#NInjaVerdict – Galgorm … is it worth the hype?!

The Galgorm Resort & Spa always receives different reactions when you even mention the name – “incredible“, “so relaxing“, “total bliss“, “overpriced” etc – so we sent COOL FM Presenter Curtis McCosh off to find out if it was actually worth all the hype and worth the cost outlay …..

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You often hear the Galgorm Resort and Spa in Ballymena talked about as the best spa on the island of Ireland, and before you decide to book your stay there, you might be wondering “Is it ACTUALLY worth the hype?” The answer probably depends on a number of different factors, but I’ll give you my opinion based on our recent stay!

We were booked to stay for 1 night in a one bedroom cottage with access to the Thermal Village. Check in was at 3pm, but you can actually check in to the spa at midday. They’ll give you your robes and flip-flops, and when your room is ready, your bags will be brought there for you,  and you can collect the room key from the spa reception. We were a little late in getting there, and when we went to check in at 2:30pm, our cottage was ready, so we went straight there to check it out. We’ve previously stayed in the Galgorm hotel rooms, so I was excited to see what the cottages had to offer.

The cottages are set away from the main hotel with its own check-in area, and when you arrive, it looks like a cozy modern new-build housing development. The interior of the cottage had everything you could need for a self-catering trip. The living room was comfortable and spacious with a nice dining area, the kitchen has everything you need if you plan on cooking your own meals while you’re there, and my favourite part…a Nespresso machine with some complimentary pods! The bathroom was spacious with a good sized rainfall shower with Galgorm branded toiletries. The bedroom had a comfortable king-sized bed and a plush carpet which really made it feel like a home from home. As an added bonus, if you stay in the cottages, everything in the minibar is free! The minibar was stocked with the usual soft drinks, pint of fresh milk (which is a nice touch) some wine and a local craft beer.

Once we got settled into the cottage we got changed into our robes and made our way to the Thermal Village. You are granted access to the Thermal Village when you stay overnight at the Galgorm, but you can also visit if you’re not a resident with plenty of packages available on their website.
The gate to the thermal village was about a 30 second walk away from the front door of the cottage, and as soon as you walk in you instantly feel more relaxed. The Thermal Village is set outside in a huge garden area against the backdrop of the River Maine. As we were there on a Sunday afternoon, the spa was quite busy, but not so busy that it wasn’t relaxing.
We spent a bit of time walking around the Thermal Village, as there is a lot to explore. Everywhere you look there were jacuzzis dotted around, as well as saunas and steam rooms. We eventually spotted a couple of free water-beds in the swimming pool area and decided that’s where we would start relaxing. The swimming pool area offers a decent sized pool if you want to swim some lengths, a sauna, a snow room, waterbeds and some heated seats, which creates a nice little cycle if you’re not one for staying in one place for too long. We spent about an hour here, before heading to the other side of the Thermal Village to grab a drink before we were due to embark on our private hot-tub experience which I had previously booked before arrival. We found some sun-loungers outside the Palm House, which given it was a relatively nice day felt more like we were visiting a tropical resort on the other side of the world, and not sitting a few miles away from Ballymena. It wasn’t long before a waiter arrived to take our order. We placed an order of a cocktail (Pineapple & Coconut Spritz – £16.30) and a bottle of beer (Asahi – £8.80) and spent the next 30 minutes or so enjoying the rare bit of sunshine we’ve had this summer.

After this, we made our way to the spa reception waiting area, and were guided to our private hot tub experience. This added extra cost £80, you get the hot tub for an hour and in my opinion it was totally worth it. The hot tubs are set on the very edge of the river looking out over amazing scenery, and out of view of the rest of the Thermal Village. The price includes two glasses of prosecco, and there are QR codes available with a drinks menu to order drinks from the bar which will be brought to you by a waiter. The private hot tub experience is the perfect way to fully relax and unwind away from the main spa which makes the whole experience that little bit more extra special. When our hour in the private hot tub was up, we headed back into the thermal village for a little bit before going back to the cottage to get ready for dinner.

The resort has three restaurants to choose from, Gillies, Fratelli and The River Room. We opted for Fratelli as it specialises in Italian food, and we’re big pizza fans. The food at Fratelli was amazing, the portion sizes were very generous and in my opinion well worth what you pay for it. I was delighted to see that Tiramisu was on the dessert menu as I’m on a bit of a personal mission to find the best Tiramisu ever, and as it stands, Fratelli’s is at the top of the league. Service at the restaurant was fast and friendly and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Overall, with a tip included, our meal came to roughly £80, which isn’t unlike what you could expect to pay for a meal for 2 in a restaurant in Belfast City Centre.
After dinner, it was back to the cottage to catch up on the days Olympics action that we had missed. The TV in the cottage was a smart tv which we were able to cast our devices to. This is something I think is lacking in a lot of hotels, so it was a really nice touch. After that it was off to bed with a view to getting up early-ish the next morning to get breakfast and enjoy the spa a bit more.

It turned out the bed was a bit too comfy, and we ended up having bit of a lie in. By the time we had got ready to go it was about 10am, and check out was at midday – we headed to Gillie’s for the residents breakfast which was included in the price of the room. The breakfast is impressive with the usual Irish hot food choices, as well as waffles, pancakes and a continental offering too.  We managed to get through breakfast relatively quickly so we could spend a bit more time in the spa before checking out. If you’re staying in the cottages, we discovered a little bit of a sweet spot in the mornings in the spa. With residents in the hotel rooms mostly checking out at 11am, between 10:30ish and midday the Thermal Village seems to be a lot less busy, meaning we got the opportunity to try out lots of the things we didn’t get the chance to the previous day. We stayed in the Thermal Village until roughly 15 minutes before checkout to get the most out of it, then raced back to the room to grab our bags, check out and head back down the road to normality.

SO …. is the Galgorm actually worth the hype? In my opinion, yes! I can’t honestly say I’ve been to many spa’s, but I can’t imagine there are as many as impressive as what the Galgorm has to offer. The Thermal Village has lots of different areas to explore, and you could easily spend your whole stay there watching the hours pass by. The resort covers all bases, whether you’re after a romantic getaway, a relaxing family break or a foodie chasing some amazing culinary experiences. Having been a resident in both the hotel rooms and cottage, I would have to say I much preferred the cottage. It felt more like staying in a nice AirBnB, which overall felt more homely, making the stay that bit more relaxing.

Certainly, there is MUCH better value in Sunday – Thursday night stays (we stayed Sunday) – and Saturday / Sunday nights can be very pricey at times. But if I were to book again, I’d plan to stay for two nights to try and get the most out of the experience, as there really is so much to do. Lot’s of people will tell you that for the same price you could go on a nice European city break, which is true, but they’re two very different types of holidays, and I guarantee you won’t be getting off a low-cost airline flight anywhere as close to as relaxed you’ll be when you leave the Galgorm.