The Ardilaun Hotel was one of the four hotels honoured at the Fáilte Ireland Optimus Awards which were held in Galway recently.  The Ardilaun Hotel  received the Optimus Award for Best Practice for special recognition for their ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and business excellence in the hospitality industry.

John Ryan, Managing Director of The Ardilaun and the Ryan family are delighted to receive this award of Best Practice from Fáilte Ireland for the fourth time. John Ryan adds “I would like to pay compliments and thanks to all of the team here at the Ardilaun. It has been very challenging, beneficial and worthwhile working towards achieving the mark of Best Practice. Teamwork was at the heart of the programme. The assessor was very impressed by the level of commitment and hard work of the team at The Ardilaun. With the hotel’s obvious improvements that we have accomplished in the past 18 months, it is a great testimony to the dedication and support of the staff at the Ardilaun, especially in these challenging times.”

In the past 5 years, The Ardilaun has adopted guidelines and directives from the Optimus Programme, and has undergone an independent audit by the Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA). The resulting feedback affirms positive aspects as well as providing areas for improvement and development. This award further enhances The Ardilaun’s position as a leader in the hospitality Industry.

Tony Lenehan, Head of Food, Hospitality and Standards, Fáilte Ireland stressed the importance of Optimus at the recent awards ceremony, in the current trading conditions.  “I would like to commend your willingness to take on Optimus at a challenging time for tourism.  This demonstrates your ability to embrace challenges and deal with them proactively.  For our part, we in Fáilte Ireland are committed to working with you and others in the industry to overcome the challenges posed by the current economic climate.

Indeed, 2010 will see us enhancing our level of practical business support offered to tourism enterprises”.

These relatively new standards for Irish Hotels draws on the best quality practices in the world. Because the hospitality sector is a worldwide industry, its standards are global ones, with benchmarks being set by the best hotels in the world. As part of the programme, a hotel’s success is determined simply by each guest’s experience during their stay and everything contributes to that - from the first welcome, appearance and impressions, to the quality of products, staff friendliness, value and attention to detail, and Ardilaun have portrayed this in their operation over the years.

Failte Ireland’s Optimus programme, adapts a disciplined management approach to ensuring that the business capability is in place to deliver consistently high customer service standards. Hospitality businesses have to juggle a multitude of “factors” to delight their customers, and because it is such a competitive industry, managers have to ensure that such standards of service can be sustained profitably.

Other Galway Hotels presented at the Optimus Awards ceremony recently were the Galway Bay Hotel, the Connemara Coast Hotel and the Claregalway Hotel. The Optimus programme, developed by Fáilte Ireland, aims to help tourism establishments - including hotels, restaurants and visitor centres - achieve excellence in every aspect of their business by providing a practical approach to improving the quality, value and delight that visitors experience during their stay in Ireland.

The Ardilaun Hotel, Galway are delighted to announce that they received the Green Hospitality Award for a second year running at a special ceremony in Galway recently. Twenty awards were presented to hotels representing the West and Northwest of Ireland. The Ardilaun Hotel was one of four Galway City Hotels represented and were delighted to receive the bronze award plus one year.

The Green Hospitality Award is a national programme supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and Local Authorities in recognition of efforts made to improve environmental management within the hospitality sector in Ireland.

The Green Hospitality Award currently has over 150 members nationwide in the tourism industry striving for best practice in this important area. The Ardilaun has an internal management programme which reduces the consumption of energy and water and reduces the volume of waste going to landfill etc. The Ardilaun plays its part with the famous motto “reduce, recycle, reuse”. Over €4.6 million has been saved by hotels implementing the programme. The GHA has been encouraged to provide an Eco Label for smaller hospitality businesses by a number of industry federations and government bodies such as the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Vintners  Federation Ireland, Chambers of Commerce of Ireland and Failte Ireland.

Pictured at an Awards Ceremony in Galway recently are James Hogan, Director of the Green Hospitality Award presenting the Bronze Award to Anne Kelly and Eoghan Connors, Green Team members of The Ardilaun Hotel.

“We are delighted to be involved in this step-by-step programme, it gives more control of our Energy, Water and Waste Management areas at The Ardilaun. We forecast to reduce our costs substantially after full implementation of the programme by all members of the hotel team, along with helping the environment. We have streamlined our Waste Management Programme with the objective to recycle more, “ says Eoghan Connors team leader of the Ardilaun Green Policy Project.

Treat yourselves to a family day out at The Ardilaun for your child’s Special Day this year by celebrating with Lunch or Dinner at The Ardilaun Hotel in Taylors Hill, set in a secluded setting offering personal service and attention to detail by the staff whilst enjoying the spacious surroundings.

Relax and unwind in the beautifully landscaped grounds at the Ardilaun, where you may use the beautiful gardens as ideal photo opportunities for your child’s special day and capturing the family pictures. Alternatively, indoor arrangements are available subject to weather conditions.

Our award winning team at the Ardilaun have compiled a variety of mouth watering menu options to choose from, for either Lunch or Dinner for your child’s Communion & Confirmation Day. 4 course Lunch is served in the Camilaun Restaurant for €27.50 inclusive of service charge up until 3pm on specific dates, with childrens menus available at €11.50. Half portions of the adult menu are also available for lunch and dinner. Candlelit Dinner is served from 6pm on certain dates and the extensive four course choice menu is reasonably priced at €44 inclusive of service charge.

