Slieve Gallion Cottage

30 Customer Reviews

• "Excellent holiday home."

  Superb facilities and levels of cleanliness. Friendly and helpful hosts. Beautiful scenery and absolute peace to be had. The perfect escape, thank you very much :)

  Reviewed by Paul Gerard5.0★Mar 2024

• "Beautifully situated and finished property."

  Excellent hosts who couldn't do enough for us during our stay. Extremely clean inside and out. Not hesitations in recommending to anyone. Will def stay again.

  Reviewed by Paul Gerard5.0★Mar 2024

• "We have stayed at this property 6 times since February 2023 & had been looking forward to spending Christmas there as we had booked it many months beforehand."

  However, our stay at start of December was EXTREMELY disappointing on several levels. The cottage was not as clean as our previous stays and upon our arrival we were extremely disappointed & shocked to see that the recycling bin was absolutely full to the brim, mainly with wine & beer bottles and beer cans. We made the owner aware of this fact & as there was no room for our recycling during our week long stay we were aghast that they did absolutely nothing to help. We have ALWAYS put the bins out for recycling when we have stayed there but clearly the previous guests had decided not to bother doing so, despite knowing they had disposed of all their alcohol cans and bottles. There is alternate weekly bin collections here ~ one week the black bin for general waste and the following week the blue recycling bin. We had a two week stay during the year and out the black bin out to be emptied one week and the blue bin the other week. We have never received a thank you for doing so from the owners during our 6 stays at the cottage, & yet they did not appear to have a problem with the fact other guests just do not bother and the owner left the full recycling bin after the previous guest had departed, making no attempt to have it emptied for our arrival. As if that was not bad enough, we were appalled to arrive for our Christmas stay on 23rd December and discovered, yet again, the recycling bin was 75% full! This was despite it having happened so recently on our previous stay here. Entirely unacceptable by any reasonable person’s standards or expectations & particularly as everyone knows that during the Christmas period there will be a lot more recycling and general waste than at any other time of the year. There was not even as much as a note from the owners wishing us a Happy Christmas, which is extremely disappointing, particularly given that we have booked 6 different breaks here as we did like the very rural location of the cottage. Also, I had informed the owners we had a lot to do on 23rd December & couldn’t commit to an arrival time, so they were aware it could be late and yet the porch light was not even left on for us, so that my husband was left to scrabble around in the pitch black darkness to try to enter the key code on the keypad in order to enter the cottage. Again, entirely unacceptable and NOT the welcome you imagine for your long awaited Christmas break. However, we have seen how standards have fallen at this cottage during our regular stays and there is quite simply not the same effort being made for guests. As we agreed this was going to be our last ever stay at Slieve Gallion cottage, we decided to book with Sykes for an extra 6 nights in order to draw a line under our time there. I have made the owner aware of everything above but ws extremely disappointed with the entirely unprofessional response which I received. To summarise, I can no longer recommend Slieve Gallion cottage, because based on our recent stays there it is not what it was & standards here have plummeted.

