I visited Tory Bush in May, 2011. Since I'd never been to Northern Ireland at all, I was happy to rely upon my friend to find and secure accomodations. There wasn't any real risk in that because at any point if I/we weren't happy we could simply choose to move to another spot as I'd be there for 10-14 days.

Because I'd flown overnight and spent the day in transit, by the time we arrived at Tory Bush I was fast asleep in the car. I remember a gentleman walking up to greet us and I seem to recall an offer of "if you need anything...." as I fairly stumbled into the house and within moments fell back asleep. The next morning I awoke to a view of the sun on the mountain through my patio door and was so very amazed by its beauty I sort of drifted straight outside, barefoot in my pajammas to take it in. After going in for coffee and to dress, I wandered back outside and met (whom I later found out was) the owner of the property, his beautiful dog, his "friend who runs this place" and even a gorgeous cat who actually gave me permission to come into her space! (as a cat lover, I can tell you that doesn't always happen) After apologizing for my complete lack of manners upon arrival and offering assurances I was exhausted and not drunk as a fish, I was welcomed, offered any assistance I might need, and engaged in a lovely but short little introduction to the place. I thought it wonderfully thoughtful that he welcomed me, invited me to find him around the property, then sort of backed off to allow me privacy.

My original plan was to stay at the cottage for maybe 7 or 8 days then spend a few days in Dublin. I found the cottage, the surroundings, the entire place and everything about it so very enchanting we chose to extend our stay to an entire two weeks.

Quick point of explanation: I'm a Grandmom from Philadelphia. My youngest grand child started pre-school last fall and now that the Grands are in school and I took early retirement, I have the opportunity to travel quite a bit and see places and friends I've dreamed of for so long. I so enjoyed my time at Tory Bush I'll be returning in mid-September for another stay. As I'm getting to see different places now, I usually opt for different venues when I return to a city (ie: I've never stayed at the same hotel twice in Las Vegas though I've been there 4 times or taken more than one cruise on each cruise ship) but I never even considered staying anywhere other than Tory Bush for this trip, with the exception of booking one night (before my return flight) in Dublin.

I'm absolutely looking forward to my return to the area, and most of all the chance to spend more time with a great friend in such an awesome little cottage surrounded by such beauty.

We had one of the properties booked for a week in August. The owner made a massive deal about visitors which we felt was a little bit overboard.

We telephoned him to arrange payment and raised this issue with him. He was rude and cheeky during the call. Wonderful customer service! Which resulted in him having a cancelled booking!

His attitude certainly did not bode well for a relaxing time.

My wife and I stayed at Tory's Bush last year for a walking holiday. We can't fault the location or accommodation as they are both outstanding, but the hotel owner is the most obnoxious, ill-mannered, rude and ignorant person I have ever met.

On our trip my in-laws came to visit us for a picnic down by the sea. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest so we decided to invite them to our apartment where we had a lovely decking area which we thought would've been perfect for the occasion. When my wife's parents arrived, the owner literally ran to their car and preceded to grill them as to why they had dared set foot on the premises. My father-in-law, thinking this was a joke, gave the owner the story about the picnic, the weather etc, whereby the owner refused them access and said they weren't welcome on the premises, that the insurance wouldn't cover them and that they would have to leave.

I confronted the owner of Tory Bush on his behaviour, demeanor and general ignorance in dealing with people, but he was totally oblivious and stood by his approach and drew my attention to the T's & C's for the premises. We had already read them, but naturally assumed that "no visitors" meant extra guests staying over, which was never going to be the case with us anyway.

Needless to say this left a very poor taste in our mouth. Prior to this incident we had spoken with friends and family on the phone and internet singing the praises of the accommodation, the location etc, but once this happened we readily back tracked and made everyone aware of how ill-mannered the owner was, and how we would never recommend the premises. To put things simply, this man should not be dealing with the public. He needs to take a professional course in customer service. He emailed me the next day and offered a refund on the rest of the week, but he never approached me personally, or offered an apology, even though our apartment was directly above the office. Until this unfotunate, but totally avoidable, event, Tory Bush would, not only, have had repeat business from us, but also many friends and family. Needless to say that won't be the case. I just hope people read this review and think twice about going.

I stayed here as part of NI Bootcamp, a weight loss/fitness/outdoor activity week. They provided a link to the cottages on their website and the photos looked spectacular. I wasn't disappointed when I arrived, the cottage we used was really attractive, had a lovely open fire to warm us after a day out and was perfectly peaceful at night. I slept better here than I ever do at home, maybe due to the activities we were doing in the day though! Views are incredible, worthy of going for alone. They really are in the hills too so would be ideal for anyone who likes to get in the outdoors. They were definitely perfect for the bootcamp.