dinner was devoured. Two starters, the Duck Liver Parfait and the Chilli Garlic Prawns, were followed by two Sirloins Steaks cooked to our pedantic needs.

A warm apple tart tatin and a pistachio semi freddo completed the food as we (almost) licked the plates clean while quaffing a gorgeous bottle of Tempranillo.

There was no rush at any stage about moving from the table and that suited us perfectly as we solved the worlds problems and people watched the night away while live music came on in the corner.

If we had any minor gripes at all it was that both starters could have done with another slice of bread and being charged €3.50 for more sauce on our steaks was unnecessary considering how little we received in the first place. But don’t let that take away from the overall enjoyment of the meal.

The bedrooms at the Club Hotel flank just one side of the long corridor meaning each and every (high-end and ultra-modern) bedroom opens up out onto the surrounding hinterland. Where horses roam free and where you can sit out on the balcony in private and further detach yourself from everyday stresses.

That ‘detachment’ was extended to all-new crazy levels the next morning when we reluctantly set our alarms for just before 9am to ensure we weren’t late for our booking in the resort’s…eh…mane event…their all-new spa deck.

As part of our package we had an hour to spend between one of the outdoor hot tubs and the sauna. A glass of Nosecco was offered too as we sat there comparing how different our Sunday mornings normally are compared to this slice of heaven.

All that was left to do was tuck into the breakfast which was serving up until 11am. No buffet here folks. This is another level a la carte brekkie that was cooked on order and was the perfect finish to a rejuvenating 18 hours in the Club.

You absolutely need to look beyond the fact that this does not look like a ‘normal’ hotel. Once you step inside you are greeted by 4-star opulence packaged beautifully from one of the building to the other.

The buzz on the Saturday night would suggest that locals have been enjoying this treat for a lot longer than us Dubs but I am here to change that. It’s about time others take the reins and saddled up to this hidden gem on junction 8 of the N7. I know we will be back.