STUNNING VIEWS ACROSS THE BAY IN KINSALE

Harbor Hill House was perfect for our short stay in Ireland.
We made the mistake of shopping for food before we arrived. Rita had left us a wonderful welcome basket of goodies, along with milk, juice and eggs from their chickens. Also, there were other food items in the cupboards, possibly left by other guests. The only thing we missed was not having a good assortment of herbs to cook with and a salt shaker. The spice bottles on display were mostly empty.
The kitchen is adequately equipped. We didn’t use the oven but the stove top worked fine and we had all the utensils, dishes and glasses that we needed. The non stick frying pans could use replacing.
The “master bed” was super comfortable and the room was very quiet and dark for a wonderful nights sleep. Caution when trying to find the in-suite bathroom at night in the dark…we both had a laugh or two when we found ourselves heading in the wrong direction, bumping into walls. The reading lights beside the bed were not great, but by flipping my pillows to the foot of the bed, and lying in the wrong direction, the center room light gave me plenty of light on my book until I was really to fall asleep and flip my pillows back to the head of the bed.
There is quite a step up to get into the shower due to the way it is plumbed. Since we both have some hip problems, it was a little awkward getting out of the small shower stall. Caution: before showering, don’t open up the shower door and start the water unless you are in the shower with the door closed or directing the sprayer away from the opening. The floor and I both got drenched the first time I prepared to get into the shower. (My husband was much wiser and didn’t make the same mistake.)
I loved having an additional toilet room with sink, clothes washer and dryer, so we both could have our separate spaces. It had wonderful natural lighting (with view) for my grooming rituals, and had a closet stocked generously with plenty of extra towels.
The wireless internet access wasn’t working properly the first day, but our hosts quickly resolved the problem so that both my husband and I could get onto the internet at the same time with no problems for the rest of the visit.
The view from the dinning area, TV room and bedroom was extraordinary. We could look down into a cute courtyard, (that we could have sat in if the weather had been a bit warmer) l

We found this apartment to be well furnished and spacious, ideal for the two of us, but capable of taking more. The views were stunning from EVERY window across the estuary towards the osyter harvesters and then across to the sea over which the sun would rise each morning. There was a good balcony off the lounge which faced the estuary as well. There was a large patio with table and chairs and barbecue, and the bird feeders attracted many small birds, although disappeared when the local kestrel or sparrowhawk put in an appearance. Larger birds such as crows, jackdaws and rooks would come in to roost in their 1000's each evening and the waders could be seen across the water regularly. The apartment is located 1/2 a mile off the road, with no near neighbours, so was so peaceful and quiet. The welcoming pack was far more than we expected and included, two flavours of juice, bread, milk, biscuits, honey, 2 varities of cheese and 6 free range eggs from the owners' chickens which were in the garden. The eggs made quite the best scrambled eggs we have had for a long time! The owners were very friendly and were available if needed, which we didn't, and lived in the remainder of the house. Located about a mile out of Kinsale it was very easy to get everywhere and we drove over 1700 kilometres during the 2 weeks enjoying the fabulous scenery of Ireland from Youghal in the east to the Ring of Kerry in the west. The coastline is far better than anywhere else we have seen in the British Isles, and it was hard to beat sitting on the rocks at Garretstown in gale force south westerly winds for about 3 hours just watching the crashing waves. Internet connection was available which meant we could access alternatives to the four TV channels, and was a useful benefit to enable us to plan our outings. The ONLY slight thing was we could not find a measuring jug in the kitchen so had to guess quantities when preparing meals. otherwise the kitchen was very well fitted with a large fridge with freezer, cooker with 2 ovens, microwave and toaster. As for the double king sized bed it was extremely comfortable and cosy. Overall a great couple of weeks at an apartment that was great value for money owned by a lovely friendly couple. A good 10 out of 10.