Serene surroundings adorned with elegant decor, soothing sounds of water, and the gentle aroma of essential oils – that can only be a luxury spa.  But how do you make the most of your visit? And what treatments do you try? To find out the spa secrets to make the most of your visit, we spoke to Joanna Moran, Director of Spa and Wellness at Ashford Castle.

Luxury Gold guests visit this sensational 5 star hotel on our Castles & Kingdoms, and Ultimate Ireland small group journeys. Not only home to one of Ireland’s most prestigious spas, the  castle features elegant rooms, fine dining, and a range of activities including falconry and golf.

Discover this on: Castles & Kingdoms and Ultimate Ireland

The Secret to a Great Luxury Spa

Joanna Moran, Director of Spa and Wellness at Ashford Castle has worked in the industry for over 20 years.

“A great luxury spa is a place where you can truly relax and rejuvenate, it’s a sanctuary, ”Joanna explains when asked her spa secrets. “It is somewhere you can immerse yourself in a transformative journey of well-being, whilst being nurtured and nourished by beautiful surroundings and high-quality treatments.”

“At the heart of a great luxury spa lies exceptional service, with highly trained staff ensuring a unique and tailored experience for every guest. Having a dining menu available that complements the spa’s wellness philosophy is also a great way for guests to finish of a day of pampering.”

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Four Hands are Better Than Two

“The most incredible spa treatment I ever had was in Ananda in The Himalayas where I experienced their exclusive Four-Handed Abhyanga Massage,” she tells us.

“This ancient Ayurvedic massage involves two therapists working in perfect harmony, using synchronized movements. The result is a deeply relaxing and profoundly rejuvenating experience. Even with all my experience in the wellness industry I was impressed, this is definitely a spa secret worth sharing!

“The massage comes with significant mental and emotional benefits too. The synchronized, rhythmic movements help to release accumulated stress and tension, giving a feeling of inner peace and rejuvenation.”

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Try The Big Freeze

Whilst the main aim of a spa is of course relaxation, that doesn’t mean that you can’t step a little out of your comfort zone and try something new. The jacuzzi, sauna and steam room offer a familiar comfort, but there’s much more on the menu these days.

“I highly recommend ice baths, I’ve tried them and they’re transformational,” says Joanna, “with so many benefits, both physical and mental, they are the best spa secret if you’ve not yet tried one. The cold temperature can help reduce inflammation and muscle soreness. They also help to flush out metabolic waste from the muscles and boost the immune system.

“What I love about though are the mental and emotional benefits. The experience of enduring cold water stimulates the release of endorphins, the body’s natural “feel-good” hormones, which make you feel fantastic.”

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Reach for the Hot Cups

“Hot cupping is another therapy that I really love and encourage everyone to try,” says Joanna, explaining that hot cupping is an ancient therapy with roots in traditional Chinese medicine.

“It’s been used for thousands of years to promote healing and balance in the body. The process involves placing heated cups on the skin to create a vacuum, which draws the skin and underlying tissues upward into the cup. It’s believed to stimulate the flow of energy, or “qi,” and aid in overall wellness.

“One of the primary benefits that I have experiences is its ability to relieve pain and relax muscles. The suction and heat from the cups help to increase blood flow to the affected areas. It really is very effective especially when used in conjunction with acupuncture and massage therapy.”

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My Bucket List Spa

Guests at Six Senses take part in a Cacao ceremony: Photo credit: @sixsenses.ibiza on Instagram

“The Spa at Six Senses Ibiza is certainly one that stands out on my bucket list,” says Joanna, sharing more spa secrets. “It offers a holistic approach to wellness, focusing on mind, body and spirit, and it is renowned for its combination of cutting-edge therapies and traditional healing practices. This comprehensive approach to well-being is something I find incredibly appealing and beneficial for achieving overall balance and rejuvenation.”

Located on the picturesque northern tip of Ibiza, Six Senses offers breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea – the idyllic setting alone makes it a desirable destination.

