Hen parties, hen do's, hen nights out, bachelorette parties, bridal showers….whatever you want to call them, these events are always celebrations in honour of the bride-to-be.
Who invented the hen do?
The hen do is thought to have derived from Ancient Greek wedding traditions, where the bride would be spending time at her home, preparing for the ceremony with her mother, other female relatives, friends and slaves. It was the first of three events to prepare for marriage and it included offering gifts and asking protection from the goddess of childbirth, Artemis.
In the late 90’s, hen parties were seen almost as an essential prerequisite to getting married, and we saw a boom in fancy dress costumes, stretched limousines, and sports activities. The millennium saw a surge in parties taken abroad to destinations such as Ibiza, Las Vegas or European cities (Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona).
However, with Covid restrictions and a lot of hassle for any foreign trips, bridal tribes are looking at various staycation options to celebrate in style with friends and family this special girls' escape.
Here, at Corralea we can offer you a unique Hen weekend spa retreat adapted to your needs.
We have 4 self-catering cottages nestling in a 16 acre forest on the shores of Lough Macnean. So we can accommodate from the smallest party up to 21 hens.
Each cottage sleeps 4/5 in 2 bedrooms and has its own kitchen, lounge and bathroom. A larger cottage (pinetree cottage) sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms, has 2 bathrooms, a large kitchen with dishwasher, a utility room and is wheelchair friendly. In Spring 2023, a large pergola with protective screens was added to Pinetree allowing you to sit out in the evenings.
Groups over 15 have the whole site to themselves and are welcome to organise music entertainment on site, in cottages or outdoors or outside caterers.
Each cottage has a BBQ, fire pit, picnic table and garden chairs.
We also have a new BBQ Hut ideal for groups of 12-15. The Hut includes charcoal and logs. We provide wooden plates and cutlery if you wish to have a BBQ (you cook your own meat). Or it is just a lovely focal point if you want to have a drink and a chat, a nice relaxing way to start your weekend.
Includes 2 nights accommodation in our self-catering cottages and activities on Saturday with Corralea Activity Centre Ltd. You can try your skills at Archery, scale the face of our outdoor climbing wall, enjoy an outdoor yoga session with Shauna from Aurora Yoga Studio NI or opt to take to the water with canoe or SUP hire (weather permitting). In the afternoon, take your time & chill out in the unique Forest Eco Spa. Our Lough swing is also there for you to relax at anytime of the day.
The Forest Eco Spa
You have exclusive use of the Forest Eco Spa for the afternoon as part of your package.
The Eco spa is hidden in the forest on the edge of the lake. It is unique with its wood fired hot tub and its Nordic sauna with a panoramic window offering amazing views of Thur Mountain and the hills of Co. Leitrim. The relaxation pod has tea-making facilities and a small fridge to keep your drinks cool.
Revel and cocoon in the heat of our exceptional sauna and soak in the atmosphere in our Hot tub surrounded by trees & relax in our wooden loungers. Then, why not cool down with a dip in the lake! The waters of Lough Macnean are safe for swimming and are pristine. You can totally unwind in this secluded spot!
What better place to catch up with friends and family, take that unique instagram shot and make lasting memories.
Best of all, don’t worry about splitting the cost of the Bride-to-be, Hen goes FREE for groups of 14+
But don’t take our word for it, this is what previous hens have said:
And we want to thank our customers for their fantastic reviews. They mean a lot to us!
Tripadvisor Corralea cottages
Sarah H July 2022
We had an amazing hen weekend here at the start of July.
There was 20 of us on a hen party so we booked out Corralea.
Prior to arriving I had been in contact with Isabelle who was extremely nice, informative and accomodating.
When we arrived, we were greeted by Marius who showed us around and explained how everything worked etc. He then let us work away and said to let him know if we needed anything. We appreciated how we had our privacy but they were there to help us out if needed.
We went to a local bar in Belcoo 'Maguire's bar' for food and drinks that night. I had contacted them earlier in the week to book and they sorted transport for us which was great! Their food and cocktails were amazing.
On the Saturday morning we had organised Archery and Yoga as our activities.
Archery was on site with Brian who was friendly and good craic, the girls thoroughly enjoyed this.
Yoga was in a local studio with Shauna who was so lovely and yoga really relaxed us. Marius and Brian gave us a lift down to this activity.
Brian also took some of us to the off licence which was so kind of him, nothing was too much trouble.
We then had full use of the spa facilities for the rest of the day. The spa was amazing with a sauna, a relaxation room and 2 hot tubs. Everyone commented on how well it was set up. We also swam in the lake and took photos at the swing in the lake. It is such a picturesque place where time seemed to stand still.
We then booked a food company to come and cook a bbq for us that evening, it saved us cooking for 20 people and it was so well priced.
Corralea allowed us to book a dj to come that night as we had the cottages to ourselves. This was such a good idea and everyone loved it. We had DJ Conel who I booked through facebook, we would highly recommemd him.
Overall, we would highly recommend Corralea as a hen party location as their friendliness, hospitality and location is second to none.
Some of the girls have said they cannot wait to book again with their friends/families.
Thank you so much Corralea and we will hopefully be back again!!
Date of stay: July 2022
Rebeccam9 wrote a review 3 Jun (Newcastle upon Tyne)
My friends and family surprised me with a trip here for my hen party and I couldn't have dreamed for a better place to have it. The cottages were immaculate, so spacious and well equipped. The hosts were absolutely perfect, couldn't go out of their way more! So friendly and accommodating. The views were amazing, can't describe how beautiful the lake looked from both the cottages and the spa area. The facilities couldn't have been better! That spa area is unbelievable, felt like you were abroad. The tipi was so fun, such a great idea. I would recommend the water sports, some of the group did kayaking and some were on paddle boards and we had a fab time. I would 100% recommend this place to anyone and will definitely be back ASAP!
Google reviews
5/5
We stayed here two nights for a hen party and had a great time. The instructors made the activities very fun and competitive for us. The staff were very friendly and accommodating and even set up a gazebo for us when there was rain forecast for our BBQ. We would highly recommend it.
5/5
Was here for a hen party. Had the best time! All the staff were amazing and so helpful! Would definitely recommend this activity centre.
Thank you for letting us feature your photos and share your memories.
Edited in Sep 2023.
Isabelle