If you're looking for an Irish holiday, you may be skeptical about spending it in a renovated farmhouse quiet County Laois.
Well, let me eliminate your skepticism right now.
First of all, we expected that this renovated farmhouse wouldn't have all the touches we are used to here in North America. Boy were we wrong!
First of all, the home has three washrooms, one with a glorious full bath as well as a shower, and two with showers.
The water pressure was fantastically strong, and there was TONS of hot water, so don't worry about crummy farmhouse water pressure; it's a non-issue.
Second, the kitchen is fantastic. It's a huge, bright, open space with a large communal table, and an island with lots of high seating to get everyone participating in making meals. Amazingly, we didn't eat out a single day we were at the farmhouse because the kitchen was such a pleasure to cook in!
The house also features a relaxing family room with a fantastic fireplace that we used every single night.
Be aware, the farmhouse is actually on a working farm. You may occasionally hear cows mooing, or chickens clucking, but this only adds to the charm.
The nice thing about the location is that it's in a vibrant rural county where dairy farming and cattle raising is still the dominant way of life, and there are few tourists.
There is a thatched roof pub less that five minutes away that has been owned by the same family since the 1700's, and serves great homestyle food and quality pints of Guinness.
The town centre is less than a 10 minute drive, and there are some surprisingly good eats and fun pubs to hang out in. Make no mistake, this is a very busy town!
The final benefit is that the home is located very close to the awesome M7 highway, so you can be virtually anywhere in the country within a couple of hours. Dublin airport is about an hour, Dublin city centre is about 75 minutes, and Limerick and Cork are right off the M7, so very convenient drives.
I would highly recommend this place. Justin is very friendly and accommodating- you won't be disappointed!