We chose Edouard's Radiant Cottage so as to stay somewhere off the beaten path in a more rural area. The lane up to the property is very pretty and lined with beautiful flowers, but quite narrow even with a small car!
The hostess, Paula, was very welcoming and showed us to our room, which appeared cozy and quaint, decorated with simple antiques/vintage furniture. The room was nicely warm (good radiators) despite the rain and wind outside, and was stocked with interesting reading materials.
Paula advised us that the water from the bathroom taps was currently brown due to recent heavy rains, causing the peat to stain the water. We were given a bottle of clear water to use for brushing teeth. Although the brown water was not a cleanliness issue, it was an unexpected condition that led us to NOT take a bath and made us uncomfortable even using the water to wash hands.
Paula had freshly made brownies for me and a nice cup of tea for my husband which we both enjoyed upon arrival. Then we looked at the room in more detail and discovered there were multiple 1 inch long centipedes in the bathtub and on the walls and floors in both the bathroom and the bedroom. After removing a number of the creatures to the outdoors, more appeared over the course of our stay. The bed was extremely cozy and very comfortable, but the centipedes were numerous enough that we did not sleep well out of concern that there could be centipedes crawling into bed with us!
The bathroom has a very low doorway - no problem! But, the bathroom itself had such a low ceiling that my head grazed the ceiling and my husband could not stand up. (I am 5 ft 5 in. and my husband is 5 ft 9.) There is no window in the bathroom, but there is a pop-up sunroof (reminiscent of a camper van) which lets in filtered light. There were small, beautifully scented, homemade soaps provided.
Paula cooked a wonderful, personalized breakfast in the morning for us and another couple staying on the property. We enjoyed the conversation over breakfast in the quaint cottage where Paula lives, with the peat fire burning.
Maybe our specific room at the Radiant Cottage was the least desirable of this property (we did not see the other rooms) and maybe we had an unusual condition with the centipedes in the space and the brown water, but our stay was certainly an expensive experience that was far more rustic than what we anticipated having read the reviews of prior guests!
Of our 14 nights in Ireland, this accommodation was the most expensive, which is amazing considering that we stayed in a castle (literally!) another night and other highly rated B&Bs in rural areas and city centers. Although we did NOT expect this to be a 5 star accommodation, overall, we felt the room conditions we experienced were not what one would expect considering the room rate, description of the property, and the reviews of prior guests.