“This spa offers a level of exclusivity and personalized attention that sets it apart,” she continues. “With a limited number of guests at any time, they ensure that each visitor receives individualized care and bespoke treatments. This personalized approach is something I deeply appreciate, as it enhances the overall spa experience.”

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A Day at Ashford Castle Spa

Photo credit: @ashfordcastle on Instagram

A highlight of your stay at the magnificent Ashford Castle, under Joanna’s careful eye the Spa and Wellness Centre offers an experience second to none. Located in County Mayo, Ireland, this 13th-century castle was once the ancestral home of the Guinness family and has been meticulously restored to offer an opulent retreat. Surrounded by 350 acres of lush grounds, guests can explore extensive gardens, woodlands and Lough Corrib.

“If you were to spend a day with us at Ashford Castle spa I would advise you to begin by indulging in our luxurious Ashford Castle Ritual,” says Joanna. “This is our signature spa treatment and combines a soothing back massage with warm aromatherapy oils, a relaxing foot massage, and a mini spa facial for an instant glow.

“Then you can spend time in our lavish steam room, to detoxify and relax your muscles, and open your pores. Follow this with a refreshing dip in our heated indoor pool with stunning views of the castle grounds, then, after your treatment, retreat to our Relaxation Room to enjoy fresh, healthy nibbles and soak up the ambiance of the spa and the beautiful Ashford Castle estate. We’d love for you to come an experience true relaxation and rejuvenation with us.”

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Joanna’s Top Tips to Make the Most of Your Luxury Spa Experience:

Photo credit: @ashfordcastle on Instagram

Before your visit: choose treatments which best suit your needs and preferences. Booking in advance is always a good idea so that you can get your preferred time and treatment.

Arrive on time: Arriving at least 30 minutes before your appointment allows you to check in, change into your robe and slippers, and start unwinding in the pool or thermal relaxation areas. This sets a calm tone for your entire visit.

Share your preferences with staff: Whether it’s the pressure of a massage, the temperature of the room, or any allergies, clear communication ensures a personalized and comfortable experience.

Turn off your phone: or leave it in a locker to fully immerse yourself in the serene environment. Disconnecting from technology helps you to relax and be present in the moment.

Drink plenty of water before and after your treatments to stay hydrated, especially if you plan to use saunas or steam rooms. Many spas offer healthy snacks and beverages, so take advantage of these to keep your energy levels up.

Don’t rush through your spa day. Allow yourself to linger in the relaxation lounges, enjoy the amenities like relaxation pool and steam room and savor the experience fully.

Post-treatment care is crucial for maximizing the benefits of your spa treatments. Follow any aftercare instructions provided by your therapist, such as avoiding direct sunlight after a facial or staying hydrated after a massage.

Remember to reflect on your experience. Enjoy a cup of herbal tea, sit quietly in the relaxation lounge, and let the feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation sink in before you return to the outside world.

To experience the luxury of Ashford Castle for yourself take a look at our Castles & Kingdoms and Ultimate Ireland small group journeys.

Food is the edible history of a culture and a community, each morsel telling stories and creating memories. Bringing each destination deliciously to life, every Luxury Gold journey offers a menu of dining options like no other. This includes a wide range of culinary experiences, from exclusive dinners in Michelin-starred restaurants to street food walks with locals who know where to source the best delicacies in the city.

And on select Luxury Gold excursions, travelers are greeted with private chef cooking classes. Curated to not only introduce travelers to the flavors of a destination, these private cooking classes provide an experience you can take home to relive mouthwatering memories whenever you choose. To temp you further, take look at just some of the experiences you can look forward to as a guest of Luxury Gold.

To when your appetite, read more about Exceptional Dining

Roll Italian pasta in a Tuscan private cooking class

The wealthy Medici family helped fuel the Italian Renaissance, and though their bloodline no longer flows through Italy, travelers can still visit their rich properties. In Tuscany, you’ll visit one of the Medici family’s hunting lodges for a quintessential Italian experience: private chef cooking classes. Source fresh ingredients from the lodge’s garden and roll your own fresh pasta for lunch alongside a professional Italian chef for a decadent and delicious meal. 

