School Holidays 2017 Cottages In Northern Ireland

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ruth - Verified booking

  We took this cottage as we were taking elderly parents (originally from Mourne) to celebrate their Golden Wedding with the possibility of hikes for younger members of the party.

  We had a great week. The downstairs accessible bathroom made it ideal for the grandparents while the location is ideal for walking the Mournes. The house belonged to Jack Kyle which was an added bonus for the older generation of Irish rugby fans! It is spacious and well equipped and good value compared to other similar sized properties in the area so I have given it four stars. Had it been pricier, I would probably have rated it slightly lower as there were a few niggles and it is important to know what to expect: (1) there was a lot of animal hair on the mats and stair carpets (maybe that’s normal for properties that allow pets - I don’t have any and wouldn’t normally choose one except the accessible bathroom and location made this one attractive); (2) again possibly an animal problem, but the sofa in the living room smells really bad to the point we couldn’t use it, although fortunately there is a lovely sunroom with nice seating so that was less of a problem than it might have been; (3) the bin situation is not adequately managed - guests have to put the right bin out on bin day but that clearly hadn’t happened for weeks as both the black and blue bins were overflowing on the patio. We had to tidy up the previous tenants’ rubbish and rearrange it to get it in the bins and get them closed. We put out the blue bin so it was emptied and we had to take the rest of our rubbish home as there was no room for our rubbish in the black bin. There wasn’t even a bin liner provided so we had to get that ourselves too. That’s going to be a problem for this week’s incoming guests too although at least they won’t have to tidy up our rubbish. The owner needs to ensure that the bins are emptied and have enough space for incoming guests - it isn’t fair to have to sort out previous guests’ waste and if you were coming from further afield you couldn’t take your rubbish home. (4) Getting hot water was complicated - there were more switches than explained in the book - you need to turn on switches to the left of the door in the hot press as well as the one in the kitchen to get hot water for the upstairs shower. It took us a couple of days to work that out! (5) It would be a good idea to bring extra towels even if you aren’t planning on the beach. We were 7 guests and had 7 towels and 2 hand towels. If you have a few people with long hair and it isn’t cold enough for the heating to come on, they don’t dry. So, great location and plenty of space. The man who cuts the grass was also very friendly and considerate. It clearly states that pets are allowed so my first two niggles might not bother you if you had brought some. However, I think the owner should sort out the bin management and improve instructions for the hot water. A couple of spare towels would be nice but not essential!

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• Brian - Verified booking

  An absolutely fantastic place to stay.

  John and Kathleen made us very welcome form the moment we arrived. The scenic views from the house are beautiful. Nestled in a valley at the eastern point of Lower Lough McNean, the house is a stones throw form the lake and is surrounded by the most wonderful hills and countryside on both sides. Only 15 minutes’ drive from Enniskillen and access to all the shops you will need. The house was extremely well equipped and our hosts even left us starter supplies to get us settled in, you don’t get that sort of touch in the more commercial lets. The house has four main bedrooms three bathrooms. There is a wet room on the ground floor which is a god send if you have anyone with a disability or more frail individuals joining you. We had two children with disabilities, one with autism and one visually impaired and the wet room suited their needs perfectly. A good size reception room, lovely large kitchen with all the appliances you need and a great sitting area at the rear of the house. The house is on a working farm but it doesn’t impact on your stay and the children with us loved seeing the young calves in the surrounding fields. We took two small boats with us to fish on the lake and John the host gave us access to the shore to launch them. For any fishing enthusiasts among your company the lake has a great stock of pike, bream, roach an perch. You may be lucky enough to land a nice brown trout. For walkers and hikers, you will be spoilt for choice, Cuilcagh mountain and the famous “Stairway to Heaven” is a must do. Cladagh Glen, Marble Arch Caves, Florence Court House, Castle Crom,and Pollnagollum Cave, which was used in filming for the popular television series, Game of Thrones are all nearby. Enniskillen has a host of attractions and you are an hour or so from the coast, Sligo, Donegal etc. If you get bored in this beautiful area, you are tired of life. We had a wonderful week thanks to John and Kathleen and the only regret was not booking it for longer. We were all so impressed that we will book it again for the same week next year. Can’t wait to go back

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• Thomas - Verified booking

  Tudor Lodge is a treat & an experience to stay at.

