Dog Friendly Donegal Holiday Cottages

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Madeline - Verified booking

  Well we arrived in Nephin View on 26th a beautiful sunny afternoon & the house is in a lovely spot so quiet & Peaceful.

  however I have to say we were a bit disappointed with the house. It looks like it has been recently painted but unfortunately the Hob left a lot to be desired. Needed a good clean. We couldn't even find the switch to turn it on & there wasn't any Instruction Book around on any of the appliances apart from the Dishwasher.. Kettle was even a bit greasy on the outside.The Fridge appeared to be Defrosting leaving water gathering on the bottom shelf .. The doors of the Fridge weren't even attached to the outside door. We couldn't open/close some of the windows as the handles were broke. One of the Wardrobes had a Screw sticking out on the inside which would tear your clothes if you didn't know it was there. There was no hooks on the back of the doors so nowhere to hang a dressing gown or a jacket. One of the wet rooms didn't even have a towel rail & there was no bulbs in the lights over the mirror in the Ensuite..However both Wet rooms had Grab Bars which was a great addition.. This was a three bedroom house which could mean up to six people staying. The Dining Table only had four Chairs with some small Rattan Chairs if you needed extra. We then decided to go outside to sit in the sun & have a coffee & when the other person on the holiday sat in the garden chair (Ratten) the seat collapsed leaving her practically sitting on the ground. Luckily she didn't break anything apart from hurting her shoulder a bit. It would have been worse if it was me as I'm currently waiting on a Hip & Knee Replacement. Not the start you want to your holiday. I then rang the Contact Number listed & spoke to what seemed like a very confused man only to find out He was in Australia on holidays so God only knows how much that call cost me. He wasnt really very helpful nor did he even ask how the Lady was after the fall. He gave no other Contact Number leaving us at a loss as to who we should ring if the was a serious problem & I certainly wasn't going to ring Australia again. I tried another number that was pined up on a door in the hall & that wasn't much help either. The Lady has nothing to do with the house but she would try & help if she could. . A New Contact Number should have been left when the Owner & his Wife knew they were going to Australia. There was no Information Pack in the house about the surrounding area. No Information regarding the Local supermarkets/Restaurants around. No Telephone number for the Emergency Services The Police or even the Local Hospital or G.P. There was no Information regarding Rubbish & no Rubbish Bins outside the house so we didn't know where to leave our Rubbish when leaving. There wasn't even any Information on the Central Heating or if it was set to come on at certain times & no Information where to leave the used Towels. So with no Information supplied you just used your own judgement This. Property could be a little gem if it was managed properly & all of the above problems were sorted but for our visit the property certainly wasn't ready to be rented out & not having a local Contact Number is a very big problem. We are very disappointed & annoyed especially having paid £625 (€720). We have booked through Sykes before & this is the first time we really had any issues with a property. I just wonder if anyone vetted it before it became listed ? This sort of thing certainly won't do Sykes Reputation any good. Have taken photos of above complaints if requested.

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• Leonard - Verified booking

  My wife and I enjoyed our stay at Ring Fort Lodge.

  It is in a good location with lovely views out of the patio doors. The kitchen/lounge is very nice, however there are areas that need attention. Firstly the mixer tap on the sink is free to twist and wobble about needing three hands to turn it on, keep hold of it and what you want to rinse under the tap. It's great to have the dishwasher but a small draining tray alongside the sink would be very useful to place the odd items on you just want to rinse. In the bedroom whilst the bed is very comfortable there is very little clothes hanging and storage space. It was a shame that the wardrobe would not fit in the bedroom & was situated in the lounge. However with the great shortage of hangers it would not have helped much had it been in the bedroom. The room is small but is cluttered up with unnecessary useless furniture. We had to leave most of our clothes in the suitcases on the floor in the bedroom and one case in the lounge. The only mirror on the wall had a clothes hanging rack in front of it so you couldn't use it. The shower and W/C room was OK but the shower screen being small & open at both ends meant the water flooded onto a mat just between the door and shower. We had to hang the soggy wet matt up in the shower to drain after every shower. Surely a rubber shower matt could be placed there which would drip dry when hung up instead of having a wet mat to stand on when coming out of the shower. We also had to mop the floor each time we showerd as it became a skating rink when wet. The sink whilst being perfectly OK was placed on top of an old wooden cabinet that was falling apart when you tried to open the doors. The tap over the sink was the most weird tap I have ever seen. It was anything but user friendly and was difficult to turn on without getting showered in spray. The host kindly left a basket of bread, eggs and other snacks even some butter in the fridge which was very thoughtful and much appreciated. However we have never stayed anywhere were only one toilet roll was supplied. All in all we enjoyed our stay. The accommodation had a lot of pluses but could and needs to be made more user friendly instead of quirky.

