Burtown House & Gardens and The Green Barn Restaurant — Attraction in The Municipal District of Athy

DO NOT BOOK TO STAY

The most disappointing Airbnb experience. Such a shame as it was a special occasion and we paid over £2,500 to stay for 3 nights. The host and the issues we encountered ruined a really special occasion.

Thankfully Airbnb refunded me after reviewing my evidence of the multiple issues with my stay - after the host refused a partial refund, didn’t get back to my message and then ignored Airbnb themselves.

If you are staying for a special occasion please take my advice and go elsewhere. If you stay then book through Airbnb and if have any issues then go through Airbnb and take photos of issues.

The twin room was uninhabitable to sleep in with a baby - it was 27c throughout the stay (the rest of the house and the other 2 bedrooms were an ambient 18c). This was caused by the boiler overheating (located in the wardrobe of that room). It was exacerbated by the aga in the kitchen below set to MAX and the heating in the bathroom next door to the bedroom set to 27c (in July).

The host tried to assist in resolving this during our stay but efforts to resolve the issue was unsuccessful and the heat remained.

We wasted a whole day staying in the house trying to sort this ourselves with the host texting instructions and then later sending someone to try fix the boiler.

The host when he came to see the issue acknowledged the heat was excessive and apologised. But when I requested a partial refund he suddenly claimed 27c was an acceptable temperature to sleep in (despite cool Irish weather outside and the rest of the house being cool).

The bath in the master bedroom was not useable - it only dribbled cold water - the plumber said this was a pre existing issue they were aware of but it hadn’t been fixed. The tap in the master sink also had dirty water coming out of it. Disappointing we couldn’t use this feature bath tub and they knew about the issue before and hadn’t fixed.

The property needs some repair which isn’t shown in photos - Furniture was broken (arm in chair in master bedroom), stair spindle broken and hanging off, kitchen floor board large splinters in one area, photos of the main bathroom are taken at an angle where they don’t show the excessive limescale on tiles - not a big issue for us but demonstrates a general point for me which is disrepair and deceptive photos. Also note if you stay with kids as broken wood hanging off furniture and stairs is dangerous.

If you are travelling with children be aware there is no cot - I checked in advance and told it was broken and hasn’t been replaced. We don’t live in Ireland and I specifically booked as it said there was a cot, so we had to go buy one.

There were points where we had no hot or cold water during the stay.

All of these issues could have been somewhat overlooked if the host had been more conciliatory in his response, however he was anything but.

The host didn’t seem concerned we spent 3 nights sleeping on the floor of the lounge downstairs (having paid over £2,500 to stay for 3 nights). He was aware of this as I requested help moving mattresses downstairs for the second night - having spent the first night on the floor.

I politely requested a partial refund just to cover the cost of the one bedroom which was not inhabitable. Most reasonable of me given all the issues.

The host declined, suddenly dismissed the issues he had acknowledged in person and never responded to me - he then ignored Airbnb customer services too when they contacted him.

Having read some Google reviews it seems he has done this before to other people - I wish I had seen these reviews before booking!

I’m so grateful to Airbnb for helping me with a refund (luckily I took photos to evidence the issue).

I would never return here. The vegetable garden is beautiful, the property setting is lovely and it’s so handy to have a cafe in walking distance on site but the unreasonable response from the host and the issues with heat and water are unforgivable.

The restaurant food was ok. The farm walk is a joke - save your money and go in...

Place is just Beautiful, we stayed in the stable apartment for two people and we loved it . However , I would like to point out two things : for a top price of €190.00 for one night , we felt a bit shortchanged . No method of cooking aside from a microwave and a toaster! Know the microwave has a grill and oven capacity ( I have the same one here at home and it’s pretty useless to cook in or grill in) they could easily have a little two ring hob! And the other bigger issue was the shower …. It was filthy ! The back wall was painted ( other two walls were concrete, why they didn’t continue with that finish is beyond me) Anyway the wall is flaking and just looks grotty, it obviously cannot be cleaned due to the condition of it . The floor also looked grimy. The sink plug hole , a stainless steel and plastic drop in variety , was also filthy . I actually left it out in the sink so whoever is cleaning may see how dirty it was .

The cafe and restaurant were not open the night we stayed , ( we did know this prior to arrival) , so wound up have to go to athy to buy crackers and cheese, to get us through the night ! As we couldn’t prep anything. I large bread knife was the only kitchen implement, apart from two each of knives and forks . Could do with a few more bits , small paring knife for example.

Such a lovely spot , if these things we’re attended to it wd make it just heaven Another bug bearer , we were not allowed access to the veg garden , felt this was a bit mean . I know the Ballymaloe cottages are very well equipped, and you can help yourself to fruit and veg from the garden !

Met no one to show us around , a man in a van said usually the key was under a broken bit of pot (and it was )

Think , overall , ye can up ye’r game considerably especially...

Burtown is a big country house, near Athy Co Kildare, built by a Quaker family in 1710. Always in the same family, the current generation have opened a restaurant, some accommodation , and host weddings. They are also carefully curating their natural meadows and have garden and farm walks, and a sculpture trail. There's a gallery with some crafts and lots of paintings and fine-art prints and there's a 'pantry' where you can just have coffee or buy nice edible bits and pieces. Now to business - we went to have Sunday lunch, a group of 5. There's a two/three course menu but also a regular menu, so be sure you are clear in advance which you want. Two of us had 2 courses, three had 1. With some tap water (not too palatable) and 5 very excellent coffees, it was 210 + tip - Ireland is expensive, no denying. But it was really lovely. Chicken caesar salad with delicious sourdough, plump yummy cod with mussels and fennell confit, meltingly tender beef. Sides of full-on spinach and pinenuts, and really excellent little chips with mayo. The waiting staff were cheerful and helpful. Other reviewers mention the pace of the service, which is, truth be told, on the leisurely side. But if you know this in advance and are enjoying your companions' conversation, it is perfect. Lig do scith. We advance-booked a tour of the house, led by the proprietor (at a fair clip) and it was joyous. Entertaining, eye popping, very generous in terms of the areas to which we were permitted access. If any film-location scout is on the hunt for a jumbly, labyrinth of a well loved, well lived in, Georgian-chic pile,...