by Pádraic Gilligan, Co-founder, SoolNua Marketing | Head of Research & Consultancy, SITE

We’re heading to Westport, on Ireland’s west coast to stay at The Grace, the extensively re-modelled Hotel Westport, located at the edge of the Westport demesne where Westport House, the ancestral home of the notorious Grace O’Malley, who gave her name to the hotel, is under-going a multi-million euro renovation.

Our trip is celebrating a threshold moment for Eugene and me, life-long friends and brothers since college in the late 70s, and now at that age when the government in Ireland recognises our wisdom and maturity by granting us free travel on trains and buses. Dublin – Westport is about the furthest distance you can travel for free on a train in Ireland so the destination picked itself.

The activity also picked itself: an attempted ascent of Croagh Patrick (764 metres), Ireland’s holy mountain, where in 441 AD, Ireland’s patron spent 40 days and 40 nights praying and fasting on its summit. The train would get our aging bodies to Westport but would the legs on those aging bodies get us up the mountain?

This is a personal trip but there’s a professional edge to it. We’ll get to test-drive a new hotel that’s styling itself as decidedly upscale with serious 5 star ambitions (it would be County Mayo’s second 5 star after the storied Ashford Castle, which, in fairness, most of us place in County Galway!), located in one of the country’s most perfect towns, but largely unknown as a destination for international incentive travel experiences.

It’s the guts of a 4 hour run on the train from Dublin to Westport taking you effortlessly from Ireland’s ancient east through her hidden heartlands and finally to her wild Atlantic way. The window of the train is a motion screen capturing perfectly the evolving scenes: through the urban crawl and sprawl of warehouses and wastelands to Kildare’s rich and wide green plains, past eskers and drumlins in the midlands and then, once west of the Shannon, across smaller, poorer holdings, the “stone walls and the grass is green” of the Saw Doctors.

Christy approaches us upon arrival in Westport.

“Taxi?”

The four of us – Eugene, Cathy, Rita and me – and several, random others, pile into his “taxi”, a 12 seater mini-coach.

You can still see some of the Hotel Westport lurking behind the façade of The Grace, a bit like castles in Ireland where a keen eye can find traces of Norman, Elizabethan and Georgian hands. But the pristine landscaping to the front – bold yellow rudbeckia, lanky agapanthus, wiry verbena – along with the contemporary glass and timber entrance, suggest a new, unfolding story, a rebirth with a renewed ambition.

Inside there’s a varied palette of muted block colours, rich browns in the lobby, chocolate brown and beige in the bar / restaurant, dark and olive green in the bedrooms. The bedroom corridors avoid bland predictability by juxtaposing dark olive panelling with wall to wall soft carpeting on which a botanical pattern in charcoal and off-white stands out on a warm light grey / taupe background. Above the panelling there’s an intriguing display of local art, the photography series by Kenmare-based Norman McCloskey causing me to pause and take a long look.

At check-in, they invite us to Kelly’s Bar for a welcome cocktail so we obligingly join for the house special Cosmopolitan (a bit too sweet for a palete trained on Negronis!) before taking the 10 minute walk to the legendary Matt Molloy’s where, miraculously, there’s a private snug awaiting us. For dinner, at Friends Bistro, Eugene and I can’t resist sharing the Côte de Boeuf which comes with theatrical razzmatazz, requiring an additional table to be added, such is the bountiful generosity of the trimmings.

Back in our guest room we take stock: it’s definitely compact but, other than space, there’s nothing missing. The colour scheme of creams, light browns and olive greens is restful; the floor is wooden laminate with an inset carpet framing the bed; the smart TV is flanked by 2 framed prints under which sit two compact chairs with cushions. There’s a narrow shelf along the bathroom wall with a leathered topped upholstered drum stool underneath it, so just enough room to break out your laptop and do some emails. Incentive travel qualifiers with their customary massive suitcases might struggle size-wise in the entry-level guest rooms but there are robes and slippers and a shower that’s half the size of the entire bathroom!

Our stay at the Grace straddles two weddings and that leads to lines at breakfast. The service team is run off its feet but still manages to follow service protocols, speedily replenishing rapidly depleting buffet items while maintaining an upbeat morning cheerfulness – at this stage we’ve already remarked to each other that all our staff interactions have been warm and wonderful. I flinch pastries and baked ham and sneakily conceal them in a napkin – sustenance for the ascent of the Reek!

We had hoped to take the public bus – free with our new aged status – to Murrisk (the start point for climbing Croagh Patrick) but it only comes every 2 hours so re-enter Christy and his truck-sized taxi. Before long we’re in the midst of an arduous climb. From Murrisk to the Shoulder, it’s straight up, like a great whiskey. You gain height quickly and the views over the 365 (?) islands of Clew Bay expand and grow. It’s strenuous but you can see the Shoulder and you know respite is coming soon.

The gradient levels considerably as you traverse the broad shoulder over to the base of the Cone from which you scale the final, steep and dramatic 250m to the summit, benefitting from the recently completed stone steps that create a pathway through the shale. At the summit there’s a wind that’d skin a cat, a strong sense of achievement and a deep gratitude for the graces and blessings in our lives. And then the doubly challenging downward descent begins …

The legendary Misunderstood Heron has migrated from West Galway and can now be found at Campbell’s Bar at the foot of the Reek. We just have time for a coffee and homemade cake before heading back to The Grace where we try out the over-sized pool and wellness area, before having a sneaky look at the function space where a wedding for 200 is in full swing. The function spaces are spectacular, perfect for a conference or incentive gala dinner with floor to ceiling windows giving onto the Westport demesne.

Our celebratory dinner is at An Port Mór where we’re seated, semi-private, at a wonderful round table in the alcove and, amongst other delicacies, enjoy local lobster and a cleverly curated cheese board. Westport is awash with truly great places to eat and drink but we’re thrilled with our choice of this Michelin awarded location – yet another reason why Westport deserves a far more prominent place on the international business events map.

Personally, this was a magical few days with close friends in a destination that really has it all. Professionally, it was an opportunity to experience a 5 star destination that’s now endowed with a hospitality product to match. The Grace has only been open for 6 months but, already, it’s creating new standards and helping define what the next generation of Irish hospitality experiences looks like.