Westport is one the most beautiful and quaint towns in Ireland and worth visiting for its lovely people and breathtaking nature. This property is very pretty from the outside and has a lot of potential from an aesthetic point of view. It is in a very peaceful area and is very quiet and a good panacea to the noise and crowds of city life.
However, . It is a prime example of a tourist trap.
It was overpriced and there is no real effort to supply the simple basic requirements that any civilised person would expect for such a price. The host was disrespectful when speaking about the former occupant an old lady called Mary Kate who once lived there and whom I would have loved to have met.
I found that the property was not adhering to basic levels of hygiene, the cooker wasn't cleaned properly and smelt terrible so it was to disgusting to use. There was no proper mop which I had to buy. The cupboards contained old remnants from former guests eg dried out jar of coffee, bits of food etc.
There was a slow trickle of hot water from the kitchen tap, the drains kept blocking, the washing machine was in a very dirty old shed outside the house (which would have been fine if it was clean and tidy) The living room furniture was exceptionally dirty and stained and the fireplace covered in black soot. There was shelf full of dirty second hand books in the corner that no one would ever want to read as they were retrieved and the TV was hanging off the wall at an odd angle. It was an interior designers nightmare !!!
The kitchen too was very old fashioned and everything was a bit decrepit including the lights.
I do not think it should be rented until it has been properly renovated and updated to a more acceptable standard. Except for the far bedroom which is a very pretty and room with lovely windows I found the decor looked unbelievably cheap and secondhand and not in a charming way. eg lamps unwashed cushions
Also, a quad bike drove through the property right past me with no acknowledgement while I was vacuuming my car during the day and invaded my privacy.
I actually had to contact the Gardai to retrieve my camera charger after waiting days for it to be dropped off at a collection point to no avail. My complaints about the hygiene and facilities were met with the most immature response from the host who couldn't bear to hear the truth and flew into a childish rage and tried to exact his revenge with nasty text messages.
I would have lent him my advisory services as a designer for free had he showed even a modicum of respect towards his customer as I love old buildings and love to see them properly restored and maintained.
On the other hand, I was amazed by the fantastic support I received from AirBnB who sorted everything out for me.
They were extremely kind and understanding and responded to every message and query with prompt texts and phone calls and refunded me the last night as I left early and the cleaning fee. I will definitely use them again to book accommodation.