During half term we were invited to visit Cork, somewhere we have never been before but always wanted to visit. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, located in the south-west and home to around 210,000 people. It also, as we were soon to find out, has a lot to offer!

Our flight took just a little over an hour and in no time at all we had landed, picked up our hire car and took the short drive to The River Lee Hotel, the first of our accommodations for the week. The River Lee Hotel is a luxury 5 star hotel and part of the Doyle Collection and from the moment we arrived it did not disappoint!

The location of the hotel is second to none, set on a picturesque bend in the river, just a short walk from Cork city centre. We often worry about parking with city centre locations and yet the River Lee has free underground parking with direct access to the hotel via a lift which, with three children and all our luggage, made life a lot easier. We were greeted by a friendly member of staff who checked us in, told us everything we needed to know about breakfast times, the spa and check-out, and offered to help us take our bags up to our room. As a larger family, even without Lewis joining us on the trip, we had booked conjoining rooms so that we could each have our own bed and enjoy a comfortable stay.

The Rooms

Our rooms were absolutely stunning, with a large king sized bed in one room and one double and one single in the other. Our plan had been for Gaz and I to enjoy the larger room and the children in the other but, as you can imagine, they had different ideas!

The first bedroom was one of the largest hotel rooms we’ve ever stayed in with a huge bed, desk area, seating area with a large flat screen television and a coffee table and chairs. It was spotlessly clean, smelled amazing, and was both stylish and homely at the same time.

As a large family it’s important that our hotel stays accommodate all of us without ending up on top of each other for the duration of our stay. I. love that the children could sit at the desk colouring, or relax watching the television, and our room became so much more than just a base to sleep in and became somewhere we really enjoyed spending some time together.

As well as robes and slippers waiting for us in the room, we also had a welcome platter with fresh strawberries, a chocolate fondant and a strawberry macaron. I have have never seen the children demolish cakes so fast and although I was left with just a couple of crumbs, they were delicious!

For me, the real highlight of the River Lee Hotel is the views from the window. Although we had arrived in the middle of Storm Dennis, our hotel directly overlooked the River Lee and with floor to ceiling windows, it was an incredible view to look out on each morning.

The adjoining room had a large double bed and a single bed, as well as a large desk area,  television and seating area in the window alcove. It’s the perfect set up for a family giving plenty of space as well as two bathrooms which is always important with young children!

Even with two beds the room was nice and spacious and lovely and airy with the large windows. I love that the room had several lighting options with the large ceiling light, beside lights and a floor lamp, meaning when the children felt comfortable when we went to bed even in a new setting.

The desk area came in very useful when the children discovered how much fun it was to write notes to each other to pass beneath the door, something that provided hours of fun! With stationery such as a note book, post cards, envelopes and pens and pencils in the desk drawer they were in their element!

The view from the second room was lovely, looking out onto the river with all of the coloured houses in the town below. Although our first day in Cork was a complete wash out with the rain, it was lovey to sit in this spot and watch the world go by.

Both rooms had a large bathroom with a separate bath and shower, something that we particularly loved with small children. They were a great size,  really spacious and well designed, and beautifully clean each day.

I’m sure you’ll all have noticed that I’m a sucker for hotel toiletries and the selection at the River Lee hotel was amazing! Gaz always laughs at how excited I get over the toiletries in our hotel room but I still swear by the fact those toiletries speak volumes about the status of a hotel!

Hotel Facilities

The River Lee Hotel boasts incredible facilities, all very stylish and beautifully designed.  Even the lift had incredible design features with a glass fronted elevator and panoramic views out across the River Lee and the city below. The children thought it was amazing!!

Downstairs there are gorgeous seating areas in the entrance with plush, vibrant sofas and lush greenery. I love that the despite being very modern and stylish it still has that homely and inviting feeling where we were genuinely able to sit back and relax, even with three very hyped up children!

There is a spacious bar area with a choice of seating in a relaxing and luxurious setting with views out to the river. I love that the River Lee provides so many open spaces for their guests to enjoy as opposed to simply spending time in your room, I think that makes a big difference to have freedom throughout the hotel in a real variety of settings.

My favourite room in the hotel was The Hub located on the first floor where you can sit and work, relax, read, or hang out with guests. I loved the yellow and red decor and have returned home adamant that we need more yellow in our home!

I also loved that there was a computer just outside of our room which was free for guests to use. Sometimes when we travel I still need to get on line and answer emails, or sign contracts, and it can be difficult to do that via a mobile phone. Having a computer available would mean I could free up luggage space without needing to take my laptop with us which would make a big difference!

The children loved the large floor to ceiling windows on every floor where they could stand and admire the view (or simply watch the rain!) and various seating areas upstairs. The hotel feels lovely and airy as a result and even when Storm Dennis had us retreating back indoors, it was great to still be able to watch the world go whilst staying warm and dry.

The hotel also has a large pool and fitness suite for the use of their guests which the children enjoyed. It’s worth noting swim caps must be worn at all times in the pool (and we found throughout Ireland) so if you have them already it’s worth bringing them with you.

The Food

Although the River Lee has a wonderful restaurant, we didn’t eat our evening meal in the hotel during our stay so I can’t comment the menu in that respect but we did enjoy breakfast on both mornings of our stay and it was utterly delicious!

The breakfast setting is beautiful with views directly out onto the river, lots of lush greenery and golden chandeliers. I always worry about eating in hotel restaurants incase the children get a little too noisy or excitable and yet we are seated at the back in our own private booth area and made to feel very welcome.

The breakfast offers a full continental and hot food menu priced at 15 and 22 euros per person. The continental selection was fantastic and the children loved tucking in to fresh pastries, cakes and cereals as well as fresh fruit, yogurts, pancakes and a whole range of condiments.

Being gluten free I always worry about breakfast choices but the River Lee were fully accommodating of this bringing me gluten free toast prepared in the kitchen as well as a gluten free hot breakfast of my choice.

I never thought the day would come where I would use the words relaxing and children in the same sentence but our breakfast experience at the River Lee really was relaxing and enjoyable. It’s always lovely for me to see the children tucking in to their food, especially our fussy eater Harry, plus it meant they weren’t asking for food two minutes later – bonus!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the River Lee hotel and should we return to Cork in the future it would be at the top of our list for city hotels. You can find more out about the hotel on their website here.

** We were gifted a two night stay courtesy of the River Lee hotel. All words and opinions are my own **