🟢 GO - Lawcus Farm Guest House
We Booked the Treehouse. The Hospitality Was the Upgrade.
We stayed at Lawcus Farm during our 2022 Ireland road trip. This review reflects our firsthand experience at that time. Properties, amenities, ownership, pricing and other details can change, so travelers should verify current information before booking.
Some accommodations are memorable because of the room. Others stick with you because of the people.
At Lawcus Farm, we got both.
We booked the treehouse for three nights as one of the anchors of our two-week Ireland road trip. Built into a wooded area away from the main guesthouse, it promised something very different from an ordinary hotel room.
What we couldn't have known when we booked it was that we'd arrive in Ireland without our checked luggage.
That turned Lawcus Farm into much more than an interesting place to sleep.
🌳 The Treehouse
The treehouse sits roughly 100 meters from the main guesthouse, reached by a path through the property and a wooden walkway into the trees.
Despite the property's warning about traveling light because of the distance from the parking area, we found the walk quite easy.
Of course, thanks to the airline, traveling light wasn't exactly optional for us.
Along the way we passed the resident pigs, who were quite friendly and seemed happy to see us.
They also possessed faces, and particularly teeth, that only a mother could love.
The treehouse itself felt wonderfully secluded. It had a king-size bed that we found very comfortable, a small kitchenette, private bathroom and a veranda overlooking the surrounding woods.
There was no television, and Wi-Fi at the treehouse was intermittent. Neither bothered us. The whole point of staying there was being tucked away from everything.
We spent time sitting on the veranda simply enjoying the view, and there was even a swing suspended beneath the treehouse that we put to good use.
It felt less like staying in a room and more like having our own little corner of the Irish countryside.
🍳 Breakfast Was an Event
Breakfast was served at the main guesthouse, and this wasn't a token continental spread.
We were treated to a hearty full Irish breakfast with homemade food, exactly the sort of breakfast that can make lunch seem entirely unnecessary.
But what we remember most wasn't simply what was on the plate.
It was how we were treated.
🏡 Mark and Anne-Marie Made the Stay
Our hosts, Mark and Anne-Marie, treated us less like customers occupying one of their accommodations and more like people they had welcomed onto their farm.
They took time to talk with us, gave us a tour of their own home on the property, which they had built themselves, and offered the kind of local advice that can completely change a road trip.
One recommendation sent us to Malzards Pub, where we learned that dinner didn't necessarily have to come from the pub itself. Indian takeaway delivered to the pub became part of the evening.
That's precisely the sort of experience we leave room for when we travel.
It wasn't on our itinerary.
It was better because it wasn't.
🧳 Then There Was Our Missing Luggage
We arrived at Lawcus Farm without our checked bags, which the airline had failed to deliver with us to Ireland.
By this point, wearing the same backup clothing was getting old.
Mark and Anne-Marie directed us to a local department store where we could buy replacement clothes and other necessities. After breakfast, we went shopping, returned to Lawcus and finally changed into something different.
Then came the gesture we've remembered ever since.
They offered to wash the clothes we'd been wearing.
We could change, hand over the dirty clothes and continue exploring instead of spending part of our vacation figuring out laundry.
Our luggage problem wasn't theirs to solve.
They helped us solve it anyway.
Our bags ultimately remained missing for seven days, a story worthy of its own article. But Lawcus Farm was where a frustrating travel problem became considerably easier to manage.
🟢 Would We Recommend Lawcus Farm?
Yes.
The treehouse alone made Lawcus Farm an unusual place to stay. It was private, comfortable and surrounded by the sort of countryside we'd come to Ireland hoping to experience.
But that's not ultimately why we remember it so fondly.
We remember sitting on the veranda. We remember the swing. We remember enormous breakfasts, ugly-cute pigs, a local pub recommendation and being shown around a home our hosts had built themselves.
And we remember two people who saw travelers dealing with a problem and simply started helping.
That's hospitality.
We booked the treehouse. Mark and Anne-Marie made Lawcus Farm memorable.
Who Is Lawcus Farm Best For?
Lawcus Farm's treehouse made sense for the way we travel. We'd especially consider it for couples who enjoy unusual accommodations, quiet countryside stays and hosts who provide a more personal experience than you'd typically find at a hotel.
Travelers who require consistently strong Wi-Fi, television, extensive hotel-style services or immediate access from their vehicle should look carefully at the setup before booking.
For us, those weren't drawbacks.
They were part of what made the treehouse feel like a treehouse.
Curated Upgrades Recommendation
🟢 GO
Why: A distinctive and comfortable treehouse in a secluded setting, hearty homemade breakfasts and exceptional personal hospitality from our hosts.
The upgrade: It wasn't something we paid extra for.
It was being treated like family when our trip wasn't going according to plan.