Ireland

Dream Ireland Holiday Homes

It was very disappointing to find their was no recycling facilities in the compound or an arrangement made for the recycling to be collected, even though there was an add for Clean Ireland Recycling on the wall

Also, no sweeping brush in the house, only one tea towel, no clothes pegs

Garville Court Holiday Homes

Tanzania

 From Singida, Tanzania

The apartment was in a fantastic location. Very close to everything and not noisy. The owners were very friendly and very helpful. I would definitely recommend this apartment.

Holland Court

United Kingdom

 From Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Superb house in a child friendly estate with all the facilities and more.

Wolseley Holiday Homes

 From Wigan, United Kingdom

An excellent property with excellent owners to match.
Highly recommended for anyone...and make sure you take Fred &amp; Pauline a nice bottle of Whiskey along for letting you stay there.....they deserve it!

Links Holiday Village (3 bedrooms)

 From Newcastle Upone Tyne

This property met my familys needs very well.
Its spacious, and very comfortable.  Close to all the amentities (shops, resturants, bank, tourist info etc.) The property details are accurate except for the pool, its not heated.
  The property was clean on our arrival, we were met and welcomed by the friendly property manager who gave us a few basics, showed us whats what and did say if we needed anything to call him.
  During our stay we thought the propety lacked cleaning products and equipment eg. cleaning cloths, mop, dust pan and brush ect. There is only one broom, a hoover that needs cleaning and a broken mop, which we could not use. In order to keep the bathroom, kitchen and floors clean and tidy as we use it. Needs one extra broom, one for indoor, one of outside, and a couple of mats by the doors. and kitchen. 
  The kitchen is adaquately equiped though the kettle did not work, we managed without it.
The shower heads in some of the bathrooms work okay but need matainence, and a few of the lights did not have working light bulbs.
  These things are minor, easily remedy, and didnot taint our stay in anyway. 
  To be totally fair we should of told the property manager as he did say call if we need to, but we were too busy enjoying our holiday! I definitely recommend to other family members and friends.

Riverside Mews Holiday Homes

 From Rathfarnham, Ireland

Great location, owners will make your stay everything you could wish for. Gite has all that you need and more. Highly recommended.

Summerhill Holiday Apartments

 From Dublin, Ireland

My family and I (wife and two teenage daughters) stayed for two weeks in early July 2009.  It was my firet time abroad and was very anxious booking an apartment on the internet.  I found the Villarenters web site extremely easy to navigate and use.  The apartment we booked in Calahonda was superb and the owner was very good and helpful with directions and usefull information before we left. Bars restaurants (espacially the Casablanca) and shops were within walking distance.  The details given on the website turned out to be spot  and it not only met my expectations but far exceeded them.  It was a beautiful apartment, very spacious easily accomadating six people with the three bedrooms en-suite and a plunge pool on the balcony.  The apartment was very clean and well furnished.  The pool and gardens were kept immaculate.  We all had a wonderful time

Ard na Mara Holiday Homes

 From San Diego, USA

Was it good value for money? 

Yes, although it wasn’t calculated pro rata, I accepted it still as a reasonable figure

Did it meet your expectations? 

The property exceeded my expectations.  

The pictures perhaps do not reflect the space.  I was quite taken aback by the size of the rooms.
Was the description accurate?

Would you recommend it to a friend?

Yes. I have already recommended the place.
Were you adequately looked after during your stay?

I didn’t have to call on the person too much, but was available each time I called.  For really minor things perhaps better to have someone closer, but workarounds were available.

General

I think I have mentioned that I was taken with the size of the place.  The main bedroom, and en-suite was very very spacious.  

As a recommendation, take your slippers (I don’t know why mine weren’t packed), but the floors are either wooden or tiles, and you can end up with cold feet.

There is plenty of wardrobe space in the bedrooms.

I didn’t find the electricity charge excessive, as we had used the heating (NOTE: storage heaters) quite a bit in the evenings, and used both the washer/dryer, and dishwasher, quite frequently.  So for our stay it amounted to 27 euros.

Recommendations

The kitchen needs oven gloves; used towels to get around the problem.  Also could do with more than one wooden spoon (smaller sort).

Better information packs would be good, plus maps of the locale.  I have left additional information.  It would be nice to have perhaps a small register for people to leave comments about where they went for their meals.

Previous renters please ensure that you inform the site contact of any faults.  There were a few on arrival, which create niggles, and that can’t be down to the owner, if they are not told.

Eating Out

Although the there were names of places to eat it was a bit hit and miss, but we asked locally for their recommendations.  Here is our list:

John Benny Moriarty – Pub style, very basic food – Go to the back of the place, as more of a restaurant style, and space.  We unfortunately didn’t know and were crammed into the bar area.

Dingle Bay Hotel – A bit pricey, but good food.  Very friendly staff.

Danno’s was highly recommended locally, but when we decided to go it was closed due to unforeseen circumstances.  The other time we tried, it was full.  So plan to go early.

There is a local Chinese takeaway, can’t remember to name now, but food was great.  The restaurant looked quite nice too.  Not sure it would suit taking children.

Other local facilities

Leisure centre – pricey admission charges for a swim (30 Euros – 2 adults, 2 children, 2 year old went free), but when we went only another four people in the pool.  It is quite small.  There is a sauna and a steam room in the same area.  Hair has to be covered, so swimming hats needed; these can be hired.

Aquarium – the children enjoyed this and the feeding, and the stroking of the stingrays.  Family ticket lasts all day, and you can come and go as you please.  Feeding time of the fish, etc is about 14:15. (Cost 28 Euros)

Pottery Workshop – It had closed at the end of September, but apparently worth a visit.

Boat Trip to see the Dolphin – Fungi was playing the game so didn’t get any good picture. It was a beautiful day weather-wise, so the boat trip was great.  This was a bit pricey, nearly 70 Euros (2 adults, 3 children), and no discount or freebie for the 2 year old.

Final Word

Villarenters - The site is easy to use, and I got responses quite quickly.  However, I was quite put out by the charge for the use of the VISA to pay.  There wasn’t another option.  I cannot understand why they don’t support SWITCH for foreign currency, as I paid for things whilst in Ireland, using SWITCH.  Perhaps I was more annoyed that I didn’t learn this until the last minute.  These charges should be displayed up front.  Really my only main gripe.

 From Redditch, United Kingdom

The reason my overall rating is only good is because of the situation of the apartment. It is at the top of a long winding climb from the sea front and although the views are fantastic I feel it is not suitable for the elderly or anyone who has mobility problems. That aside we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

River Holiday Cottages (3 bedrooms)

France

 From Avire, France

The apartment was beautifully situated, right beside the river, which made for a very relaxing holiday.  Our children especially loved being able to take the boat out and row on the river.  They also enjoyed making friends with the dog!

The apartment was well equipped, clean and comfortable and very spacious although we were disappointed that there was no DVD player that is mentioned in the description of the property.

There were also one or two niggly points - despite asking, the lightbulb in the internal bathroom was not changed throughout our stay.  The taps in the bathrooms are also extremely difficult to turn fully off with the result that they drip quite badly.  The description also implies there is a jacuzzi bath in each bathroom, which is not the case.

However, those are just small points and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Grove Lodge, finding it very relaxing and a good place to come back to at the end of the day.

It is well situated for visiting the Ring of Kerry, within walking distance of Kilorglin and not too far from Kerry airport.

All in all, we would certainly recommend this property.

Dream Ireland Holiday Homes

5 properties