There is fierce activity in Rinville these days, as builders work to complete Galway’s first purpose-built, five star hotel in two decades.
Called ‘The Hawthorn by Galway Bay’, the compact, luxury spa and golf resort is part of a €60 million investment by the Connacht Hospitality Group. It aims to open in around eight weeks time, and bookings are now online, with availability from mid-May.
This Fitzgerald Family-owned operation runs the Connacht Hotel, Hyde Hotel, The Residence, An Púcán, 1520 Bar, and M. Fitzgerald’s pub in Galway city. It also owns Galway Bay Golf Club next to Rinville Point, outside Oranmore, which now becomes part of the Hawthorn Estate, including its large club house and restaurant, situated between the 100-acre Rinville Park, and Marine Institute HQ.
The Fitzgerald-owned Greenway Construction is busy finishing a complete revamp of the impressive hotel, next door to the golf club’s pavilion. It was originally built by property developer Seán Mulryan, chairman of the Ballymore Group, in the 1990s, in partnership with local golfing legend Christy O’Connor, who designed the course. It remained essentially unused for almost two decades after closing in 2007.
Previously a 92-bed, rectangular building, the Fitzgeralds have demolished many internal structures to create a large, mostly open-plan ground floor, and added a two-storey, fan-shaped steel-frame extension along its long, western side.
The Advertiser managed a sneak peak, and its Atlantic views of the Burren, Oranmore Bay and Galway city are stunning, framed by hints of the Twelve Pins to the north west. The Aran Islands should be visible on a clear day, and the 1,200-year-old, four-storey Roscam Tower directly opposite the hotel reminds one of the long history of settlement amid these sheltered inlets at the eastern tip of Galway Bay.
Spa or golf days
The hotel will house a spa by Maison Caulières, with lotions and potions from skincare blenders Tata Harper, inspired by flora and fauna found along Galway Bay. A large hydrotherapy pool is the main attraction, with six seaweed baths, five treatment rooms, hot beds, a snow room (it does what is says on the tin ), Finnish sauna, steam room, gym and “recovery pods” akin to human cocoons.
The Hawthorn will be a 114-bed hotel, including 47 suites and 17 penthouses, overlooking its 18-hole golf course, peppered with wind-blown hawthorns, from which the hotel derives its name. Many of the balconied suites with sea views have inter-connecting doors to accommodate large family groups, and initial plans are that a two-night stay will be the minimum booking allowed.
Golf, however, is likely to be the main draw - allied with the spa offering - and there is no doubt the Connacht Hospitality Group is looking for a slice of Ireland’s €700 million per year golf touring sector, with North Americans comprising the majority of the 220,000 international golfers who visit each year. Plans for a ‘cigar deck’ overlooking the fairway are a dead giveaway for whom the owners wish to attract.
The Hawthorn’s classic parkland course, now under the stewardship of PGA Professional Dean Montgomery, is well bunkered, and surrounded by sea on three sides; certainly creating an engaging challenge when breezy. Squirting 30ft high, a water jet fountain is the new centre piece.
Ireland’s golf sector supports 15,600 jobs, and with the 2027 Ryder Cup in Adare, only an hour’s drive from Oranmore, the game is likely to generate more employment in the West as sports infrastructure, like the Hawthorn Estate, continues to improve.
Five star food
The Hawthorn’s general manager, John Keating, has travelled the world with the hotel’s owners, Peter and Paul Fitzgerald, to recruit wellness experts, chefs, managers, and sommeliers to run three restaurants.
There is an informal restaurant in the golf pavilion, The 2 Iron, and two more major eateries in the main hotel. These are The Oystercatcher and The Skylark, alongside The Aviary afternoon tea conservatory, and The Warren library-style coffee lounge, with its own hotel bakery and chocolate room. A private whiskey and wine salon is also in the pipeline.
The Skylark is a sushi- and sashimi-themed, marble-top bar/restaurant with sea views, headed by Cork-based Takashi Miyazaki, famed for his blending of Japanese cuisine with Irish produce.
The 90-seat Skylark, under executive chef Cedric Bottarlini, and food director Henry Beaumont, is a ‘live fire’ eatery, to be centered on a giant Vulcano grill, specially sourced from Madrid, which looks like the back of an old style New York city fire engine. Expect Kobe and Wagyu beef, with local seafood and seasonal fayre.
Head sommelier Aurélie Eloy has purchased an existing cellar collection in Europe, and is sourcing traditional, natural, and biodynamic options from around the world for food pairings.
Solely in the interests of accurate journalism, last week the Advertiser sipped a stunning wine selection from Eloy, and tasted Bottarlini’s sample menu. Clare Island salmon, Balfegó tuna, Lambay crab, dry-aged Athenry beef, Rinville lobster, Kellys Galway Bay oysters and Craughwell lamb were the stand-out dishes. Someone had to do it. [email protected]
