A great family holiday with Dream Ireland Holiday Homes - Alison McCarthy. Date of travel: May 2008
We had planned to go abroad over the May Bank Holiday weekend this year but left it too late so by the time we got around to looking, everything decent seemed to be booked up. We had promised the kids a few days away so reluctantly started to search for something suitable here in Ireland. We saw an ad in the newspaper for Wolseley Holiday Homes in Tullow in Co. Carlow and a list of onsite facilities advertised so we looked it up. A website or company I had never heard of before as we always go abroad for our hols. Anyway, we found loads of places that would be ideal for our family. We really liked the idea of staying somewhere with a hotel and a leisure centre onsite for our kids – anything for peace! Wolseley Holiday Homes seemed to tick all the boxes. It is just over an hour’s drive from Dublin (perfect when you have little ones in the back seat!) and is in the grounds of the Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa and Country Club. The website said that we could use the swimming pool, kiddies pool, playground, games room and more for free and that there was also a championship golf course onsite (perfect for him) along with a spa (perfect for me!). When we got there, we were not disappointed. The houses were huge with 4 bedrooms so we had our own bedroom (none of this messy sharing rooms in a hotel) and each of our three kids also had a room to themselves. We booked for the full week as we said we’d make the most of it. The kids absolutely loved it down there and they had loads of space to run around and have fun. We even invited my sister and her daughter down for 2 nights as we had space for them. Most evenings we cooked in but a couple of times we went up to the Hotel and had lovely food in the lounge. It’s a family friendly hotel so you don’t need to be worrying where they are or what they’re getting up to! I have to say, if you’re anything like me and haven’t had a holiday in Ireland for a few years, give it a try! It was so much less hassle than arriving at the airport hours before take-off, strip searching for security, flight delays, baggage restrictions etc! We just threw everything into the car, the bikes on the roof rack and headed off in our own time. I would highly recommend Dream Ireland to anyone looking to book a home holiday this year as they seem to have properties all over Ireland.

Let down by Dream Ireland - Paula Martin. Date of travel: Aug 2007
Just a word of warning to all those booking accommodation with DreamIreland. Last August I booked three properties in The Great Western Parklands Mulranny, Co. Mayo. It was for my own family, my sister's family and my sister-in-law's family. (Both groups travelling from Spain). A few weeks before arrival DreamIreland contacted me and said the properties weren't finished, no landscaping done etc. I called Tony the Director and he personally assured me that it would all be done and that there is no way he would send us if there were any outstanding issues. I took him at his word unfortunately! All 16 of us arrived to a nightmare. No landscaping was done at all. The place was awash with muck and builders debris such as electrical cables and reels, bricks, machinery, nails, rubbish. Three houses were ready for us but were surrounded on all sides by muck and water, the children couldn't have set foot outside.There was one poor woman on hand to assist but all DreamIreland were offering was a few hundred Euro back or a move to houses near Ballina. This didn't suit as some of the group specifically wanted to surf in Achill and we'd already driven for over three hours. We then said we'd move to small unfinished houses that at least were arranged around a courtyard so the children could safely walk outside. We had no hot water, electrical sockets were hanging off the walls, floors were dirty, the washing machine didn't work. Tony from Dream Ireland wouldn't take my calls and never to this day contacted me to apologise. Our holiday was ruined which was such a pity as the Hotel itself is lovely and well serviced. Mulranny and Achill are beautiful. Myself and my family were due to stay two weeks but at that point I couldn't face the thought of giving my poor baby another cold bath so we moved to the house in Ballina for the second week. Lovely house but we just didn't want to be there. I'm so scared by the memory that we're going to rent in Spain this summer, truly I may never holiday in Ireland again. I still find it hard to believe that the director of a large company would be so untrue to their word, happy to take our money and run.

Kerry - an amazing week! - Orla Murphy. Date of travel: Oct 2006
Just back from an amazing week in Kerry and thought I should tell everyone about it, as I myself often use this site to check visitor comments before I travel abroad. Well this year things went a bit astray and there was no foreign trip booked for mid term, in fact we had resolved ourselves to staying at home, but as the time neared I think we were all in need of a short stay, so I rang around a few self catering agencies (hotels are out with 3 kids). I had my mind set on Dingle, but having left it so late, I found that anything decent was already fully booked. I called one company, Dream Ireland, not sure if I am allowed to mention their name, but I think they deserve it. They too had some beautiful locations in Dingle but they too were fully booked. The girl in reservations asked if perhaps she could recommend an alternative location for me and as I had nothing to looe I was up for any suggestions. She recommended a 4* property called Grove Lodge, in Killorglin, Co Kerry (I have to admit it's not a location I was too familiar with but it sounded perfect). The Dream Ireland Representative emailed me on a link and the homes looked fantastic, and as it turned out that they were less than 45 minutes drive to Dingle, so a day trip was certainly on the cards from the outset. Anyway, when we arrived at The Grove we were met by the onsite Representative, Adrienne, who was both professional and friendly. She showed us to our house, over looking the River Laune (something I was a little apprehensive about to begin with but I was delighted to see that it was actually very safe, obviously the kids need to be watched around the decking area). The whole site is pedestrianised also. The house was clean, modern and warm on arrival (very important when you have a new baby). We had asked on booking if babysitters were available and were told it was best to check with the on site Supervisor who usually has a list of local girls, and she did. She also recommended some local restaurants and a very interesting new Tapas Wine Bar in the centre of town. We gave her the details of when the babysitter was required and she left. We received a call some time later to say all was arranged. That evening we just took a walk to town and surveyed what it had to offer (to get our bearings as my husband might say). There is a host of bars and restaurants to choose from, so our evening itinerary was set for the week. We did a shop and headed back to our accommodation. Over the following days, we visited the beautiful beaches in Rossbeigh and went horse riding. We took our trip to Dingle and stopped along the way to have a walk along Inch beach. We went to Indoor Kiddies Adventure Centres in both Dingle and Killarney during the week and again on Adrienne’s recommendation visited a local hotel with leisure facilities that were open to the public. We also got to visit the Tapas bar which was wonderful (on enquiring with a local lady, we found out that the building was an old church that was recently renovated and that the proprietor also owned “Nicks” the restaurant next door, which also came highly recommended) there was a real buzz about the place and everyone seemed to be embracing the new addition to a beautiful town, wine was in full flow. To be honest going on personal recommendations from Adrienne and locals alike, we could easy have stayed and been fully booked out for another week. So all in all, the location of The Grove Lodge was perfect for touring, Tralee, Killarney, Dingle and the beautiful Ring of Kerry and returning to such a well-kept house at the end of the day was a joy. Big thanks to all the Dream Ireland staff and just so as you know, I will be booking an Irish Holiday again. It’s so much more relaxing than our usual trips abroad, no passports, planes or jet lag to worry about, and what a time the kids had exploring their own country, Torc Waterfall, Muckross Gardens, The Lakes of Killarney, The Ring of Kerry, the list is endless.