The unusually named village of Horse & Jockey in Co Tipperary is known to those from the south of the country as the halfway point on the road to Dublin. Given its central location, the village’s hotel is also somewhat of an institution.

Any meeting, conference or gathering in the surrounding area will invariably take place in the Horse & Jockey Hotel. However, as Irish Country Living discovered, it’s also an ideal spot for a day of relaxation.

The first thing that struck us on our arrival was the size of the hotel. With 65 guest rooms, there are loads of facilities on site including a spa and hair salon, a leisure centre, a bakery, gift shop and plenty of meeting rooms. The décor is cosy but contemporary.

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Our first port of call was lunch at the Coffee Dock, which is home to The Bakery. Run by pastry chef Jaqueline Lanigan-Ryan, it is renowned for delicious baked treats and bread. Feeling virtuous, we opted for brown bread and crab over the cakes on offer and were happy with our choice.

In fact, the food was great throughout our stay. Later on during the day we enjoyed afternoon tea, which, at €16.50 per person, isn’t too hard on the pocket. Ours included salmon on brown bread, a selection of sandwiches, scones, and a myriad of tasty desserts from mousse to cakes and it was a real treat.

For dinner, you can choose between Silks Restaurant and Enclosure Bar. We went for the latter, which is popular with locals and was busy during our visit. We really liked the atmosphere and food, with choices ranging from old reliables such as deep-fried fillet of cod and chips (€16.50) to a vegetarian option of tagliatelle with wilted spinach, goat’s cheese and toasted pine nuts (€15.90).

The highlight for us was definitely the spa. Its award-winning facilities are among the best in Ireland, and it is one of the few spas in the country offering the Elemis Biotec facial. We had the lime and ginger salt scrub and the visible brilliance facial – our skin is still glowing and both treatments were perfect stress relievers. (Plus, Katriona Choi was possibly the bubbliest and best therapist we have encountered to date.)

After a spell in the relaxation rooms and a visit to the Q Salon, this writer was a new woman driving back to Dublin on the M8.

Ideal for a girly weekend or a family holidays, the Horse & Jockey Hotel ticks all the boxes for a brilliant break.

The Horse and Jockey is running a midweek Pick Me Up package which includes afternoon tea, a half hour facial or massage, and a wash and blow dry. The package costs €70 from Sunday to Thursday or €75 on Friday and Saturday.

www.horseandjockeyhotel.com