Hilltop Lodge

Hilltop is a charming cottage that was comfortable and full of character. Our host was amazing and left beautiful homemade treats for us to enjoy. A lovely personal touch that was greatly appreciated.

It felt quite homely - the bedcovers for e.g. were very homely. And some provisions were thoughtfully left - milk, wheaten bread, eggs, butter (although not quite as described in the photos - 2 very small eggs, jam in a half-eaten opened jar). The location is quite good (certainly for access to Belfast or Bangor - but you do need a car), although on a fairly busy road (quiet at night), with a terrible turning out onto the road (blind spot). The owner is friendly and her communication is good (responding to messages, and popped round to see us). Great to have a washing machine and dishwasher & detergent to go with them. Lots of nice pottery pieces. Nice art pictures on the walls. Thoughtful to have the wood stove laid ready for use.

A sense of neglect: the garden is very overgrown & unkempt at the back (this is what the two bedrooms look out onto); the front area is also unkempt. There is also a side area where the chickens are kept in an entirely run-down ramshackle open shed area. We were concerned for the chickens’ welfare. There is a further field area with abandoned items in it. The property itself has mixed heating - the bathroom only has a heated towel rail and would be very cold at certain times of the year. There is an oil filled radiator for one bedroom, the other has an electric wall heater. The living room has a wood fired stove which worked well, and an electric wall heater. Wood was provided although not sure how dry the outside stored wood would be as it was just piled up by the large window at the front. The kitchen was provided for in an odd way: far too many mugs and plates, not enough proper cooking equipment. Very few pans & these and the sieves were squashed into a single shelf below the sink which was extremely awkward to access. Other kitchen items (casserole dishes for e.g.) were put in a very disorganised way inside the dresser base cupboards along with a variety of other things (Christmas lights, for e.g.) just all chucked in. All very haphazard. The windows only have roller blinds and a number of the cords were broken, including the large one at the front (the cord was missing), for which a screen was provided instead which was quite strange as the top half of the window was then not covered (see photo below) which was not very pleasant at night. Some of the electrical sockets are very loose in the bedrooms and need attention. Duvets thin, pillows awful! Although duvet covers / sheets were cotton and comfortable to sleep under. A decent outside light is required as there is sloping access to the door which it’s easy to fall off in the dark.

Host left lovely homemade shortbread and othe food related items ideal for our stay. Loved the touch of homemade dog biscuits, all gratefully received

Would have liked a better outside light so it was easier to see where the dogs were when it was dark

Everything was nice - we liked that it was in the country

Beautiful little lodge, large array of toys and games to keep our kiddies happy. Plenty of extra duvets etc but not needed, lovely cosey little house with everything you could possibly need for a night away. Pint of milk and homemade bread and jam waiting for us just made our day as we landed. A wonderful overnight stay

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