For Lunch options one could begin with a mouthwatering starter of Barquette of Chive Cream Cheese and Tiger Prawn with Rosette of Kinvarra Smoked Salmon and Fennel and Frisee Salad, followed by a tasty Main Course of  Breast of Chicken stuffed with Spinach Mousse wrapped in Parma Ham and served with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce. To finish, treat yourself to Marbled Chocolate and Mocha Cheesecake with a Toffee and Hazelnut Sauce.

For Dinner on your child’s Confirmation Day in the Camilaun Restaurant, among the offerings on the five course choice menu are Slices of Smoked Duck with Boile Goats Cheese, Marinated Roma Tomato and Enoki Mushroom Salad with an Apricot Dressing to start with for the more adventurous palate, followed by freshly prepared soup or lemon sorbet. For mains one can enjoy Slowly Roasted Leg of Connemara Lamb marinated with Garlic, rosemary and Shiraz served on a bed of Lyonnaise Potatoes-Lamb Jus, and finish off with the tempting Layered Framboise of white chocolate and raspberry torte with pistachio ice-cream. One can enjoy a nice bottle of wine for the extensive wine list to compliment the menu options.

Each child that celebrates his or her communion or confirmation will receive a complimentary commemorative gift from The Ardilaun. This year we also have the added convenience for families to avail of a free portrait sitting onsite with Morgan Photography which allows you to relax and enjoy the day but also to capture those precious moments. Further information available at time of booking. The spacious foyer and bar areas of The Ardilaun Hotel allow you to enjoy a celebratory drink after your meal.

In order to avoid disappointment, it is advisable to reserve your table whereby any size party can be catered for. Blazers Bar and Bistro and Private rooms are also available upon request.  There is plenty of free parking on site, and it is an ideal treat for a communion or confirmation day out, where you can enjoy your family event in style. Whatever the occasion, there are choices within the menus for everyone all on the Ardilaun website or you can contact the Camilaun Restaurant directly on: 091 521433 who will be delighted to assist you in your booking request.

Paula Stakelum, Pastry Chef at The Ardilaun Hotel was recently selected as the only representative from the Culinary Arts and Tourism Department of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) to take part in the pastry competition this week in conjunction with the 22nd Annual Conference of the European Association of Hotel and Tourism Schools in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Paula will have stiff competition this week as she competes against 34 other countries and will team up with one other student from a different country.  When they meet this week, they will be given a mystery basket of ingredients in which they have to produce four plated sweet dishes for the judges - three cold sweet dishes and one variety of a hot sweet dish. Each dish will be prepared for five persons. There will be written and practical tasks involved, and she will be supported by her Lecturer Mary Reid of Galway Mayo Institute of technology who has tutored and encouraged her along the way, with sponsorship through Failte Ireland. The judges will be looking for knowledge of cooking methods used in pastry, creative flair and the principles of food safety analysis.

Paula who joined The Ardilaun team four years ago works full-time at the hotel and also is in her third year studying in Galway Mayo Institute of Technology for a Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts. Paula who is no stranger to competitions and was finalist in the Young Chef of the Year award in 2007, and was the only Galway Chef chosen for the final of the prestigious National  Irish Valrhona Patisserie Championship competition which took place in Dublin earlier this year which was sponsored by Valrhona Chocolate and Odaios Foods.

Twenty two year old Stakelum shows her expertise and skill in The Ardilaun kitchen and is responsible for producing all the desserts and pastries prepared for the Camilaun Restaurant and recently opened Bistro at The Ardilaun Hotel.

Over the last few months David O Donnell Executive Chef and the Sous Chefs Mary & Dominique of The Ardilaun have acted as mentors and coach to Stakelum and this week will see the fruits of their labour. “Paula’s pastry creations are influenced by a love of pastries European style and are acquired from her experiences of The Ardilaun” says O’ Donnell.

]]> http://www.theardilaunhotel.ie/2009/11/ardilaun-at-school-pastry-competition/feed/ http://www.theardilaunhotel.ie/2009/10/leisure-club-membership/ http://www.theardilaunhotel.ie/2009/10/leisure-club-membership/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:40:52 +0000 ardilaun http://www.theardilaunhotel.ie/?p=2224 6 MONTH MEMBERSHIP OPTION NOW AVAILABLE!

The Ardilaun Leisure club has recently been awarded the White Flag Award which is a very prestigious award that is a quality mark which highlights that the Ardilaun Leisure Club is committed to achieving the highest standards of quality in the leisure industry.

GET YOUR FREE GIFT NOW…

When you sign up for 12 or 6 month membership now you will be able to avail of our special gift of a €50 voucher for Avalon Beauty Salon OR a €50 voucher for Dinner in the Camilaun Restaurant OR a €50 voucher for Anthony Ryan’s Department Store.

For more information on our membership or for a FREE TRIAL, call Barbara or Declan on 091 514 700.

Memberships Available Include:

Single
Couple
Minor (2 - 15yrs)
Student (with proof of being a full time student)
Golden Years (limited to persons over 60 years of age)

To get an instant quote for your individual membership requirements, call 091 514 700  and we will be happy to get you back on the road to health and fitness!

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