Golden rules for booking the ideal holiday cottage
Location, location, location - 7 out of 10 Farm and Cottage Holidays customers cite the location as the most important factor when booking a holiday cottage.
Over 70% want to be close to a beach, coming in a close second is the pub getting nearly half of the votes (46%), walking also features highly with 25% wanting walks directly from the property.
Dan Linstead, editor of leading travel magazine Wanderlust says: “A cottage must be in staggering distance of a pub / beach / swimming pool or coast path. The objective varies by age and group type, but the basic principle is you must be able to walk to somewhere fun.”
Farm and Cottage Holidays allows users to search by geographic location and proximity to local facilities such as pubs, shops and the beach. With over 900 cottages (65%) within 1 mile of a pub and 850 (60%) within 5 miles of a beach there’s plenty of choice:
Try Poachers Cottage in Appledore, North Devon. A stylish bolthole for 4, a short stroll to the pubs and restaurants of this harbour town and close to the 2 mile stretch of sand at Westward Ho! from £310 for a week.
Travelling with little ones - when travelling with children the great outdoors and entertainment govern holiday cottage choices with 65% of those travelling with children looking for a beach close by, another 60% look for outdoor space at the cottage and 4 in 10 want attractions on the doorstep. For over a third of those surveyed (34%) child friendly cottage features were the most important factor.
The experts at Mumsnet agree “Check out what child-friendly facilities are on offer, a good space to play means the kids can play out front with other kids...whilst you enjoy a glass of wine with other parents!”
Search the Farm and Cottage Holidays site for over 200 ‘Family Holiday’ ideas or you can filter for properties with play facilities, enclosed gardens or even those on a working farm.
One child-friendly option is West Hollowcombe Kiri near Dulverton in North Devon. One of four cottages on a 60 acre converted farm situated on the wild and beautiful Exmoor. With the North Devon coast a short drive away and on-site play facilities including swings, a slide, a seesaw and as ride-on toys for the little ones plus there’s woodland walks from the front door. From £338 per week and sleeps 6.
It’s what’s inside that counts...the lounge / living area is the most important room in the house to over 40% of customers with a quarter (25%) making their cottage choice based on the kitchen.
In terms of facilities, no one wants to get their hands dirty on holiday with dishwashers the most important kitchen appliance to 40% of you – a sentiment echoed in Dan Linstead’s 10 commandments of self catering “A dishwasher...central to self-catering happiness...”
Over 75% of Farm and Cottage Holidays properties come with dishwasher and there’s plenty to choose from with super-duper kitchens.
Kitchen lovers will be in heaven at 3 Larkstone Terrace in Ilfracombe, North Devon, a stunning townhouse in the North Devon town of Ilfracombe. This spacious four bedroomed property makes the perfect family getaway with its lovely large rooms and kitchen worthy of an interiors spread – complete with obligatory dishwasher and range cooker. From £785 per week and sleeps 8.
Over 60% of cottage customers look for a private garden, with nearly the same number (59%) looking for off-street parking and 44% of respondents like to enjoy a spot of al-fresco dining with an outdoor eating space cited as an important factor.
With over 600 properties including an enclosed garden, Farm and Cottage Holidays think the great outdoors is important too...
For a cottage with a garden to get excited about check out Greengates in Downderry, South Cornwall. There’s a large enclosed garden that gets the sun all day, plus an outdoor eating area and BBQ. The best bit, the garden has private access directly onto the beach. From £1500 per week and sleeps 12.
We don’t like to admit it but looks are important too, with nearly a third (31%) of those surveyed looking for period features and over 40% wanting an open fire or wood-burner to create that cosy cottage vibe. Dan Linstead agrees “I want moss and ivy, exposed beams, soot blackened grates and seashells arranged along weathered window sills.”
Bishop’s Caundle Cottage near Sherbourne in Dorset is a cutesy character cottage offering room for four over 2 cosy bedrooms, it’s got the fireside factor, a thatched roof, roll-top bath and far reaching views of the Dorset countryside from £355 per week.