Causeway Coast Retreat

Have fun with the whole family at this stylish house, situated in Portstewart, on Ireland's world famous Causeway Coast. Return to relax in style and comfort after busy days spent exploring all that this historic area of the Emerald Isle has to offer, from the famous UNESCO world heritage site at The Giant's Causeway to the stunning coastline and quaint seaside villages the nestle in the sheltered coves along the picturesque coastline. The house comprises a lounge, kitchen/dining area with integrated sunroom opening to outdoor patio. The utility room with washing machine and drying rack is just off the kitchen. The property has a fully enclosed back garden, downstairs WC, 3 bedrooms (master with ensuite shower room), and master bathroom. We take great care of our home and expect our home swap guests to treat it with the same respect. Shoes are not to be worn indoors and we provide disposable bathroom slippers for use throughout our home. This helps to keep the house in the pristine condition that you and other guests will find it. In order to maintain the high standard of our bedding for other guests, please ensure that fake tan products and make up is removed before bed. We would appreciate you bringing your own towels if using fake tan products. House manual; Heating: 3 Hatheran Gardens is a modern, highly-insulated timberframe construction home, designed to minimise the environmental impact of contemporary living. The cost for heating is included in your rental. The heating is set to 21deg Celsius and is on an ‘All Day’ programme in the winter time to maintain a comfortable temperature in the house. In the interests of the environment and to control heating costs, please do not adjust the thermostats. The heating is controlled using the room thermostats if required. If the house cools and you are still enjoying your evening, simply adjust the thermostat in the wall. Given the design and construction of the house, this should not be necessary. Instant hot water is available throughout the home from all hot water taps and showers. Again, in the interests of the environment and to control heating costs, please use hot water sparingly. Broadband: Broadband is included in your rental. The SSID and Password for the WiFi is on the small table nest in the Lounge, otherwise it is on the back of the router located under the table nest. The broadband must be used responsibly. No inappropriate content should be accessed using our broadband account. Espresso/Coffee Maker: The Bosch Tassimo coffee machine is available for guest use. We have included Costa Coffee Americano pods in your welcome pack. Other Tassimo pods (espresso/cappuccino/hot chocolate) are also available from the local Tesco supermarket. Pods are placed in the coffee machine by opening it at the top (easiest by placing your fingers on the top-front and lifting the front of the machine with your thumb). Take care to position the pods correctly in the machine, otherwise they may burst and coffee granules will spread through the machine making is very difficult to clean. The water jug is located at the rear of the coffee maker. Lift the flap on the on top-rear, lift the handle on the water jug and remove it by lifting it up and off the machine. Fill water from the cold water tap to the max-fill line and replace the jug in the machine. Once water is filled and a pod properly fitted, place a cup under the dispenser and press the button with the yellow light. NOTE: Do not open the coffee maker while the yellow dispensing light is flashing. This can damage the machine. Cooking: The cooker is fully electric and is equipped with four rings on the ceramic hob, along with a grill and an oven under the counter. To operate the cooker, switch it on using the switch beside the espresso/coffee maker. To activate the hob, touch the ‘on’ button on the surface of the hob and select which ring you wish to activate. Press the + button to increase the heat and the - button to decrease. The touchpad locks automatically if not touched for a period of time. You can lock/unlock the control panel to avoid accidental adjustments or to adjust ring temperature. **Please watch cooking food carefully and reduce the heat where necessary to avoid pots boiling over and marking the hob** The cooker extractor fan is activated by pulling the front of the fan down and out towards you (look for the silver edging behind the cupboard above the cooker). The extractor fan lights and power can be activated/adjusted on the fan. Note: the fan only operates when a hob ring is turned on. The oven and grill are operated using the knobs on the front of the cooker. The knob on the left is the grill/oven selector switch. Position one is a fan to cool the oven/grill after use if required, position two is the fan oven, position three is the grill and position four is grill with fan. The middle knob is the oven timer. Turn to the right to select the appropriate preheat/cooking time for your meal (in minutes). The right-hand knob is the temperature control in degrees Celsius. Turn the knob to select the appropriate temperature for your oven meal or to increase/decrease the grill temperature. Line baking trays with kitchen foil prior to using them to cook. Dishwasher: The dishwasher is switched on using the switch above the counter at the dishwasher. There are 4 programmes to choose from. Please select programme 3 'eco' when the dishwasher is full and try, where possible, to have dishwasher at full capacity before washing. The house is well-equipped with cutlery and crockery so that you do not need to wash part loads in the dishwasher. When checking out of the house, load the dishwasher with all dirty dishes and select programme 2, the 50 minutes at 65 degrees programme. Dishwasher tablets are located in the cupboard under the sink. ***If travelling with young children, please move the dishwasher tablets to a safe location, out of their reach**** Televisions: To operate the TV and Bluetooth speaker in the living room, the 2 switches with red lights in the corner must be switched on. The kitchen and living room televisions should be operated with the slimline remote controls. All TVs are Samsung smart UHD TVs and are connected to the house WiFi. Note: Freeview (digital TV) is not available in the living room, but UTV, BBC and C4 can be streamed. You may be able to use our accounts for other online streaming services i.e. Netflix, Prime, Disney and Apple. Netflix has, however, recently introduced changes so that 2 properties can’t use the same account at once. If you are unable to use our accounts, you are free to log in to your own streaming services accounts on the TVs. Please ensure you log out of your accounts before checking out. Washing Machine: Switch the washing machine on using the switch beside the wine rack in the utility room. Select the most appropriate programme for your clothes. Please dry clothes on the rack provided rather than by using the integrated dryer. To wash only, make sure that the right hand knob on the front of the washing machine is set to zero (dryer function). 2-in-1 detergent is provided in the cupboard under the sink in the utility room. Note: fabric conditioner may not be suitable for some clothing. Check labels before washing clothes with the 2-in-1 liquid. First Aid: There is a small first aid kit for minor injuries located in the bottom drawer in the kitchen. This also contains tablets (paracetamol and antihistamines). ***If travelling with young children, please move tablets to a safe location, out of their reach*** Waste Disposal: Causeway Coast and Glens area council provide 3 bins for different classes of waste, in order to meet the regions environmental obligations and targets. We are committed to helping in this effort and dispose of waste in the house according to the rules and regulations set by council. the 3 different coloured bins are located outside the garden gate at the side of the house. There are 2 bins inside in the kitchen (undercounter cupboard at the kitchen door) to segregate waste in the house. Once the internal bins are filled, they should be emptied in the appropriate bin outside. The bins colours and applicable waste for each are as follows: Blue: Recycling bin. Dispose of cardboard, plastic containers (washed and squashed) and glass bottles (washed) in this bin. The bin under the counter in the kitchen without the bin liner is for recyclables. Once this is filled, empty it in the blue bin. Brown: This bin is for compostable waste. It is primarily used for garden waste, but is also suitable for certain food products. Consult the sticker on the bin for more information. Black: General household waste not suitable for the blue or brown bins. Patio Doors: The patio doors are unlocked with the second key on the keyring (with the square end). Insert and turn the key to unlock the doors. There is an additional thumb-turn lock in the middle of the patio doors at knee height i.e. where the fixed window and the sliding door overlap when closed. Turn this lock until the pin pops out. You will now be able to slide open the patio door. NOTE: In cold weather, do not leave doors open. It is likely that mice will be attracted by the heat