Travel Series: The Carton House - A Night of Luxury and Relaxation

Well here it is, after a few weeks of reflection after this magical stay I am finally getting to share with you my experience staying in the outstanding 'Carton House Kildare'. I was lucky enough to win this stay through a Facebook competition quite awhile ago, and because it was coming up to my 21st birthday my mother thought it was the perfect excuse to book a luxurious night away to celebrate.

I stayed in The Carton House Hotel in Kildare on the 10th of December. The enquiry on whether a room was available was sent to the hotel just a week before, explaining that it was my 21st birthday weekend and that I have been dreaming, and when I say dreaming, I mean wishing to stay in this hotel for quite a few years now. The Carton House was more than happy to accommodate us and Emma was so kind to make such an availability to my mother and I at such a busy time of year.

We were lucky enough to be treated to a stay in one of their many superior rooms which are just located in the newly renovated wing of the hotel. All superior rooms come with a superior bed, which was something else, it was massive. Being a young lady who has had a single bed all of her life, just this alone was a luxury. A flat screen television, coffee machine, radio system, free high-speed wireless internet, telephone, mini fridge which contained complimentary carton house bottled water(a superb touch), shower, bath(with I took full advantage of). I had two baths in just a one night stay, I just wanted to lay in there forever surrounded by a cloud of bubbles. There was also a complimentary morning paper delivered to our room that morning with the availability of organising a morning wake up call.

We were definitely spoiled as soon as we stepped through those doors as we had complimentary pastries with a letter attached waiting for us as a little token from the kind people of the Carton House for celebrating my 21st birthday.

As you can see from this amazing photo I took that morning, the view from our room was just breathtaking. No matter where you are located in the hotel, the views overlooking the long fields and golf course are just beautiful.

That morning I took full advantage of their gym facilities and had a great workout, the gym really impressed me as it was equipped with a variety of equipment such as weights, cable machines, leg press machines, weighted racks, dumbbells, medicine balls, mats and also had a flat screen television which had all the music channels installed onto it. There is also a long list of leisure services available such as a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, outdoor tennis courts, walking and cycling trails, fishing, golf course, fitness classes, personal training classes.. and that's just to name a few.

One of the activities that the Carton House offers is the Bear Grylls Survival Academy which recently launched at the Carton House, unfortunately due to time constraints I didn't get to experience this as this is definitely an activity I would love to throw myself at as I feel it would really challenge me on a whole new level and it is definitely an activity you wouldn't find yourself doing on the regular basis. Hopefully, if I'm lucky enough to return to the magical Carton House I will be able to experience this. If you are as intrigued about this survival academy as I am then you can find more information at www.beargryllssurvivalacademy.ie

As you can see from the inside of the hotel, it was just like walking through a winter wonderland.

Now, to the best part, THE BREAKFAST.

Wow oh wow, I have never seen such a wide selection of food in all my life. There was everything you could imagine, what I appreciated most about the breakfast at the Carton House is that they cater for everyone. No matter what your dietary requirements or preference, as you know I am quite a healthy person so I usually opt out of breakfast the next morning and go to breakfast somewhere else, as it is usually just full of your regular sugar-filled cereals and the everyday 'full Irish' but this is definitely not the case in the Carton House. To list just a few of the breakfast options available; porridge, homemade granola, yogurt, a variety of freshly cut fruit such as melon, pineapple, mixed berries, a table of toppings such as nuts, seeds, dried fruits, dried banana, desiccated coconut, a table of different teas, both hot and cold, juices and they even had freshly made smoothies. They also had a buffet for a mixed grill which consisted of sausages, pudding, bacon etc. A table of cereals and not just the sugar-filled ones, they also had muesli, weetabix, bran flakes, cornflakes etc. What I found most amazing was they had a dedicated chef at his own table serving up freshly made eggs no matter what your preference, poached, scrambled, or even sunny side up. He cooks it right there in front of you, and you cannot have a hotel breakfast without some cheeky pastries and homemade fluffy pancakes.

I cannot end this blog post without mentioning the amazing and friendliest staff I have ever got the pleasure of meeting. From the second we arrived at the hotel, they made us feel so welcome and everything was about us and every little detail of our stay was just perfect. Thank you to John who took care of our luggage and gave us a very hilarious and unforgettable spin on the golf buggy back to the entrance of the resort. It topped off a great luxurious stay.

I would highly recommend a stay at the Carton House hotel without a shadow of a doubt, If you are looking for an excuse to get away or treat that special someone to a night away in a hotel which will make you feel like you are in another world and not leave disappointed then the Carton House is a stay you need to experience. Go and treat yourself, you deserve it.

You can find all packages and selection of all rooms available here: http://www.cartonhouse.com/

I hope you enjoyed this post, It was a pleasure to write as I had the most unforgettable and luxurious night away which just made my birthday so special and precious.

Love Rouxella x

Healthy & Homemade Spicy Cajun Chilli Turkey Burgers

Here’s another amazing food recipe that I have for you all. After seeing countless amount of turkey burgers being sold in butchers across Ireland, especially the beautiful creations that Kerrigans Foods for Fitness are starting to produce and sell. Their burgers are being raved about all over Instagram by various food and fitness bloggers. A few weeks ago I began to experiment with different flavours and ingredients, but first I had to make sure that I was buying the highest quality of turkey mince while still being affordable. I started to ask multiple butchers in my area about what they have to offer and the prices that they charge. I purchased the turkey mince from CL Meats and all the vegetables and chilli from Lidl.

I have made an abundance of turkey burgers in a variety of flavours. But being the spice lover that I am, the first turkey burgers that I created were ‘Spicy Cajun Chilli Turkey Burgers’. What I love about making everything from scratch is the ability to experiment with different flavours and ingredients and of course, the ability to adapt a recipe to meet your dietary needs and your taste preferences. I am all for the spice and chilli kick so feel free to use as much or as little as you like. As you will see from the ingredients below I didn’t use any egg or 'binding' ingredient as I feel as though once they are chilled/frozen they hold their shape perfectly.

Ingredients

500g Turkey Mince

½ White Onion

½ Red Onion

2 Small Red Chilli’s(deseeded)

1 tbsp of Paprika

1-2 tbsp of Cajun Spice

1 heaped tsp of Garlic Powder

Method

1.Begin by laying out all the ingredients on your table and putting all the mince in a medium sized mixing bowl. Chop up the white onion, red onion and of course those glorious red chilli’s into very small pieces.

2.Once all those are chopped you can then add it to the mince. Next, add your spices. Mine consisted of paprika, cajun spice and garlic powder. I would always add fresh garlic but at the time I didn't have any on hand so the garlic powder is a great alternative.

    3.Once you have all your ingredients in your mixing bowl all you have to do now is mix it all together, make sure you have everything mixed well. This starts the process of enhancing and marrying all the flavours together.

    4.Scoop out a rough amount of the mixture and mould them into medium sized turkey burgers, I always just wrap them up in tinfoil. I usually keep 2 in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. I usually get 4/5 burgers depending on whether I go for a medium sized or a generous medium sized.

This mixture freezes brilliantly well and they taste exactly the same as the turkey burgers you cook fresh. I throw them straight into the oven still in the tinfoil wrapping and cook them at 180C for around 20 minutes until lightly brown. Having them in the tinfoil keeps them moist and juicy and doesn't dry them out.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe post, let's all get cooking together.

Love Rouxella x