We booked two houses for the weekend of the Connemarathon requesting two houses next door to each other . As we would be minding 4 grandchildren on the day of the race this would allow easy flow between the houses .
My daughter and family travelled ahead and arrived before us as my husband had to attend hospital before .we travelled.
On arrival , we discovered another party were already ensconced into the house allocated to us .As they had used the toilets and bedrooms we had to take the house allocated for them which was a pity . It was not their fault as the owner had not accompanied them to the specific property .
The houses , while equipped with lots of beds do not meet the standard of any other holiday rental we have stayed in recently and Certainly do not represent good value for money .
We payed Over €1000 for each house for 3 nights with no discount for taking two. I never saw or met the host and no apology was given re house mix up .
For rental of this cost I would expect decent beds and fresh linens . The beds were almost unbearable ( I almost fell out of the bed on one occasion the springs were so bad. My husband ended up sleeping in a single bed and thankfully had brought his own pillow ) and the duvets and pillows were the cheapest and the most uncomfortable possible . The bed linen was thin, worn and hadn’t been ironed.
The house we took had a filthy unwashed greasy grill tray which I had to wash myself before use .
The outdoor furniture was shoddy and the hardcore surface in the house my daughter stayed in was strewn with bits of broken bottles / glass . With twin 2 year olds we had to try and fish out lumps of broken glass and ended up not using the back yard at all .
THERE WAS NO WAY TO TURN OFF RADIATORS individually so the bedrooms were far too stuffy unless we turned the heat off completely .
While it was such fun to visit the animals and the children loved the place , we were disappointed with the standard of accommodation .
The entire set up could be so lovely if maintained properly . A series of decent size houses on a farm in a super location .
We totally understand the hospitality industry has taken a mega blow during Covid but there is no excuse for poor beds and linens , dirty ovens or glass in back yards .
I felt these properties were stuck in a time warp and have not been maintained or upgraded to a standard we expect for that high rental cost .
Thankfully , the weather was wonderful and there are beautiful beaches not too far away to entertain 4 little people . The village is buzzing with good food and a well stocked supermarket and the book shop behind the GMIT is absolute heaven with a gorgeous coffee shop and back patio really nicely laid out .
We are seasoned Connemara visitors and absolutely love the area but could not recommend these properties to our friends .