A proper Gentlemens weekend?

amacca

Gentlemen

I've been asked to be a best man. I'd like to give the guy a good send off (hes a bit of a legend) but I'm seriously lacking in inspiration when it comes to the stag weekend/night....particularly the venue.

Obviously....I'm hoping to include some of the old reliables like drinking, cigar smoking, nice meal, gambling and some sort of outdoor activities (something unusual would be nice but this could be something along the lines of canoeing/kayaking etc.....possibly some scantily clad ladies exploiting our wallets.

Any ideas..anyone been to a particularly good stag they were impressed by/enjoyed...if so where was it?

Looking primarily for a venue/location that would be good in Ireland or even out of it (considering anything at this stage as have lots of time), think myself it will probably be in Ireland as some lads crucial for the night may not be able to go if its abroad but you never know.

Would also be interested in any pitfalls, good ideas/bad ideas etc etc as I'm a bit outside my comfort zone with this one.

Appreciate any help/advice etc

Otis Driftwood

Was on a stag in Galway last year.

We stayed in the Spanish Arches Hotel.Tis on Shop Street and cost us about €60 for two nights,no B+B but there is a cafe right across the street from it.The Hotel itself has a really nice bar food menu.

There is a casino about 5 minutes from the Hotel (iirc across from the Roisin Dubh) and I think there is a strip club somewhere there too if thats your thing.

On the Saturday we went and did Pureskill.Good skit and it killed a couple of hours before going drinking.

Panthro

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

There is a casino about 5 minutes from the Hotel (iirc across from the Roisin Dubh) and I think there is a strip club somewhere there too if thats your thing.

Galway's answer to Las Veagas! Seedy strip clubs, seedy casinos, seedy pawrn shops and even seedier takeaways (Vinny's and The Kebab House be thy names!)..yes indeed, welcome to Dominick Street!
(Roisin Dubh is a lovely spot though, Massimo's is just around the corner, very nice and late bar, IIRC)

amacca

cheers.....doubt I would have discovered that on my own.

MadsL

Just a suggestion - a Gentleman's weekend in the true sense could be had for €87 a head for two nights in your own castle/hunting lodge. http://www.belle-isle.com

You could probabaly organise fishing/shooting/boating and wear a lot of tweed. Pack of cards and poker chips will take care of the gambling. You'll doubtless find a dubious club to head to for the night when you rent a small coach and get on up to Enniskillen or arrange some *ahem* private entertainment.

amacca

MadsL wrote: »

Just a suggestion - a Gentleman's weekend in the true sense could be had for €87 a head for two nights in your own castle/hunting lodge. http://www.belle-isle.com

You could probabaly organise fishing/shooting/boating and wear a lot of tweed. Pack of cards and poker chips will take care of the gambling. You'll doubtless find a dubious club to head to for the night when you rent a small coach and get on up to Enniskillen or arrange some *ahem* private entertainment.

cheers ....this is great stuff...gentlemen. will check this out. keep em coming

just realized how little I know about organizing something like this.

who to go through to get email addresses of lads groom knows and wants there but I dont know

if its normal to run venue choices by the groom or just tell him where and when once its organized etc

Stheno

How many of you are there?

myflipflops

Weather and numbers depending but the best 'stag' (hate the term) was boating down the Shannon. A group of close friends drinking beer, eating man-food and telling stories of old times. It was the best way to send the groom off to married life while reminding him not to forget his mates.

Whatever you do, I advise to bin the stripper part. I guarantee you, whatever they will say publicily, at least half of the group will have no interest in it and will probably hate it.

Sky King

I totally want to do the Shannon boat thing! Have heard from numerous sources that it is undoubtedly a fantastic way to do the stag thing.

And I have no interest in strippers. Ugh.

Otis Driftwood

The Shannon thing Ive done a few times.

The good thing about it is that you can dock in Carrick on Shannon,there are some great bars in it,a couple of decent clubs and the town is always full of hen parties.

I think there is a paintballing site not too far from Carrick too if that would be of interest.

What I would say is OP,ask the stag is there anything he would particularly like to do OR something he definitely doesnt want to do,its his weekend after all.

amacca

Stheno wrote: »

How many of you are there?

at the moment, there could be up to 20...I'm trying to get as much numbers as possible to stay interested so I'd say ill end up with about 15 through natural wastage after choosing a time that most are happy with and confirming venue most can (afford) to get to.


The shannon thing is actually a great idea but most of the group including myself have done it about number of times (with gfs etc)and I myself would like if it was something new and think a lot of the lads have done it so many times before they may not like it (novelty factor worn off) but maybe thats just me over thinking it....would definitely do it if we hadnt done it before

hate the term stag also btw

I kinda like strippers though......long as they are not too skanky! (Thats right, I have met some "classy" strippers in my time) though I take the point that I could be hard to organise and not really worth the hassle and maybe not really enjoyed by some/most.

groom interested in outdoor activity of some sort, drinking, gambling and interested in not excluding people by choosing a venue people cant go to or a time they cant go at so his main priority is that the "lads" or as many as possible of them go thats why I'm giving options with prices (just a couple I shortlist) and choosing the venue/time that most people agree to go on.

