I personally loved the experience of staying there off-grid and it was so peaceful. I especially appreciate the novelty of the place, the tranquil setting and we could tell it is a much loved family home.
One of the most beautiful places for scenery I have stayed and it is unique and stunning: In the evening the mist came in and was sometimes hanging below you in the valley so you felt like you were floating on top of the end of the world.
The house is comfortable and ecclectic and has no pretence but is a perfect setting for an open fire, bottle of wine and incense burning with the sound of the waterfall behind the house creating a lovely sound in rhythm with the crackling of the fire.
Being able to disconnect and being ok with slowing down in the evening was a rare experience for me and I truly value this: it makes you realise when you are there that we are really over worked and over stimulated with our connections these days.
We read stories every night at the fire, played games and talked . That art of being present with family and realising in those moments that we were having precious memories there and then. The children loved it and loved the room at the back which they called "from the age of old".
We didn't even really think about not having electricity and it was not an issue for the entire week we were there.
This is a truly off-grid experience. It is some distance from the main road and the walking towards the port (small pebble beach and peer) feels like a time warp, that you are back 200 years ago.
Walking shoes are a must and if you like to sit outside bring some citronella candles as the insects love to bite. we found that the smoke from the fire helped but be warned there are no citronella candles in Donegal to be found.
Ardara is a lovely town with some nice places to eat and the beaches in the surrounding area (we stayed within an hours drive of the house each day for the week) are spectacular: from caves, to sandy stretches, tropical waterfalls coming off the cliffs onto a beach aswell as good swimming and in Killybegs there are more places to eat.