We fell in love with Carmel’s cottage terrace the moment we walked in the front door. Loretto Chapel is situated in the hills of Muckross, approximately 3 km south of the city centre of Killarney in County Kerry. It is ideally situated as a base for exploring County Kerry (and also conveniently close to Killarney Brewery, a great micro-brewery).
It’s located in a quiet, semi-rural setting overlooking trees at the back of the property and a large green paddock on the right. The terrace has a classic, “two-up, two down” configuration – with a small but beautifully appointed drawing room at the front of the ground floor and a kitchen-dining area and laundry at the back. There is an outdoor dining area at the back of the house, too, which we didn’t use because there were very strong winds and torrential rain during most of our visit to Killarney.
The house has two very comfortable double bedrooms upstairs and two bathrooms. We found the central heating system very efficient.
Carmel was in frequent contact with us in the days leading up to our arrival, which was several hours later than planned due to bad weather. Waiting for us in the kitchen were scones, fresh milk, bottled water and local apples!
The house doesn’t have television, but we really didn’t miss it at all. One morning when heavy rain kept us indoors, we just sat in the drawing room and read magazines and books! The Wi-Fi system was very good.
We were very sorry to leave Loretto Chapel. It’s really a very romantic place - ideal as a “honeymoon destination” for both young and older couples.
We stayed there at the tail end of a long driving tour of Scotland and Ireland and it was easily the best Airbnb house we stayed in. Highly recommended.