IrishEyes19

amacca wrote: »

at the moment, there could be up to 20...I'm trying to get as much numbers as possible to stay interested so I'd say ill end up with about 15 through natural wastage after choosing a time that most are happy with and confirming venue most can (afford) to get to.


The shannon thing is actually a great idea but most of the group including myself have done it about number of times (with gfs etc)and I myself would like if it was something new and think a lot of the lads have done it so many times before they may not like it (novelty factor worn off) but maybe thats just me over thinking it....would definitely do it if we hadnt done it before

hate the term stag also btw

I kinda like strippers though......long as they are not too skanky! (Thats right, I have met some "classy" strippers in my time) though I take the point that I could be hard to organise and not really worth the hassle and maybe not really enjoyed by some/most.

groom interested in outdoor activity of some sort, drinking, gambling and interested in not excluding people by choosing a venue people cant go to or a time they cant go at so his main priority is that the "lads" or as many as possible of them go thats why I'm giving options with prices (just a couple I shortlist) and choosing the venue/time that most people agree to go on.

Just make sure the groom is up for the stripper too, OP, I get it that you like it, but he may not, nor his bride to be, lol. Might end up having a night out like the Hangover film!! haha. Enjoy

Starokan

was on a great stag in dublin last summer, the best man was a cracking organiser if i remember rightly it was

we met in foggy dew for couple early pints then headed for clay pigeon shooting (much gambling between everyone on the results) . cant remember the exact venue but it was not far from city centre.

then onto leopardstown for evening race meeting which was so much fun. It finished about 9.0 so it was back to city centre, cue many pubs, some nightclub, then there was a split in the camp with some heading for sporting emporium and some for the delights of the aforementioned scantily clad ladies.

all in all a cracking day but the key was the effort he put in before hand. He had an all in price for everyone for the shooting, the racing and the transport, got everyone to pay in advance. It was pretty damn reasonable too overall.

amacca

Starokan wrote: »

was on a great stag in dublin last summer, the best man was a cracking organiser if i remember rightly it was

we met in foggy dew for couple early pints then headed for clay pigeon shooting (much gambling between everyone on the results) . cant remember the exact venue but it was not far from city centre.

then onto leopardstown for evening race meeting which was so much fun. It finished about 9.0 so it was back to city centre, cue many pubs, some nightclub, then there was a split in the camp with some heading for sporting emporium and some for the delights of the aforementioned scantily clad ladies.

all in all a cracking day but the key was the effort he put in before hand. He had an all in price for everyone for the shooting, the racing and the transport, got everyone to pay in advance. It was pretty damn reasonable too overall.

he sounds like the best man I aspire to be.

FewFew

Best stag I've been on was in Krakow. Due to prices etc. it actually worked out just as cheap as a weekend in Ireland.

Went on a guided drinking tour of the city, checked out a hooters-esque bar, did some sight seeing, stumbled onto a strip club at one point... all good fun. There were a few different groups of mates, but being in a strange town kinda unified us in our adventures, there were no old pros saying "I did this last time I was here..." etc.

Few funny pranks lined up are always a good idea, on this one the best man printed up a 100 or so posters with the groom's photo on them and a sign warning girls that he was a sex pest. They kept popping up everywhere!

MadsL

How's it coming along OP?

amacca

MadsL wrote: »

How's it coming along OP?

still compiling options before I research them and cherry pick the promising ones to be submitted for approval:D .....think I'll run the contenders past the groom and see what he thinks...he wont have to do any of the work, just say yay or nay

san sebastien was also mentioned as a good spot but I'm not so sure its going to be overseas at all - need to get as many to go as possible.

Kevin Duffy

Dunno where you're based OP, but if Dublin constitutes a weekend away then you're spoiled for choice for outdoor stuff - rock climbing, high ropes courses, shooting, go karting, off road driving, kayaking, all less than an hour from the city centre - and plenty of choice for after dark.

I organised a stag in Waterford a few years ago, great place for it - great pubs and clubs, all very welcoming even to a 20+ group, we bowled, went karting and played golf when it was bright out. I'd be pretty sure there was far more than that to be had too, that was just what that party were into.

the_syco

If you do go paintballing, check if they have an orange jump suit for the stag - was down in Limerick, and my mate had to wear a bright orange jumpsuit. Luckily for him there was a stag on the opposing team, so we didn't all shoot him Or maybe buy an orange jumpsuit for him for the event :P

Star Lord

Was chatting to a co-worker before about his stag do, and he's planning on going to Manchester for a weekend, and go to Alton Towers for a day too. Sounds good to me!

amacca

right...have got some good ideas, cheers all


anyone see any problems running dates, potential stags and guest list past groom to get his input? ....need to get some email addresses off him too........or is that not the done thing?

dont want him to do any work but dont want to go on a solo run and end up with a stag/date etc he wont enjoy

Otis Driftwood

Oh God no,it is his weekend afterall.