  This lovely house is also very engaging if you love a good story & like reading. Owned by the Kyle family this property belonged to the late John Wilson Kyle, better known as Jack Kyle. Jack was one of Ireland's greatest Rugby players of all time having been entered into the Rugby hall of fame for his achievements in the sport. He also graduated from Queen's university in Belfast in the medical field & spent 34 years as a surgeon in Africa & was one of the first doctor's to help people with the Hiv virus. When this incredible gentleman returned to Ireland he brought back with him all his books & art work from Africa, which are all still in Tudor Lodge for you to indulge yourself. The house itself is a lovely big family home with lots of seating areas, a large kitchen , living area, dining room & conservatory. At one point we had 20 people in the house, & as people came & went it was a fantastic atmosphere for everyone to catch up, even the kids had lots of room to run around & the back garden is very nice too, with great views but especially at night if the sky's are clear, as there is no light pollution, so the sky lights up like a Christmas tree, you can even see the outline of the milky way. For sleeping the two downstairs bedrooms & bathroom are very handy, if you have people with you of an older age or with mobility difficulties, this was very handy for us as we had 70+ years old family members coming to stay. At one point we had 6 cars on the drive too, so having all the room at the front of the house is ideal for people coming & going. The upstairs bedrooms are both nice and big , comfortable & are both ensuite with large wardrobes for all your clothes etc. I highly recommend this family home, it's location, views, accommodation & history, make it an absolute pleasure. A special mention for Caleb too, jack's son, the landlord, he is a lovely man and very helpful and accommodating, thank you Caleb for everything & bless you , Tommy.

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• Easta - Verified booking

  Lovely property in a perfect location!

  Located on the main route along the top coast we had easy access to all the places on our list to visit; Giant’s Causeway, Carrick a Rede, Mussenden Temple, Dunluce Castle, Ballycastle and Raithlin Island. There were also many other places we discovered down narrow, steep, hairpinned roads that dropped to small rugged coves or harbours. This whole area was more wild, rugged and wonderful than I had expected. The house is out in the countryside in a group of similar properties. Inside, the house was beautifully cared for and decorated and had everything we needed for our stay. It was comfortable, clean and spacious. All the extra bits we often take on holiday had been provided. The patio garden at the back was a sun trap for late afternoon evening relaxing, although it was right next to the main road and did get traffic noise. We had wonderful sunsets from the back bedroom window over the distant sea. The parking is arranged just in front of the house with other properties parking in a row facing their homes along the fence line. We enjoyed a trip to Bushmills distillery and the Bushmills Inn. We also ate at Gray’s just a couple of minutes drive down the road, which we really enjoyed. We arranged an Asda delivery on our arrival and popped into the Spar and Co-op in Bushmills when passing for extras. One day we headed to Belfast to the Titanic exhibition then on to The Gobbins Cliff Walk, both of which were excellent. There are many lovely looking beaches all along the coast Benone, Downhill, White Rocks, White Park Bay as well as Ballycastle. I imagine during the summer months these would be very popular. We chose to travel from Cairnryan to Larne with a two hour crossing time, which worked very well for us. I would happily return to Stillwaters tomorrow and do it all again!

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• Claire - Verified booking

  Thank you for sharing your property.

  We found the key lock safe easy to use. We were always able to find a free parking space behind the cottage, parking our car in a secure location was reassuring. The kitchen and dining area was well equipped, except no extractor fan or grill rack in pan for oven grill. When you use the 2 hob stove for frying the smoke is not cleared quickly enough to avoid setting off smoke alarms, just frying a few sausages set off both smoke alarms. The dishwasher worked well but there was only one dishwasher tablet and the handle on the dishwasher integrated door was too small to get a grip to open easily. There was no BBQ for holiday use as detailed in property guide file. There is a flickering bulb in the kitchen luckily we could see well enough with the other useable bulbs, so just never turned on flickering bulb. In one kitchen cupboard was an out of date coconut oil and sprouting potatoes. The bedrooms were clean and tidy with sufficient facilities and equipment, except no hand towels on first floor for bathroom. The blinds gave sufficient darkness on dull days but did not give sufficient darkness/Shade on sunny days. We were not too disturbed by road noise at night, we just accepted it during day as it is by a major route to Belfast.

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