Niamh and her husband warmly welcomed us upon arrival. There were welcoming touches such as fresh eggs in the fridge and guidance on the local attractions. Unfortunately the cottage was not as visibly clean as we would have liked and we couldn’t help but wonder about the less visible aspects of cleanliness. We are not clean freaks by any means but it was impossible not to notice even at a glance that there were paw prints and dirt on the floor and old cobwebs above the shower and on the window sills, as well as crumbs on the sofa. Any of these aspects could have been easily eliminated by even a rudimentary clean. Upon highlighting the issues the host replied that her vacuum cleaner was broken and the paw prints were from the family pets being in the cottage while cleaning was taking place. We were not comfortable with the level of cleanliness, to the extent that we opted not to stay and drove back to Belfast that evening. Given that Airbnb charge a specific cleaning fee it is reasonable to expect at least visible levels of cleanliness. A very disappointing experience I am sorry to say.