Despite its picturesque and remote setting by Lough Eske, our stay at the Ardnamona was less than enjoyable. The house is advertised everywhere as a quiet country retreat ideal for romance and relaxation.
We found the place neither quiet nor romantic. We were woken up every morning by the small children of guests who were screaming loudly and using the house's staircase as a playground. I actually had trouble carrying my bags up to my room because the staircase is narrow and the children refused to vacate it to allow guests to pass by. After some pleading, we finally managed to get the children's parents to convince them they need to play elsewhere. There was also the owner's dog that was nice but had the nasty habit of dropping slobber-covered sticks and balls directly in my lap. Other guests smoked cigars on the house "porch" which is fully enclosed and directly connected to the main house. There isn't even a door to close to keep the cigar smoke out of the house, and our room reeked of cigar smoke when we returned from dinner one night. There was never anyone around wherever we tried to complain or change things to improve our stay. One of the owners actually ran and hid in the kitchen to avoid speaking with us one night when we approached him to ask a question. We felt as if the owners were not happy renting out rooms in their home and resented us staying there because it inconvenienced them.