Derry Girls Afternoon Tea at the Everglades.

Last Monday night, I was invited to the Everglades Hotel in Derry to try their recently launched Derry Girls Afternoon Tea packages.

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Michelle joined us for tea!

So myself and Himself grabbed the opportunity to get a few hours alone and moved Granny in to mind the girls.

To celebrate the roaring success of Derry Girls, the Everglades Hotel team has put together a selection of special experiences giving fans of the hit show the chance to become a Derry Girl, dine like a Derry Girl and even visit some of the filming locations.

The afternoon tea is gorgeous. The sandwiches were made from lovely brown bread, (something that I usually have to ask for as most places still insist on serving white bread.)     Egg and onion hit the spot, with chicken caesar wrap bites.  The scones were warm, served with jam and fresh cream, and the treats ranged from lemon bread to little tartlets and mousse sylabubs.

There is SO much food, both hot and cold, and much of it is inspired by episodes of the show.  On top of the usual afternoon tea, there are cream horns, sausage rolls, hand cut chips and an incredibly tasty cocktail, inspired by the episode where Michelle has an accident with Sambuca.

 

The staff were incredibly friendly; chatty and pleasant without being too familiar. The hotel itself beautiful; spacious yet comfortable and decor is a mix of old fashioned class with modern twists.  I loved the mix of teals and golds with mahogony throughout the building.

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The hotel boasts a fantastic selection of dining options including The Grill Bistro which
offers a wonderful mix of traditional dishes with a twist made from the very best of
fresh local produce.

We were stuffed after the afternoon tea, and after having a few glasses of grapes in The Library Bar,  we simply ordered from the bar food menu at around 9pm.

Claire, who served us for the evening, was happy to let us order off either menu and we could have had food from the Bistro menu without leaving the comfy sofas we were perched on!

Our room for the evening was the Andrew Jackson Suite.

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It is GORGEOUS and huge.  Again, modern blues and teals mixed with mahogony and clever lighting, the suite was beautiful.  The bed was possibly the most comfortable bed in the world, it was literally like sleeping on a cloud.

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So much space

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The enormous bed

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Pure Luxury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next morning, we had breakfast, which is ALWAYS my favourite part of any hotel stay.  It was self service and had everything you’d expect from a hotel breakfast. Lots of options for all tastes and catered for dietary requirements with a separarte section if you are gluten free.

The porridge station had a bottle of Irish Bush Whiskey, something I haven’t seen in a hotel in a long time, and on each table was a booklet of all of the local suppliers who provide the food.

 

There is a deep sense of pride among the staff in this hotel, about their locality and their food suppliers and their menus and decor, to the beaming pride that they have hosted the cast during filming.  They see Derry Girls as another reason to celebrate the beautiful city that neighbours us in Donegal and rightly so.

The duck is a constant motif in the Hastings Hotel Groups, with two little “Walled Citty Ducks” perched on our bath, but the highlight was the Michelle Duck that comes with the tea.

Detail is everything for the team at The Everglades. They certainly have their ducks in a row!

We were invited guests and enjoyed the Afternoon Tea with Bed and Breakfast courtety of the team at the hotel. I am under no obligation to write this review and as always, it is an honet reflection of my experience.  All other meals and drinks were bought by myself.

Check out their website or call them on 0287132 1066.

EXPERIENCE 1:
DERRY GIRLS AFTERNOON TEA – £30pp. Enjoy sandwiches, freshly baked scones &
breads and pastry assortment but with a Derry Girls twist – sausage roll baps, fresh
cream horns, cone of chips and cocktail. You’ll also get your very own Michelle, the
Derry Girls duck to take home with you.

EXPERIENCE 2:
BE A DERRY GIRL from only £80pps – with luxurious overnight accommodation and
breakfast the following morning, themed Derry Girls Afternoon Tea with cocktail and
your very own Michelle, the Derry Girls duck to take home with you.

EXPERIENCE 3:
DERRY GIRLS TOUR PACKAGE from only £95pps – with luxurious overnight
accommodation and breakfast the following morning, guided Derry Girls Walking Tour,
themed Derry Girls Afternoon Tea with cocktail and your very own Michelle, the Derry
Girls duck to take home with you.
The Everglades Hotel has worked with

I am Santa Experience at Rosnakill Mum

Before Christmas, we were invited to visit Santa at his magical wonderland at Rosnakill Community Centre in Donegal.  Having NO idea what to expect, we set off on an adventure one snowy, cold afternoon.

What we were going to, was possibly THE loveliest Santa Experience we’ve ever had.

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On arrival

The hall was decorated from the front hall. Trees and bunting and lights everywhere. Christmas music was playing and we were met at the door by lovely Elves.

 

We were led into Mrs Claus’s sitting room, where she called the roll.  I cannot tell you the SHOCK on Mini-Me’s face when their names were called out! Priceless.

Mrs Claus read them stories and then they were whisked off to ELF SCHOOL, where a cast of superbly talented young elfies reenacted some scenes from ELF, songs and all. Buddy even created his Candy Spaghetti…and ATE it! Yuck!  But the kids just LOVED it.  After “singing songs for all to hear” the kids were lead off through a magical tunnel to the next part of the journey.

 

I’ve never seen so many lights. Everything was covered and it truly was beautiful.

Off we went to the next room, where cookie decorating and colouring were set up.  Each family had their own personalise table, with more candy and sweeties than Buddy the Elf would have been able for.  The girls took to their tasks with gusto, and Mammy and Daddy helped too.

Then, the lovely Ladies went around with freshly cooked Pancakes! AND hot chocolate. The atmosphere in this room was electric as one by one, the elves called the different families in to meet Santa.

And then it was our turn.

Santa’s room was AMAZING! And Santa was soooooo lovely.  He took time to speak to the girls and laughed a bellylaugh when Mini-Me told him she was probably on BOTH lists because sometimes she forgot to be good.

We got more sweets, two gift bags and our photographs taken by an Elf. (I must give special mention to this little Elf.  Wise beyond her years and oh so eloquent and confident.  She was amazing!)

We returned to the room to collect our pictures and art. There were even calendars for them to colour in and take home, as well as little decorations.

The presents knocked me off my feet.  Personalised, handmade reindeer.  Each one with a little scarf that was hand-knit by a local Mammy.

ANd of course, Mammy got her photo taken with Santa too!

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Yes. I shall always end up on Santa’s knee 🙂

This is no ordinary village hall.  How could it be with the people who are running it?  The imagination, the attention to detail, the effort, the pride, the community spirit… The love that went into this project was infectious.    The group who ran it were working harder than any elves I’ve ever seen.  The atmosphere was incredible.

The visit lasted just under an hour, and we all left happy, fed and full of Christmas spirit. Then a few days afterwards, this photograph arrived in the post from Santa.

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Yes, she’s wearing wellies.

This experience books up quickly, and I see why.  We can’t wait to return next year.

Well done to all involved and thank you for having us.

The S-Mum

 

(Mammy and the family were invited guests of Santa, but all comments and reviews are honest and reflective of the experience we had.)