Hotel of the week, July 22nd: The Meyrick Galway

Galway city reached melting point at the weekend. Literally. As temperatures hit the thirties, the city buzzed, juggled, danced, fluttered and swung. All thanks to the most amazing Arts festival, which had them oow-ing and aah-ing in their thousands in Eyre Square, along Shop street and down through Spanish Arch.

Spanish Arch welcomed one of its own (well Catalan to be more precise) as Max Calaf Seve enthralled kids and adults alike from his nomadic home. On the trampoline (don’t try this at home kids). With charming theatrical gestures, Max managed to get dressed, undressed and check his briefcase while bouncing from four to twenty feet. Definitely reminds me of that Monday morning feeling,

Eyre Square was littered with bodies of all shapes, sizes, ages and colours who enjoyed the free entertainment from the mesmerizing acts provided by festival organisers (on the go for over thirty decades, the festival, not the acts!).

With its ringside seat and view across the entire square, the residents of The Meyrick Hotel enjoyed a bird’s eye view of Les Pepones. To a roaring twenties soundtrack, the beautifully-costumed Charlie Chaplin acrobats sailed limb to limb thirty feet off the ground as jaws dropped, hands clapped and ice creams melted.

Later, the crowd were in suspense at the ballerina suspended from a helium balloon floating fifty feet off the ground to another magical score which filled the square.

Gracefully and silently making their way on stilts in their swan-like costumes and waving their feather fans at their human fans some ten feet below, the Lightwalkers glided their way through the crowds in the mid day heat from which the only true respite was the air-conditioned bar of the Meyrick.

Centrally located, the hotel is currently offering two and three night specials from eur154 per person as well as a selection of beauty treatments, to recover from the excesses of the sun over the past few weeks. To avail of these and more, check them here.

For everyone else its roll up, roll up and let the arts fest continue (at least until the Races kick off in a week’s time). Plenty of showmanship on offer there to Galway visitors.

And for  some fantastic video coverage of the Arts festival, take a look here ……

And next time you’re in the Galway area, check out our selection of 5 star luxury hotels