What makes people book a holiday cottage with us time and again? There is nobody better placed to answer that question than some of our most loyal ‘top bookers’.
Three couples kindly let us talk to them while they were on their recent holidays. Between them, they have booked with us 130 times since 2003, and it was fabulous to sit down and hear all about their holiday experiences and what they look for when choosing a property to stay in.
We can help you create your own holiday stories with our wide range of UK properties – whether you’re keen to book a romantic retreat, a family-friendly break (even four-legged family members are catered for in our dog-friendly properties), or treat yourself to a luxurious stay in a property with that five-star feel, we have holiday homes to suit all needs.
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Rob and Lin Lovell
Mr and Mrs Lovell
Rob and Lin Lovell live in Leicestershire and stay with us multiple times a year. Their first booking was in 2003, and they have made 62 bookings in total, staying in 13 different properties. It is Appledore in North Devon which has a special place in their hearts, however, with the three properties that make most of their bookings located in that wonderful village.
The Lovells have stayed at Reef Cottage, in Appledore 29 times so far, and typically book it once a month, including for Christmas. It’s usually just the two of them, but sometimes their daughter Marie, a carer by profession, joins them. They say, after working hard all their lives, they want to enjoy their holidays now they’re retired.
When asked why they chose holidaycottages.co.uk for the first time, it was all about location: “We really like Appledore and holidaycottages.co.uk had a great selection of cottages to choose from. We love the seaside and Reef Cottage suits us perfectly.”
Reef Cottage
While they initially had no connection to Appledore, they fell in love with the area on their first holiday nearly 20 years ago.
“Where is there that’s much more pretty than this? No matter where you walk, you’re not going to get anywhere better than this. No matter where you go, you can’t beat it.”
Having visited so many times, there are many special memories to cherish; one, in particular, will always stand out: “Our son and his partner got married down here. They’d been together years; we didn’t think they’d ever get married. We invited them down here three years ago. They said, we’d love to come but want to get married down there, and we don’t want anyone else to know. They’d been together so long, they wanted to keep it quiet. It was lovely.
They got married at the registry office in Bideford. It was just the four of us, and afterwards, we went for a meal at the Seagate. Claire told her brother, who lives in Australia, and he’d put a bottle of Champagne behind the bar. That’s a very special memory.”
Their current trip is shaping up to be no less memorable – even the local birdlife gets involved. Lin said: “On Friday when we got here, I got plopped on by a seagull. I thought, that’s a nice greeting, that is!”
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Bob and Edna Davis
Mr and Mrs Davis
To meet our next couple, we head from Devon to rural Scotland – to Lomond View, which boasts magnificent views over the Clyde Estuary towards the Argyll Hills and Ben Lomond.
Bob and Edna Davis live in Gloucester and booked their first holiday with us back in 2009. Since then, they have made 37 bookings in total, staying in lots of different properties - including Lomond View and Salmon Leap in Devon.
The appeal of a UK cottage holiday is being able to avoid the hassle of airports: “We’re getting older and airports are a problem, you lose time coming and going from the airports. We don’t go abroad at all - haven’t been for at least 10 years, maybe even more than 20 years.”
Lomond View
Their loyalty to holidaycottages.co.uk stems from the good selection of properties available to choose from, and the easy-to-use website and online booking process. “We book online – we sit down with the computer and decide.”
Being retired, they are free to choose when they head off on their next adventure. It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite destination: “I just can’t put my finger on that, there are so many great locations we’ve visited. We haven’t really had a bad holiday, all of them have been really good.”
A stay in Somerset provided an enduring and endearing family holiday memory. “We wanted to be close to Glastonbury. We got to this place, and it was full of toys. Our grandson, who was two or three at the time, loved it.”
Book Lomond View
Suzanne and Steve Priem
Mr and Mrs Priem
Essex couple Suzanne and Steve Priem booked their first holiday cottage with us back in 2009. Since then, they have made 31 bookings, staying in lots of different properties, including Hen’s Nest in Cornwall and Driftwood Cottage – Milford On Sea in Hampshire. We chatted with them during a recent stay at Debenham Mill in Suffolk. They typically travel just the two of them.
While Steve and Suzanne do go abroad, they really enjoy holidays in the UK. Their favourite property is Hen’s Nest, having booked it six times over the years: “It’s nice to have a home-from-home, for example, Hen’s Nest, we’ve been so many times that we’ve got to know the people down there.”
Debenham Mill
It was this idea of a home-from-home that prompted their first holidaycottages.co.uk booking; they’d grown tired of hotels and wanted somewhere they could call home for the duration of their visit. They continue to book with us because they find the descriptions of properties give a realistic idea of what to expect.
“All of the photographs are a true representation. You can read into the comments where people have been negative/critical and gauge the quality of the property for yourself from the description and imagery.”
Their main criteria for choosing a property are location and value for money - and they love an open fire. As Suzanne is retired now and Steve works part-time, they have more time to go on holidays and prefer to go out of season as high summer can be very busy and there is more traffic on the roads. Keen walkers, they like to head to coastal properties and make the most of the spectacular scenery. Self-catering holidays suit them perfectly as Suzanne is a keen baker and likes to cook while they are on holiday.
Book Debenham Mill
Create memories in one of our UK holiday cottages
If you are inspired by these stories from our top bookers, it’s easy to start creating your own holiday memories by booking one of the properties mentioned above – or click on the link below to see our entire collection of self-catering holiday cottages across the UK.
Browse our cottages