Take a bit out of Tuscany and savour other classic Italian flavours in Rome, Florence and more on Ultimate Italy.

For lovers of Italian cuisine: 7 ways you’ll celebrate Tuscan food when you travel with Luxury Gold

Go beyond the tapas bars and learn Spanish culinary secrets

Spain’s cuisine is far from a monolith: between Barcelona and Madrid alone are a host of different styles and specialties. Andalusia, Spain’s southernmost agricultural region, is known for its gazpacho, oxtail, sherry and Iberian ham. In Seville, you’ll spend a day diving into the region’s flavors. A chef awaits your arrival at an Andalusian market, ready to walk you through the fresh meat and produce. When the market tour concludes, you’ll enjoy a private cooking class and learn how to make some of Spain’s hallmark plates, before savoring them for lunch.

Learn cooking techniques in Seville, plus dine at the Michelin-starred L’Antic Moli on Spain & Portugal in Style.

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Prepare lunch on a Vietnamese riverboat with a professional chef 

Every foodie has heard of the legendary banh mi. This world-famous Vietnamese street food is best experienced in the alleyways of Hoi An. It’s a palate pleasing event, but only an appetizer for what’s to come. You’ll board a traditional bamboo-basket boat and cruise to the Thanh Dong village. Once onboard, locals will host private chef cooking classes for you and your group, helping you prepare lunch as you learn about their local customs for cultivating and harvesting vegetables.   

Leave room for more mouthwatering experiences when you visit Vietnam with Luxury Gold, including a brunch cruise to Hanoi and a private concert dining experience at the home of singer Camille Huyen. 

Savor this on Spirit of Vietnam.

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Discover the nuances of Indian spices 

Private chef cooking classes are quite engaging, though there’s a case to be made that a food tasting tour is just as critical in learning how to cook international cuisine. In Delhi, you’ll have the opportunity to join a well-known chef, not in his kitchen, but in the streets of Old Delhi. You’ll hop between food stalls, watching how each Indian delicacy is prepared. The stallholders will give you tips and tricks for how to properly balance spices to create transformative tastes. 

Travel to India on a Luxury Gold small group journey and you’ll have far more than one afternoon to experience the country’s many flavors, including a sunset desert dinner with local musicians in Jaisalmer and lakeside banquet dinner in Udaipur.

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Drink in a mixology class in Southern USA

In the deep south, a signature drink is just as important as a hearty meal. With so many delicious plates set before you, an afternoon at the Dunleith Historic Inn gives your stomach a break with a hands-on mixology class. Ideal for those who’ve already taken a few private cooking classes on other Luxury Gold tours, the bar manager at this pre-Civil War mansion will teach you how to stir up two seasonal cocktails. 

Sip that Mint Julep before settling into a three-course dinner, the head to New Orleans where Cajun and Creole flavors await on Southern Grace. 

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Style sushi with a master in Tokyo

Sushi rolling is a revered 2,000-year-old Japanese art. A decade of practice is required to become a master sushi chef, but thankfully, this Luxury Gold tour expedites the process by providing private chef cooking classes in Japan. Join a master sushi chef for an in depth sushi rolling lesson. You’ll learn why the philosophy and precision required to perfect the technique is unlike any other culinary exercise on the planet.  

Sushi is just one of the many iconic Japanese meals you’ll enjoy on Majestic Japan with Luxury Gold. You’ll also have a Geisha lunch performance in Kyoto and sip sake at a private tasting with a local brewmaster in Oirase. 

Discover this on: Majestic Japan

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Feel lucky with a hosted dinner in an Irish family’s home

No matter where we’re from, we all share memories of sitting around the family dinner table as dish after dish is prepared. In Ireland, you’ll have the opportunity to pause your restaurant reservations and instead welcome the invitation to dine at a homestead in Blarney. Unlike a private chef cooking class, you’ll sit back and let your hosts do the cooking for you, though you’re welcome to ask away any questions you have regarding Irish food and cooking techniques.

Enjoy many more experiences with locals, including dinner at a local gastropub in Dublin and a street art tour in Belfast on Ultimate Ireland.

