Kylemore Lakeview Retreat

Michael and Heidi are exceptional hosts. They are friendly, helpful people; nothing is too much trouble for them. The location was ideal for us; the property is in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains, with a stunningly beautiful vista over the Lake. The small town of Blessington, a 15 minute drive on the other side of the Lake, provides eating and retail outlets, including an Aldi and a Dunnes supermarket. A drive east, into the mountains along the nearby Gap Road is breathtaking. The road (like many roads in the Wicklow National Park) is narrow but surprisingly well paved. Other routes took us to lovely Glendalough, well worth a visit, and many other choice spots. Dublin is less than an hour away on good roads. An hour and 15 minutes took us to Newgrange, Knowth, and Tara. We found the property itself a warm, comfortable base, with excellent central heating, thankfully, since we were there in late October. The living room/kitchen arrangement is adequate, bedrooms comfortable with good storage, wifi strong and reliable, and a decent TV. Doors off the third bedroom open to quite a large rooftop balcony which in warm weather would be a really nice place to chill out with a book and snacks. We got a little use out of it, but although we had decent weather for October, it wasn't warm enough to linger long. All in all, an excellent choice for our holiday: thank you, Michael & Heidi.

Nothing significant concerning the venue, but road travellers should be aware of two issues. First, several motorways are toll roads. For most, a credit card tapped on a reader at the booth is quick and straightforward; we encountered no delays at all. However the M50 Dublin ring road works on remote registration number recognition and payment is required by the following evening -- easy to forget. We set up an account with eFlow who pay the toll automatically, and bill the driver once per month, again automatically. Worked fine. The second issue is potholes. On our journey from the ferry to Lakeview, satnav took us down a dark, narrow wet road, and my nearside front tyre was trashed. Fortunately I had a spare, and Blessington Tyre Centre replaced it in a day (excellent service). I took much more care after that, as far as possible taking main routes and N roads, though as stated, the small roads in the mountains were surprisingly well surfaced.

Michael and Heidi have a fantastic place near the lake, we felt really welcome, and gave us good advice where to go to. We loved to stay in the countryside, fully enjoyed it.