Gleann Na Smol

It's hard to know where to start. Foolishly we didn't look at reviews until a couple of days before arrival. The place looks good from the website photos, but they must show how it looked at least 20 years ago - every negative review we read is 100% accurate. The host is very friendly and helpful, but the property needs complete refurbishment. Cleanliness is a big issue throughtout the room and bathroom we were in. All the bedding and mattresses should have been replaced many years ago, with some of it being stained. Wall light fittings have clearly been changed, leaving bare holes and visible wiring behind - no effort had been made to patch up any holes. The bedroom also had an internal sink with a cupboard above, housing what looked like a boiler. There must have been at least 30 years of cobwebs inside it. The room had a central skylight with no cover/blind so it was light very early in the morning. All corners of the bedroom and bathroom looked like they had not been properly cleaned for many years. The furniture in the breakfast area was little better. My wife sat on a chair where the material had completely split and fallen apart. At 6am my wife went to make tea in the communal kitchen/breakfast area and came across the host fast asleep in his office chair. She tried again at 7am and he was still there. We were booked for 2 nights but couldn't face staying a second night and found alternative accommodation.

Old & tired. Room clean. Breakfast apparently available 7 to 1030am. The owner slept in & nothing for breakfast. The evening prior Sean advised me to have breakfast @ 730am. Other guests were waiting when I left. Kitchen seemed dirty with scum on sink, food stains in fridge, some tea cups not cleaned properly. Toothbrush & toothpaste on ledge above sink ?! On the upside: Sean was very knowledgeable and gave good recommendations for food, site seeing and local area. Beware downstairs bedrooms at front of house have air vents above door that do not provide privacy. They get all guests walking by in & out.

This B&B was generally fine although it does depend on both your expectations and which room you are allocated as some can be noisy and lack privacy. However the bigger issue is the complete lack of security: No CCTV, no safe box, front and side entry doors left unlocked and open all day. The property is frequented by guests, workers and customers of a coffee van operating at the front. We had a substantial sum of money stolen from our room on the last afternoon of our stay which ruined our holiday. We can pinpoint the time of the theft due to the specific circumstances however unfortunately only realised after we’d left the accommodation. I would caution any other guests against leaving anything of value in their rooms. Of equal concern is the lack of response from the owner after I emailed him and provided him with full details of our experience.