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• Elizabeth - Verified booking

  Kits Cottage is in a lovely location with beautiful scenery.

  If you want peace and quiet and amazing views, this is the perfect place. All you hear is bird song, and see the sheep, horses and occasionally a fox strolls by. You can see the sea from the bedroom (fight for the left hand side of the bed!!) and our favourite spot is the seat in the garden. Just perfect, even in October. We enjoyed sitting here with a glass of wine and a book after our days out. A little table would be nice! This appears to be a new holiday cottage, certainly for Sykes but maybe to the holiday rental market. It has been recently decorated and has new curtains, bed linen, shower curtain etc. The lounge furniture is very comfortable. The heating and hot water are very efficient, but it would have been nice if at least the water was switched on for arrival. There are still some areas for improvement, but it is great value for money, especially for a family. We really appreciated having a washing machine, and the views from the washing line are the best ever! There are lots of good quality coat hangers, enough toilet rolls, washing up liquid, tea towels etc. Internet was fine, but our phones only worked in the garden. For bird lovers, this cottage is ideal, as not only do you have birds in the garden, but you can see the estuary, too. We saw Dunnock, Great tit, Wren, Curlew, Rook, Jackdaw, Robin, Carrion crow, Hooded Crow, Jays and Pied wagtails. Our Merlin App identified Siskin, short eared owl and Redwing. Maybe put bird feeders in the lower garden visible from the cottage – we would have happily bought nuts etc! Kitchen equipment may need reviewing. Larger sharp knives, better saucepans with lids. Table legs need tightening, it’s a bit wobbly at the moment. Maybe consider a guest book for feedback, and more tourist information. We would definitely return, and we would recommend. The cottage is comfortable and cosy, but its main selling point is the location and the views. We had an amazing week visiting beautiful places, but coming home to peace and beautiful views was the highlight.

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• Robert - Verified booking

  The property is not to a standard to give a comfortable winter break, the temperature in the living area was only 16c .

  If the oil fired central heating on its high setting used 1 litre per hour, oil is charged at €1 per litre which is 27+% over its actuall cost . All the heat was sucked up the open fire chimney. We used 60kg of coal , 5 baskets of peat and 1 bag of logs. Total cost of heating €81 for 6 days to attain at temperature of 18c at the end of the 6th day. This issue was exasperated by a draft around the double bedroom window, no seal around the loft space doors in the upper bedroom and no flap valve on the toilet extractor fan . All heat was lost if you opened the front door because there was no porch. A hot tap was not fitted on the left hand side , good job none of us is blind ( Europe Standard) . A sink was loose on wall , and the hot water tank had no insulation at all. I also think the bed quilts were not winter tog , their was not one sharp piece of cutlery. Dust in the corners and cobwebs all over. Bed room lay out was very poor, I'm sorry there is no finesse or care visible on this property.

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• George - Verified booking

  We really enjoyed our stay in this lovely cottage.

  It was spotlessly clean, spacious, very comfortable and cosy. The efficient heating system meant that the whole place warmed up very quickly when needed. It was well equipped and provided everything required for food preparation and cooking when we didn’t eat out. The pictures of the property were accurate and as expected. The location was perfect for touring this lovely part of Donegal without having to clock up too many miles and we would certainly stay here again if we return to this area. One of our favourite trips was to Glebe house and we would most definitely recommend a visit to this fascinating house. There are beautiful beaches nearby although the cold weather meant we did not make much use of the swimming facilities! We would also like to thank the owners for their welcome pack- a lovely gesture and much appreciated. We would not hesitate to recommend Ard an Phiobaire and hope to return here ourselves, at some point in the future. Thank you

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