If this home were for sale, we would buy it in a heartbeat! The house is even more beautiful in person. The slate, wood and hardwood features throughout were a sight to behold. We could easily see the great care that was taken to remodel this school house. One of the features most loved by our mother was the two resident donkeys in the backyard. She enjoyed feeding them carrots every morning and every evening when we returned.
The house was so spacious for the five of us. We enjoyed having our own bedrooms and bathrooms (2 couples and 1 mama) and took advantage of the two large soaking tubs in two of the four bathrooms. The beds were comfortable, the rooms and linens were immaculately clean and there was plenty of hot water for all five of us. The upstairs bedroom with one double/queen bed was a loft and therefore open to the noise coming from the living room and dining room below. However, this didn't disturb our mother since we all went to bed around the same time.
The kitchen was precious with a large variety of teacups and teapots on display. We enjoyed a light breakfast here every morning with the French press for coffee, electric kettle for tea, and toaster for bread. We bought some bread, Nutella, ham and cheese at the local grocery store in Gort to add to the carrot cake left for us in the fridge. The kitchen seemed well equipped for preparing lunch and dinner, but we took day trips that kept us from having other meals at the house.
Most importantly, this house served as a great base for exploring other towns. Gort is lovely and we had a delicious lunch in town before checking in. However, we chose this location based on wanting to take day trips to destinations that were 1 - 2 hours away. On the first day, we went to Bunratty Castle and had dinner at Durty Nelly's. The next day, we drove to Galway, but stopped for lunch in Kinvarra on the way. Another day, we drove a little over 2 hours to go to Kylemore Abbey and then stopped in Clifden on the way back. On our last day, we drove 1 hour to the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin, and stopped in Ennis on the way home.
It was such a relaxing and peaceful home and John was a great host. Although we weren't able to meet him in person, he arranged for his neighbor to greet and check us in. He was easy to communicate with and very patient in answering all of my questions in preparing for our visit. He sent very detailed directions that made it easy for us to find this house in the countryside. We couldn't have asked for a better location and house to stay in during our vacation. Next time we come to Ireland, we look forward to staying here again.