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To discover how you can see and taste the world in a whole new light, take a look at our worldwide collection of small group journeys.

For Dubliner Trevor White, accomplished author and founder and curator of Dublin’s award-winning Little Museum, there’s no place quite like this effervescent and welcoming city. From the generosity of its people to the richness of its history, a visit to Dublin will leave a fond memory etched on your soul. And, just ahead of St Patrick’s Day, this is the perfect reason to throw a spotlight on the Emerald Isle.

Travel with us on our Ultimate Ireland small group journey and enjoy an exclusive VIP invitation to meet with Trevor in Dublin, for a personal after-hours tour of Little Museum, which he founded. Here you will find history, humor and a warm Irish welcome as you learn about the city, his work and what it means to be a Dubliner.

We had the privilege to speak with Trevor to ask him more about The Little Museum, his life as a Dubliner and to get some expert Dublin local tips.

The Little Museum

Photo credit: @littlemuseumdub on Instagram

Known as the “people’s museum of the capital”, the Little Museum is housed in an 18^th century townhouse in the beautiful setting of Dublin’s St Stephens Green. “The Little Museum is Dublin, bottled,” explains Trevor. “Our work is about building civic pride; documenting the past; making guests feel welcome; kindling memories, tears and laughter; and, ultimately, bringing people to a closer understanding of who they really are.“

When asked what makes the Little Museum so special, he tells us, “Ordinary citizens are responsible for the success of the institution, because our collection was created by public donation. Philanthropists, patrons and the Irish government have also been generous supporters. There are over 5,000 artefacts which have been donated by Dubliners at home and overseas, and together they allow us to tell the stories of the city.”

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Small things tell big stories

Photo credit: @littlemuseumdub on Instagram

Trevor tells us “In the Little Museum we use small things to tell big stories, such as the shutter with a bullethole from the Easter Rising, or the letter from 20-year-old James Joyce, asking Lady Gregory for money. Some of the highlights are more commonplace. My favorite artefact at the moment is a collection of tennis balls discarded by the dogs of Dún Laoghaire.” It was a rite of passage for many Dublin kids growing up to head to this coastal suburb for a “Teddy’s 99 ice cream (cone with a flake) and a walk on the pier.”

A charming item in the collection is a letter that John F Kennedy wrote in 1963, rather poignantly in the year that he was assassinated. Donated to the Little Museum by its owner, the letter was sent in reply to a little boy who wrote to ask the US President whether fairies only appear to Irish people. President Kennedy took the trouble to write quite a long response to this child to say that fairies appear to all those who believe in them.

“This artefact is a really sweet thing that speaks to political history and also has a very human flavor to it. It shows an intimate side of this very public figure’s personality.” Trevor explains.

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A Dublin welcome for everyone

Photo credit: @littlemuseumdub on Instagram

We asked Trevor how the idea for the Museum initially came about. “I spent my career writing about Dublin and have a deep love for the city,” he says. “I published a magazine called The Dubliner for many years and sold it in 2008. I spent some time traveling but needed a new challenge.”

“I was in a Dublin pub one night with a friend we fell into conversation with an Australian. We bought him a pint which is a very Irish thing to do, shared stories and told him the best things to do in Dublin. At the end of the evening my friend and I reflected that it was a really positive and rewarding experience.

“That night I bounded home to my wife, woke her up and enthusiastically told her that I was going to set up a greeter programme and open a museum of Dublin and we were going to welcome people from all over the world,” he recounts, “and she simply asked me if I had remembered to put the bins out!””

From that small seed the Little Museum was born. In its first year it had 25,000 visitors and in 2019 it had 120,000. The Museum has grown and has built an extraordinary collection, which Trevor tells us “Is a true reflection of the generosity of the people of this city. Dubliners have a big heart. There’s a huge warmth and generosity and hospitality in this city and we try to embody that in the museum.”

