Karen’s home is beautiful, modern and spotless, located in a lovely part of Dublin off the south shore in Sandymount. It’s only a 10-minute walk from bus and train stops, and only about a 20-minute walk along an esplanade next to the beach to the Sandymount Green surrounded by several restaurants.
The host was very responsive to communications through the AirBnB system, answering my various questions quickly and providing useful information about travel routes, restaurants, etc.
The only cause for any discomfort were the preponderance of rules. It’s probably a common headache for hosts that some guests are not as considerate as they should be. In response, Karen runs a very tight ship and is explicit about it: no outside shoes, socks or bare feet outside of your bedroom (slippers are provided), no more than 10-minute showers, signs posted everywhere insisting that guests clean up after themselves, be as quiet as possible, put your teabags in this container. The kitchen is off-limits (breakfast is not included) and during my time there the only open doors were the ones from my room to the exit. It’s all understandable and effectively separates the host’s private life from her hosting one. It just detracts from the welcome. I found myself walking on eggshells, terribly worried I’d make some mistake or another. I’m sure it’s as much about my own internal mechanizations as anything to do with the place and some would take comfort in it instead of being disturbed by it, but I was a bit relieved to have gotten through my stay there without having made any major blunders.