Let me disclose that in fact we are American which I understand seems to be more picky than other countries. Given that, this was our second stay at an Air B&B in Ireland and the first home we stayed at during this trip was utterly fantastic at a fraction of the cost, I guess setting the bar a bit higher.
I’m sure the grounds were lovely, unfortunately this house was not what we were looking for on our vacation. It rained our entire stay so we were unable to peruse the garden which was a big part of this rental (obviously no fault of the host). The house itself seems more of a museum or for long-term family rentals in lieu of a couples retreat for a few days. There were no welcoming amenities and the “town” that was closest also was dismal. (No grocer, just a deli which was closed when we arrived, the 3 pubs there did not serve food). The closest location was 20 minutes away in Tullamore. We did not bring misc. food type products as we were did not know that would be a requirement, this house was not even equipped with sugar. Needless to say the items we purchased had to be thrown out at the end of our stay which was a real waste.
In addition, although the comforters/blankets were lovely, the pillows were not. There are no towel racks in the bathrooms or places to put things in the shower, and there is no room to bend over in the shower to get items either. There aren’t hooks for coats (since it rained our entire stay this was a bummer), no firewood for the fireplace, etc. etc. Just quite a few little things that we feel should have been provided/included for this to be considered a successful Air B&B stay.
It was also a bit of a shock that a cleaning fee is imposed – considering the stay requires you to take out all of your own trash, drop off recycling in town, clean up if you choose to use the fireplace etc.
All in all – if you are looking for a place to stay for a few weeks and especially if you have children this would be a lovely stay. The amount of effort taken in the garden area is really astonishing. However if your only looking for something for a few days, or you’re a couple looking for a cozy retreat, I do not suggest this booking.
Mike, the host, was very quick in responding to any inquiry which was great as well.