We won! We won! The prize was an evening at the gorgeous Mount Juliet Hotel in Kilkenny with an overnight stay in Mount Juliet House, breakfast and a spectacular 8 course tasting menu in the Michelin Star Lady Helen Restaurant. What a prize!
The Prize!
You might have read about our evening at Taste of Dublin where we enjoyed scrumptious steak, chips and wine at the 28 by Aldi pop up steakhouse. The steaks were prepared by none other than Cormac Rowe, the Michelin Star Executive Chef at the Lady Helen Restaurant in Mount Juliet!
28 by Aldi were running a twitter competition with diners invited to share their favourite 28 by Aldi moment to be in with a chance of winning an evening at Mount Juliet. The gorgeous and talented husband is now a prize winning photographer and we were on our way to Mount Juliet to enjoy his prize!
The prize winning photo:
Mount Juliet Hotel
We arrived at Mount Juliet at lunchtime on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The hotel is set on a hill overlooking the River Nore in a beautiful 1,500 acre estate. The manor house is the main part of the hotel with 31 bedrooms, the Lady Helen restaurant and the hotel reception. The old country house charm was evident from the moment we entered the hotel and we were excited to explore!
Lobby:
The Rooms
We stayed in a River View King room in the Manor House and it was truly lovely! The massive king size bed was a real treat as was the sitting area overlooking the river. The room was spacious and exquisitely furnished in the old world style of the hotel.
The View
Our river view room looked directly over the River Nore which flows through the estate and we were able to watch all the action in the grounds!
The lovely view:
Food and Drinks
As part of our prize we won an 8 course tasting menu in the Michelin Star Lady Helen restaurant (read all about our dinner fun here!). Having refused all offers of food after breakfast (I was determined to make it through all 8 courses!) we were starving by dinner time.
The food was most definitely worth waiting for! The menu consisted of 4 larger courses which we paired with a wine tasting and 4 smaller plates were served between courses. Absolutely everything that was presented to us looked and tasted incredible and we were totally spoiled by the food, wine and service. A walk around the 1,500 acres of the estate was then required to try and work off the 8 course feast!
Dinner Time! Dessert:
Our room was so beautiful we couldn’t resist ordering breakfast in bed and enjoy the stunning river views over a leisurely breakfast. The husband doesn’t really understand the concept of selecting items from the menu and chose one of everything! I’m not usually a fan of breakfast in bed but Mount Juliet managed to deliver a perfect breakfast to our room. We were most impressed!
Breakfast with a view!
The Hotel
The hotel is beautiful throughout and the communal areas exude old world charm from every nook and cranny. We were instantly relaxed from the moment we entered the hotel.
The bar:
Mount Juliet estate has an incredible range of facilities including a spa, a gym, a swimming pool, a golf course and an equestrian centre. So really everything you could possibly want in a hotel! We managed to squeeze in a visit to the swimming pool and gym and both were very good. Although we didn’t have time to go horse riding we did stop by and say hello to the beautiful horses!
The Leisure Centre and Golf Club:
Golf:
Horses!
The grounds of the estate are beautiful and Mount Juliet provides some bikes for exploring. We had a lovely cycle through the estate working up an appetite for dinner.
Bicycle time!
Overall
We had a fabulous time at Mount Juliet and loved the country house setting in the grand estate. Everything was fabulous from the room to the service to the entire estate and we were able to relax and recharge. The Michelin Star restaurant is incredible and we enjoyed one of the best meals we’ve had in Ireland.
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Mount Juliet is located in Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland.
To read about our Michelin Star dinner in the Lady Helen at Mount Juliet click here!
To read about our birthday afternoon tea in Mount Juliet click here!
What a hotel. Would love to stay. Is it expensive?
Wow, wow, wow!! Mount Juliet has been on my ‘love to visit’ list for a long time, reading this I have no doubt it will live up to my expectations if and when I get there!
It was fab Nicola! I’ve read some reviews not staying in the main house and apparently the experience wasn’t as good so definitely go for the main house if you can 🙂