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For the love of entertainment

“It is such a privilege to be able to extend hospitality to Luxury Gold guests,” he continues, “to join over a glass of wine or bubbles and have the opportunity to tell people about our work. Guests look forward to a warm welcome when they come to Ireland. The museums home was designed in the 18th century to enable its owner to host and entertain guests. We are very proud to have brought our townhouse back to its original purpose. These magnificent drawing rooms are not designed for intimate conversations, they are designed for entertaining on a grand scale and as such it is such a pleasure to be able to share such a building with visitors from all over the world.”

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History, hospitality and humor

“There are three themes to our work in the museum” Trevor elaborates. “History, that is our subject, the history of Dublin and Dubliners. Hospitality, which is such a hugely important part of what we are doing on the museum and why it is such an honor to welcome guests from over the world. And thirdly, humor. When you ask what is it that makes the Irish Irish, conversation is a big part of our character and way of life. We try to embody that within the museum which is why all of our visitors are able capture the salty humor of Dublin itself,” he explains with a laugh.

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In the footsteps of literary greats

 

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A post shared by The Little Museum of Dublin (@littlemuseumdub)

Trevor is a former restaurant critic, publisher of The Dubliner, and author of five books, including The Dubliner Diaries. Of being a Dublin writer, he tells us “I am certainly conscious of the great literary tradition of the city.” Dublin boasts James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and W B Yeats amongst its esteemed stable of authors. “Anyone who writes anything in this town feels the weight of history on their shoulders,” Trevor admits. “In one sense it is a burden, but it is also a privilege to have grown up in a society where literature is taken seriously.”

“I am just finishing a concise history of Dublin to be published in the spring of 2023, hopefully to be ready in time to share with Luxury Gold guests,” he shares with us. “The whole purpose of this book is to provide a very lithe overview of the history of Dublin for visitors. So somebody coming to Dublin who knows nothing about it, a curious visitor, could sit down for a couple of hours and ingest the whole story.”

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Europe’s biggest village

Renowned for its vibrant, friendly atmosphere and rich history, Dublin is a city with much to offer every traveler. Described by Dubliner Trevor as “Europe’s biggest village,” we asked him to elaborate on this.  He tells us “What I am really talking about is the intimacy of this city.”

“Dublin is a small, easily navigable city. You can explore Dublin in a couple of hours, and that intimacy is part of its charm. The phrase Europe’s biggest village also references the gift for conversation that Irish people, an intimacy that visitors will experience first-hand.”

“When people come to Dublin, the first thing I tell them to do is go to a local pub. You will meet Irish people, and what will inevitably happen is that you will find yourself in conversation with a really good storyteller. That is one of the most distinctive and likable aspects of life in this city. And the city is full of gorgeous pubs.”

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A cultural haven

Photo credit: @nationalgalleryofireland on Instagram

As well as a visit to the pub, Trevor advises any visitor to Dublin to spend time at the city’s national cultural institutions, of which there are many. “The National Gallery of Ireland, recently refurbished, in the center of the city, offers treasures galore, with everyone from W.B. Yeats to Pablo Picasso represented in their extraordinary collection” he says. A visit to the National Library is also one of the memorable things to do in Dublin.”

“Dublin is big on theatre and is blessed with two world class institutions,” Trevor enthuses. “Our national theatre, the Abbey Theatre was set up by William B Yeats, the great Nobel prize winning poet and you are guaranteed to see a memorable production. And the Gate Theatre, where Orson Wells started his career as an actor before he went on to make Citizen Kane. It has a very storied history and offers world class theater for a fraction of the price of Broadway and the West End.”

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Delicious cuisine

Photo credit: @chapteronebymikaelviljanen on Instagram

As a former restaurant critic, we just had to ask Trevor for his best places to eat in Dublin and he suggested four great ways to taste the city:

Etto – an excellent Italian European restaurant which serves wonderful food with a great, fun atmosphere.

Glovers Alley – fine dining in a spectacular setting overlooking St Stephens Green.

Chapter One – Michelin starred dining offering real Irish hospitality and an extremely accomplished chef.

Roly’s Bistro – very buzzy with a delicious menu.

To experience this exclusive VIP after-hours meeting with Dubliner Trevor White at The Little Museum, book onto our Ultimate Ireland luxury guided tour.