Truthfully, I already had a good feeling about this stay long before the date of the actual reservation because of the promptness, personability, and flexibility with which Fiona communicated as I fumbled around and did some thinking out loud in emails to set things up. She mentioned that, it being Christmastime, family might be around, but that we would have privacy in the rooms. I was sure to let her know that we rather PREFERRED to interact with Irish locals over the holidays, anyway. Even after an event that affected her family shortly before the holidays, Fiona allowed us to keep our reservation. She did us a service, however, by communicating the context of our stay, becaue it made us more sensitive to the immense privilege of staying in a real home by real people set in a dreamlike location. This is what my family and I put Fiona and family through: *Tacked on an extra reservation for my sister and her boyfriend *Forgot to ask for the address of the place until I was already halfway through Ireland *Didn't have phone access until the very last minute, and got her phone number wrong once I did, relying solely on email communications whenever I could get WiFi along our journey *Arrived at 10 p.m. in the rainy dark because of a great day paired with poor driving conditions *Left far past a decent checkout time because my sister's boyfriend came down with a stomachache from something he had at a restaurant the evening before *Knew I owed money for the additional reservation yet had zero Euros in cash prepared, so that Fiona's husband had to log into his PayPal account so that I could deliver the monies that way In return, we received: *Steady presence and follow up via email because she understood that we might not have international phone service *Delivery of a beautiful watercolored map that gave spot-on directions to the house *A warm reception when we busted in all late at night - I felt instantly that they were my actual family friends *Seats in the living and dining room and participation in family time conversations about everything from our families to travels to the arts *Snuggle time with resident lap dog Milo *Spic-and-span private rooms in a secluded wing of the house *Our choice of to two immaculate bathrooms *Breakfast as an extra courtesy on their part *Advice on memorable local sites and walks *Lax checkout policy *Flexibility in dealing with additional payment The value of this spot is unbelievable, offering seclusion on a tiny peninsula without surrendering convenient proximity to main roads and sites. The house itself is spectacular also. There are many personal touches in it - stunning paintings by Fiona's father, admirable porcelain works created by Fiona herself, lovely decorations since she is an interior designer by trade. Even in the pitch black dark of night, the home twinkles, and in the day, it is filled with natural light, offering surreal views onto...