  Dear Rita & Gavin, Thank you for your second review relating to your back-to-back stays over the Christmas period. Can we express once again our sincere apologies for any disappointment you experienced during your two-week stay over Christmas. We are saddened that you feel we fell short of the standards you were expecting from a 4* self-catering accommodation provision. We thank you for also extending your initial stay and making a back-to-back booking requesting a number of additional nights We wish for all our guests to have an enjoyable stay and we are sorry that you sensed we had 3 short comings despite the fact that we did go the extra mile to make your stay as pleasant as possible and treated you like friends as well as guests. We hope we have addressed and clarified the main issues that you found where we had failed to make your stay as comfortable as what you expected and again apologise sincerely for where you felt we fell short of what you expected in “self catering” accommodation. You had mentioned in your review that we provided “an unprofessional response”, we are sorry that you felt that a polite, brief and justified explanation regarding the bins and the porch light was deemed to be “unprofessional”. While the cottage was fully decorated (two fully lit Christmas trees, candles, decorations etc) we do apologise that although we did leave generous welcome baskets, the omission of the “Happy Christmas card/note” within them was an oversight on our part and we are sorry that an alternative format i.e. a “text message” with Christmas wishes, was not satisfactory. We are sorry that the exterior front porch light was not left on for your arrival. We will make amends on this for our future guests. Although, you state cleaning practices have slipped, we note that you have not provided any specific examples of this, we apologise that you feel that was the case. During your Christmas stay, we had gladly assisted you in the ways outlined below; We promptly responded to your request for assistance when your car developed a fault just as you had arrived to the cottage on the Saturday afternoon. We contacted and sourced help to assist you and our local mechanic very generously came out to offer you assistance on both the Saturday evening and Sunday morning. We kept in touch with you checking in with you until your car issue was resolved on Monday. We gladly supplied you with the extra provisions while you could not get to the shops. We had to disrupt our guests who were staying at the cottage prior to your booking, to request that they to go outside to bring indoors your Amazon delivery, that unknow to us, you had organised to be delivered to the property the day prior to your arrival. We requested our cleaning staff to delay cleaning the cottage on the morning of your departure as you had stated quite firmly expressed that you would check out at the time that suited you (as you did not agree with the standard Sykes 10.00 check out time). We do apologise again that the external blue bin was quite full. This stormy weather in December meant that the bins were not left along side the road side for collection due to the risk of the contents being blown around the grounds of the property/road. We do offer to leave the bins out for collection for all our guests, however many guests wish to have an uninterrupted stay and leave the bins out themselves as it is a very short distance to the front gate. Can we thank you now for taking out the bins on your previous stays. Again, thank you for your second segment of feedback relating to your Christmas stay. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Rita1.9★Dec 2023

• "We arrived on 23rd December for our long awaited Christmas break."

  Extremely disappointed to find no porch light lit because as it was pitch black when we arrived it meant it was extremely difficult for my husband to try to operate the keypad in order for us to enter the property. Furthermore, when we did enter the cottage for this ..our 5th stay here since February 2023 (as we like the rural location) we were disappointed to find not even a Happy Christmas message. This was NOT the welcome we had hoped for, particularly as the owners knew that we had booked this Christmas break at the beginning of 2023 & had been really looking forward to it. Things went from bad to worse when we discovered the next morning that the recycling bin was 75% full ~ despite the fact that during a previous stay earlier that month we had informed the owners, including sending them photographs to show that the recycling bin was absolutely full to the brim. We could not believe that the same thing was happening again, particularly as everyone knows that during the Christmas period, there is a lot of additional waste ~ including recycling. We will not be returning to Slieve Gallion cottage again & this experience has left us both feeling extremely disappointed as standards here have definitely fallen since our earlier stays.

  Rita and Gavin, Thank you for taking the time to write a the first of two reviews highlighting issues you feet strongly about during your stay over Christmas. Firstly, thank you for your frequent stays which we believed you had enjoyed which is evident by your frequent bookings. It was a pleasure to have had you stay on so many occasions. We apologise that the exterior front porch light was not left on when you arrival. We had left the property during daylight hours, mistakenly assuming that you would be arriving around check in time (3.00 pm), as per your text prior to your arrival informing us that you would “let yourselves in”. This was mistakenly based on the fact that we had facilitated early check ins on some of your previous visits. We will now ensure that this does not happen for future returning guests with a similar request over the autumn /winter period. We are again sorry we accidentally omitted placing a “Happy Christmas card” into the welcome baskets, which we provided containing many traditional Christmas food items/drinks for you both to enjoy during your stay. The cottage was made as festive as possible in order to enhance the Christmas atmosphere (e.g. every room was decorated with an abundance of Christmas decorations including Christmas themed table ware, crockery, Christmas DVDs, Christmas trees, candles, door wreath and holly). Again we apologise that the large exterior blue recycling bin was not emptied. As explained in our text message to you at the time, due to the various high winds/stormy conditions at out exposed location, in some instances it is not advisable to leave the bin out for the fortnightly collection. This is due to the potential for the bin itself and the recycling waste to blow across the road/property, causing a hazard to any passing vehicles on such a small rural and unlit road. The recycling waste itself would be unsightly if strewn around the cottage, adjoining road, fields and stream. In addition, the scattered waste would have a negative effect on the environment including various wildlife, especially since the cottage is situated in an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”. It was unfortunate that the stormy weather conditions coincided with your stays Again, thank you for your feedback and all points have been taken on board. Property Owner

  Reviewed by Rita1.3★Dec 2023

• "Beautifully decorated cottage with EVERYTHING you could possibly need for time away from home."

