We got very excited about Donegal Thatched Cottages just from the photos on the website and the reality was beyond our very high hopes. All the positive descriptions in other reviews are true. So much in such a small and easy to walk or drive around area – the beautiful Atlantic at your door, Arranmore Island on one side, a mesmerising mountain panorama on the other including the extraordinary Errigal mountain with it’s pale grey top usually in a cloud looking like something magical from Lord of the Rings, all of which changed colours as the sun rose and set, crystal clear water and more empty soft sandy beaches that you could ever need with fascinating weathered granite rock formations, mussel beds, rock pools full of life, heathery peatbogs and distinctive windswept grassy sanddunes. It was a struggle to put my camera away and concentrate on my new wife! A feast of the best that the Irish coast has to offer. The weather was great in our late August stay with mostly very sunny days when the beaches looked like a brochure for Thailand and the sunsets over the open sea were hypnotising, or wind and all the variety that makes Ireland what it is – being next to the Atlantic seemed to mean that rainy weather blew through and didn’t hang around for long, and who cares when it makes glorious rainbows over your cottage and atmospheric skies and you can cosy up in front of your own peat fire. The cottage had great character and felt like Real Ireland as it should with enough mod cons to be functional and meet our needs while also feeling like a traditional farmhouse, which was crucial to its timeless charm. My grandparents and parents honeymooned in similar settings in Northern Ireland and coming from the outskirts of London was hoping to have a glimpse of what they experienced and got it in bucketfuls. It was a perfect place to relax and unwind after all the stress and fuss of a wedding and we hope to return again and again, dragging as many friends and relatives as we can along with us. I wanted to fill all the beds with people so they could enjoy it too – the cottages could accommodate a good crowd and I can’t imagine anywhere more perfect for children to enjoy and explore safely. Donegal is beautiful beyond description and Cruit Island felt like the jewel in its crown for something very special and close to nature. The recently advertised reduction in prices make it a fantastic bargain for what you get to experience and Conor made us very welcome. ( UK )