An Irish success story to celebrate and treasure …
Up until now, the spotlight at Castlemartyr Resort in Co Cork tends to be on the food. Since the hotel’s restaurant, Terre, gained a second Michelin star for chef Vincent Crepel and team last year, it’s deservedly been a main draw. Though, of course, there are many attractions to this luxurious seventeenth-century manor house on an estate dating back to the 1200s, from its location (just minutes from Garryvoe beach) to golf (if you’re that way inclined), flood-lit tennis court and deluxe 20-metre swimming pool.
Castlemartyr is now also a beauty destination, thanks to a new menu of Ground Wellbeing treatments. I tried the grounding Tenalach treatment (meaning a deep connection with the land, air and water), a full body ritual that includes massage for the back, leg, face and scalp (from €145, 60 minutes; €180, 90 mins). Add on 30-minute “enhancements”, from body polish to scalp therapy, for €45 each.
The Tenalach treatment irons out and smoothes you, mind and body, soothing aches and tensions in your neck, scalp and back with firm conviction. Rather than a surface-deep bit of frippery, Tenalach is expertly designed to make you feel restored, rested and cared for, via warm oils and intense massage therapy. Ask for excellent therapist Gianluca (apparently Castlemartyr’s Singapore-based owner requests Gianluca when they visit). Ground’s training for therapists is renowned in the business, so you’re always confident that you’re in the best hands. It’s hard to imagine a more welcome gift, particularly for someone feeling a bit tired, depleted or fragile.
A beautiful detail: spa manager Eoin O’Sullivan worked with Ground founder Peigin Crowley to design an exquisite body oil that’s exclusive to Castlemartyr. It features ingredients inspired by the hotel’s lush grounds (all 220 acres of it), from lemon verbena to geranium, fennel and pine, and smells like a walk through a forest.
The irrepressible Crowley’s Ground continues to go from strength to strength, popping up in the world’s most luxurious hotels, from the Dubai Jumeirah group to Rosewood and Four Seasons, as well as some of our own finest, including The Shelbourne and Sheen Falls in Kenmare.
Plus the packaging is simple yet beautiful, and highly considered, using recyclable brown glass and low-impact materials. Notably, everything is made by hand in Cork, while 100 per cent of its packaging, design and print has been sourced and produced in Ireland. The little acorns that decorate each gift box really sum up the brand.
Recent additions to the Ground line-up include tactile bottles of hair care, plus liquid shower gel, hand soap (€25, 300ml) and body lotion – all with the distinctively natural scents that Ground is renowned for, such as organic sweet orange and geranium bourbon. I am a big devotee of the Biome skincare (from €30-€60) too, particularly the Overnight Repair Oil (€60), which is gentle, calming and nourishing, but light on the skin. Face oils are making a comeback for autumn (they’re always good for helping skin to glow), and this is one I use regularly.
It’s all a long way from Crowley’s kitchen table, where she started the brand in lockdown. In a few short years, this family business with heart has flourished. For me, it’s the antithesis of so much beauty now, which is shipped in carelessly in a ton of packaging with eyes only on profits. Ground has kindness at its core, illustrated in everything from the gift box for those going through cancer treatment to essential oils and pillow sprays designed to help you sleep better.
