About The Book Resort

"The gift they’ll remember long after it’s opened"

Wondering how it all began? Make a cup of tea and let me tell you all about it.

My name is Aisling, founder of The Book Resort, an award winning family-run gifting business created in Waterford in late 2019.

I was always a big reader who also happened to love chocolate, and I had big dreams. I wondered if maybe, just maybe, I could turn those dreams into reality by combining two of my favourite things on the planet — books and chocolate — into a business that would make people happy.

As these things often do, it started with a little “I wonder...” moment.

I made lists. Lots of lists. I researched, planned and slowly the idea for The Book Resort began to take shape.

I really wanted to give it 100%, so I did what any sane and rational person would do and left my lovely, secure job.

Yes, I was secretly terrified.

But I was also very excited.

Then Covid arrived...

Things had been going okay for a couple of months and then Covid hit.

Suppliers closed while, at exactly the same time, customers started asking us for more products.

After spending a few days spinning in circles wondering what on earth I was going to do, I put my head down and got to work — which at the time mostly meant not sleeping very much.

And I haven't really stopped since.

The Book Resort grew far more quickly than I'd ever anticipated. In less than 12 months, we'd gone from working at the kitchen table to a workshop.

What started with books and chocolate grew too. Today we send our gift hampers all across Ireland for birthdays, new homes, thank-yous, get-well wishes, celebrations and plenty of just because moments too.

Books are still a huge part of who we are. Our book subscription brings together a new book with local chocolate and a gift, delivered every month — basically the original Book Resort idea, still going strong.

From a kitchen table to our first shop

In 2025, we took another big step and opened our first retail shop at Unit 4, The Pavilion in Tramore, Co. Waterford.

Unfortunately, the shop was damaged during Storm Bram and we had to close it. We're currently online only while we look for the right new premises.

It wasn't quite how we'd imagined that chapter ending, but if the previous few years taught us anything, it's that plans have a habit of changing!  

We now work with loads of brilliant suppliers, many of them fellow Irish businesses. We have customers who've been ordering from us for years, more than 17,000 people following us across Instagram and Facebook, around 1,700 members in our Facebook Book Club, and a tiny but passionate team helping me keep everything moving — including my two sons.

What matters to us

Our number one goal is still a very simple one:

To make people happy.

We want the person opening one of our gifts to feel loved and cared for — sometimes a gift can say the things that are difficult to put into words.

 We want to encourage people to read more, support great Irish businesses and work with suppliers whose products we're genuinely delighted to send.

Welcome to our little dream.

Aisling & The Book Resort Team 💕

 

 

 

PPS.  We have been very fortunate to have been mentioned a lot in the Irish media too: 

View all of our press mentions here