  Warm, cosy, fantastic facilities & equipment and a very generous food hamper left for us to enjoy - amazing! Beautiful 360° countryside views complete the enjoyment! Thank you Anne & Maurice for the attention to detail, and care which you've invested in Slieve Gallion Cottage ♥️ (If people need a firm mattress, they may find the cosy beds too soft. If people don't like driving on country lanes, note that access is via some narrow winding lanes on Slieve Gallion, though tarmacked throughout).

  Reviewed by Robert5.0★Nov 2023

• "Absolutely lovely clean cottage with everything you need."

  Would definitely recommend

  Reviewed by Amanda5.0★Nov 2023

• "Just amazing."

  No further words needed!

  Reviewed by David5.0★Oct 2023

• "This is a lovely cottage in a beautiful quite area, great for exploring Northern Ireland."

  The hosts are lovely people and very welcoming. The cottage has everything you need and is very clean.

  Reviewed by Claire5.0★Oct 2023

• "Had a lovely stay at Slieve Gallion cottage."

  Anne and Maurice are the perfect hosts and left us the best welcome hamper we have ever received. Cosy, comfortable beds and a beautiful peaceful location, we hope to return again in the future.

  Reviewed by David5.0★Sep 2023

• "What a lovely cottage!"

  Anne and Maurice go out of their way to make this special. We had a really enjoyable week: it's clean, comfortable, quiet and very well equipped with full kitchen including dishwasher, TV and DVD, WiFi, and shower over the bath. The owners are very generous with the large welcome pack of provisions and also with suggestions for local activities. We appreciated lots of little extra thoughtful touches.

  Reviewed by Ruth5.0★Sep 2023

• "This is a lovely, clean fully equipped cottage - absolutely every thing you would need is provided ."

  The rating should be 5 ***** rather than the 4**** allocated. The owners are extremely helpful if you need any advice with places to go & things to do. Cannot rate this property highly enough. Pat.

  Reviewed by William5.0★Aug 2023

• "Lovely quiet, peaceful and serene environment."

  Lots of outdoor activities available at your doorstep. Most places are within 1 hour radius from the cottage. The hosts were so helpful.

  Reviewed by Tizza5.0★Aug 2023

• "It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that the Slieve Gallion cottage was just about perfect."

  The cottage itself is perfectly proportioned, comfortable and welcoming, with everything we needed during the holiday, including a welcome pack for an Irish cooked breakfast, cup of tea or coffee which was a lovely touch. The hosts were really friendly and helpful and the location is so central for exploring Northern Ireland. We really could not have asked for anything else. Would (and will) highly recommend Slieve Gallion Cottage to anyone looking to explore Northern Ireland.

  Reviewed by Nadine5.0★Jul 2023

• "We can honestly say this is the best property we have stayed at."

  We would recommend it to anyone wishing to stay in the area. The hosts are very friendly and welcoming and gave us lots of useful information. The property was immaculately clean throughout with very pleasant decor and furnishings. A welcome pack of provisions was gratefully received especially after a long journey.

  Reviewed by Susan5.0★Jul 2023

• "Excellent holiday property."

  Clean, comfortable and well equipped. Friendly and helpful owners. Great location for exploring Northern Ireland. Will definitely recommend to family and friends.

  Reviewed by Peter5.0★Jun 2023

• "We choose this cottage as the owners supply all that is needed for a visit and more."

  The welcome packs are very generous and nothing is to much trouble for the owners, Anne and Maurice. Would recommend this cottage to anyone.

  Reviewed by Richard5.0★Apr 2023

• "Absolutely loved the cottage."

  ..so we'll equipped and enough information on local area and further afield.. As seasoned travellers We can honestly say this was one of the best equipped cottage we have ever stayed in...We will recommend you to Family and friends... lovely comfy stay..5stars..

