Stunning Luxury 5 Star SELF-CATERING Gate Lodge

It was a pleasure having you and your friends here to celebrate your wedding anniversary. We are delighted that you loved our accommodation and the spectacular view. Thank you for writing such a positive review.

We’re delighted that you enjoyed your visit and that you were pleased with May Lodge. We liked having you stay and appreciated how tidy you left it on your prompt departure. Many thanks.

You too were perfect ! We appreciated that you looked after May Lodge so well and left it clean and tidy on your prompt departure. Thank you for giving us such a good review. Many thanks.

I’m very sorry that you were disappointed with May Lodge especially as we put extra effort into trying to make your visit special and the proprietor even offered you access to her private garden when your wife requested this. After you departed we had a few days’ vacancy and have filled in the few settlement cracks. Again, we’re sorry you were disappointed.

Thank you. It was a pleasure having you and your family stay in May Lodge and we appreciate you leaving the property so clean and tidy on your departure.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a complimentary and detailed review. It was a pleasure having you and your friends stay here.

Thank you very much for leaving such a positive review of our property. We are delighted that you enjoyed your visit and saw lots of our beautiful country. We appreciate your comments.

We’re delighted that you enjoyed your stay in May Lodge and it was our pleasure to have you and your family to visit. We hope to see you again. Many thanks.

Thank you for your kind comments on our property. We are delighted that you enjoyed your stay.

Thank you for taking the time to write a review of our property and such a favouurable one too. We appreciate this very much. It was a pleasure to have you stay here and very many thanks for leaving the proerty in such good order. We hope you enjoy the rest of your visit to Ireland when you move further West.

I’m sorry you were disappointed with your stay with us. When you first mentioned on the phone that you had difficulty opening the gate to the shore I called to see you at May Lodge several times but unfortunately you weren’t there. I would like to clarify a few points: There is a small area at the back of May Lodge (walled off from bin area) with - what we would think of as magnificent - views over the garden of the main residence and Belfast Lough. A photograph of this is on the VRBO website. I reminded you of the Pebble garden (accessed over a private driveway) which is for the exclusive use of May Lodge visitors. I also offered you as an extra treat exclusive use of the patio area in the main garden (as in the photo). Visitors over the past few weeks have likened it to being on the Italian Riviera because of the fantastic weather we’ve been having. We keep the gate to the lower garden locked as this area is for exclusive use of our visitors giving them private access to the shoreline. It most definitely isn’t a ‘derelict’ building site. Previously on this area we had a boathouse with slipway and a studio where an internationally renowned sculptor created his many public works of art. I don’t understand your comment of being ‘trapped indoors’. We understand how important holidays are and we put a lot of effort into sharing this magical place with our visitors. Again, we are sorry that this visit didn’t work out for you.

We really appreciate you taking the time to write such an excellent review of our property. Many thanks. It was a great pleasure having you and your family stay with us.

Thank you for writing such a lovely review and we're delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us. We do leave just one hand towel and bath towel for each guest but would have been happy to get you extra if needed. Due to Covid restrictions we have to wash all towels we leave out whether they're used or not. Delighted that you enjoyed your stay with us and we very much hope to see you again.

We were disappointed with your review especially as when I visited you said how pleased you were with everything. To answer some of the points. I’m sorry that the element in the electric shower went on the second day of your 5-day visit which you informed me of late that evening. I didn’t waste time trying to get a new part for this but the following morning ordered a completely new shower which was fitted two days later. Unfortunately, that was the morning you departed so couldn’t benefit from it. You were advised of the access details and the WiFi code in good time for your arrival. One of the reasons we have been given a 5 Star Rating from Tourism NI is because of our extremely high standard of cleanliness. I have a dedicated husband and wife team who only clean for me and take great pride in how our three houses are presented. Please note the other 5 Star reviews for May Lodge (14 in total) which mention this. As to the ventilation; the extract fan in the en-suite goes on automatically when the light is switched on. We noticed that this hadn’t been switched on during your visit and the large window appeared to have remained closed also. You mention concerns with our bedding. Our bed linen is 400 thread count, our duvets are luxury feather and down and for added comfort we have deep luxury bed toppers (very unusual for a self-catering property). Again, please note reviews which mention our extremely comfortable beds. We don’t put on a top sheet as we understand the correct way to benefit from a duvet is to have only it on top of you and I absolutely guarantee that the beds are totally stripped and fresh linen put on each time between rentals. We couldn’t contemplate doing anything other than this. You must have noticed how crisp and freshly laundered the linen was when you arrived. You say that most visitors don’t return but more than 50% of our business each year is from repeat bookings with some families returning every year for one or two and sometimes even three weeks. Return of Deposit: We have been very fortunate with our guests and have never had to retain a deposit. The timing of the return of this is between you and your booking agent. When you emailed asking for compensation I was concerned when you said "Could you please respond as to how this will be handled especially before we write our review? " I hope you continued to enjoy your visit to Ireland when you travelled further South. Proprietor

Thank you for taking the time to write a review of our property and such an excellent one too. It was a delight to have you as our guest for the week and appreciate very much how clean and tidy you left the house on departure.

What a fabulous review! We really appreciate your taking the time after your travels to do this. I'm so sorry I didn't get the chance to say 'hello' while you were in May Lodge - but you met the more charming and chatty of the two of us! John was delighted with your comments. Thank you so much.