  Reviewed by Andrew5.0★Apr 2023

• "Great host beautiful accommodation it is highly recommended will stay there again"

  Reviewed by Molly5.0★Jan 2023

• "This property was amazing in all ways, clean, comfortable and we were very happy with it."

  The cottage is placed in a convenient situation to outburst to a lot of interesting places… The view from Slieve Gallion Hill is truly fantastic, Magherafelt town is a great place for retail, food and pubs.(Mary’s Bar) Anne & Maurice were very informative of the area, and very helpful on assisting advice (dentist), we will definitely return, this property is 5* worthy…. Thank you Bridgitte & Kenny

  Reviewed by Bridgitte5.0★Sep 2022

• "Brilliant stay."

  It was a brilliant holiday! Very thorough listing, better than expected! The details were great. For example the BBQ stuff, kids toys and list of things to do etc. Whole place was great, very clean and welcoming. Everything you could need or want was included. The peace and quiet of the area was fantastic and the outdoor space is very usable. We enjoyed dinner outside every night.

  Reviewed by David5.0★Jul 2022

• "What a lovely cottage."

  Everything you could want. Anne & Maurice make you feel very welcome. They even leave you a lovely welcome hamper. We chose this cottage mainly because of it's location. It really isn't far from lots of lovely places to visit. Cookstown has a tesco,asda and an m&s foodhall plus there is a spar in moneypenny. We didn't get to see everything we wanted to as we ran out of time so would love to return.

  Reviewed by Kevin4.7★Jul 2022

• "Lovely comfortable cottage in a great area."

  The cottage had all of the facilities we needed and plenty of space, both inside the cottage and outside. The rooms were very comfortable and all of the equipment worked well. Slieve Gallion Cottage is very well situated being central for the coast, the beautiful Sperrin mountains and Lough Neagh. The hosts were also very friendly and helpful Highly recommended for anyone visiting Northern Ireland for a holiday.

  Reviewed by S5.0★Jun 2022

• "The property was stunning, the welcome pack was so generous."

  The trip was done last minute, but the hosts did everything and more to help. 5 stars is simply not enough for the property. I can not wait to stay again.

  Reviewed by John5.0★May 2022

• "We had an amazing week in Slieve Galilion cottage."

  Very well organised , anything you can think of is present. Surroudings are beautiful and so peaceful. Climbing or driving up the mountain will give you an amazing view. Within an hour driving you can go anywhere in Northern Ireland, Londonderry, the Giant Causeway etc. Lovely owners who were very helpful we would love to come back!

  Reviewed by Adriaan5.0★Apr 2022

• "Fantastic hosts, welcome pack very generous."

  Cottage immaculate, very clean and has everything needed in the way of utensils, etc. Would recommend this cottage.

  Reviewed by Richard5.0★Apr 2022

• "Beautiful cottage, perfectly placed to visit some great places and the hosts were excellent with their hospitality."

  Wanted for nothing and were very much at 'home'.

  Reviewed by Sam5.0★Oct 2021

• "A great time spent at the cottage and great hosts in Ann and Maurice, Some provisions were provided as the nearest shop is 3 miles away and that was a godsend after a long days journeying."

  They still had a few points to attend to but first impressions were fab

  Reviewed by Ian5.0★Sep 2021

• "Anne and Maurice were lovely friendly hosts."

  The amenities in the cottage were beyond expectations and the welcome pack left was also at a very high standard. The outside seating was usual for sitting taking in the views and getting some fresh air. Overall the stay was fantastic, we really enjoyed our time here and would definitely return or recommend it to others.

  Reviewed by Ruth5.0★Jul 2021

• "Lovely cottage, at a super, quiet location."

  Very spacious, absolutely spotless. Hosts were very welcoming, loved the personally addressed welcome card, bunch of flowers and food hamper. They certainly did everything to make sure we are comfortable. It was a real home from home place for us. Location is great too,a lot of interesting places are not more than an hour drive to see. We would highly recommend this place for anyone who wants to be away from the busy world.

  Reviewed by Attila5.0★Jul 2021

• "Lovely, clean, comfortable cottage with lots of homely touches."

  Ann and Maurice were fantastic hosts. 10 out of 10 from us!

  Reviewed by Stephen5.0★Jul 2021

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