Although I love going away on holiday and staying in hotels, I sometimes miss being able to do what I want when I want (even the 'do not disturb' on hotel doors does not always work!).
A friend in work introduced us to this company, when she and some mates (I think there were about 10 of them in the group) spent a weekend in one of the 'cottages' on offer. Do not let the name of the company fool you. They definitely did not stay in a cottage! They stayed in a converted Windmill and grounds, which included a swimming pool and games room. After looking at the property that they stayed in, I decided to have a good look at the site.
The website is www.cottages4you.co.uk. and it is an online version of the Holiday Cottages Group. The company have cottages to rent in the UK, Ireland, France and Italy. The country of choice can be selected from the ‘homepage’.
The website is very easy to us and the ‘homepage’ also shows three categories in which to choose a preference for the initial search: country, region and number in party. Country and number in party are obligatory for the search. This leads to all the cottages within the chosen preferences. However, the search can be narrowed down further from this page by clicking on ‘Availability Search’. From here you can indicate a price range, and other requirements that are necessary to your stay as follows:
Pets Allowed Cots Available Pub Nearby Open Fire/Woodburner Ground Floor Bedroom & Bathroom Facilities Enclosed Garden Swimming
Pool Virtual Tour (I always use this one – ok so I always use the pub nearby as well!)
You indicate the dates you require, re-iterate the number in your party, how many bedrooms required and then search – simple. Once the cottages with your chosen specifications have been displayed, further information about each particular cottage can be perused, and the virtual tour (if available/chosen), enjoyed.
When the chosen cottage has been booked, an e-mail confirming the booking is sent by cottages4you and followed up with postal confirmation. A deposit at the time of booking has to be paid. The deposit depends on the price of the cottage e.g. a cottage costing up to £199, a deposit of £70 is required, £200 - £299, £110 required, Full details can be found within the sites terms and conditions. They also offer their own travel insurance which varies in price on the length of stay – a week costs £22.50. I would not normally take travel insurance for a holiday in Britain, but this does cover breakages in the cottage, so on this occasion I succumbed. A few weeks before the holiday/break details of the owner and contact numbers are sent to you, along with directions to the ‘cottage’
We eventually booked a three night break for November 2003, at Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds. The particular cottage we chose was called Hayward’s Cottage. The cottage was not very easy to find, even with the owners directions, and those of ‘cottages4you’. However Stow on the Wold is quite a small place and we found it eventually. The cottage was accessed via an alley, where the side door in the alley led into the enclosed garden, and then into the cottage itself. The garden was quite small, but had a patio area with a patio table and four chairs. Opening the door took us immediately into the main living area, which although on the small side, was large enough to comfortably house a three seater settee, two arm chairs, a small table with two chairs, a bookcase, portable TV and an open fire. An initial supply of fuel (logs and newspaper) was included for the open fire. The living area was the focal point of the cottage and led to the kitchen, the stairs to the bedrooms and a door to the outside of the cottage (the other side from where we entered via the alley).
The kitchen comprised of a larger table than the living area had and this was accompanied by four chairs. The kitchen was amply equipped with a large fridge freezer, gas cooker, washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, toaster and kettle (ok so I wasn’t going to use many of these at all – it was a holiday/break!- but they were there so had to be mentioned!) There was also a supply of cutlery, crockery and glasses. The ‘kitchen table’ on arrival was already laid with ‘place settings’ – there were also ‘clotted cream cookies’ as a welcome. A clean hand towel and two tea towels were also available.
Upstairs in the cottage consisted of two bedrooms, a bathroom and a shower room. One of the bedrooms had a 5 foot double bed, and the smaller of the two bedrooms, two single beds. Both bedrooms had a window seat. There were four of us staying at the cottage, and I can obviously only comment on the bed that I slept in - the double one. I have to say that it was one of the most comfortable beds I have slept in. The duvet and pillows were heaven. The bathroom was a reasonable size and had a loo. The separate shower room also had a loo. Both bathroom and shower room had two pure white, high quality bath towels and two pure white, high quality hand towels in them (oh yes! the owner also left loads of toilet paper, and no we didn’t take ours back with us, we left it for the next ‘tenants’!!)
Venturing out from the cottage took us to the main shopping area/town square. literally less than 5 walking minutes away, at a sauntering pace. There were Antique shops, Art Galleries, Bookshops, quaint Tea Shops, Restaurants, Hotels and Pubs. So much in one small square (it looked more like a triangle to me!). However, the cost in shops pubs etc was generally on the expensive side, and I would suggest looking around first.
During our weekend stay we didn’t actually travel outside Stow-on-the Wold, as we had come to relax, which meant parking the car on arrival, and leaving it there until we left. We were allowed by the owners of the cottage to leave our car on their business premises, which led directly into the door of our cottage opposite to the ‘alley’ entrance. They made it clear to us that we would not be able to take the car out after 6 pm or all day Sunday, as they locked the doors/gates. This suited us, but if it doesn’t suit, a parking space would have to be sought nearby, which would not be easy.
The one downside to this particular cottage was the fact that it was one of the more expensive cottages, yet the settee and chairs in the living room were a bit on the uncomfortable side – well not even a bit, they were bloody uncomfortable. A major bonus to us was the distance from cottage to ‘town’. One of our big concerns was that we had to leave the cottage via the door into the alley, from the garden at the rear (as the other exit led to the business premises gates, which were closed in the evening). The alley had hardly any lighting (the lighting came from windows of cottages along the alley – which weren’t actually facing onto the alley; we just caught the rear of their cottages). We had my parents with us, aged 73 and 71, and we were apprehensive, especially coming back on the Friday evening after a meal (and a drink of the alcoholic nature, of course). However there were no casualties!
We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and the freedom it gave us to relax and do what we wanted to do when we wanted to. My experience so far of cottages4you is very positive, so much so that we have just booked another cottage for the weekend around my birthday this year (for those that would like to wish me ‘Happy Birthday’ at the time it’s 10th September). I toyed with the idea of a ‘plush’ hotel, but we tried that last February, and although the ‘honeymoon type’ suite was in itself pretty luxurious, there was still the noise of those getting up early or leaving the hotel early in the morning, as well as the cost of the ‘hotel prices’ for drink, and regimental times to eat.
However, not all cottages/properties are as fully equipped as ours, but each individual description of the cottage will provide information of what is included/excluded. I have rated ‘How well does it cater for the disabled?’ ‘OK’, but I am not disabled, and therefore I do not think that I am qualified to make a proper judgement on this aspect, so please ignore this rating
In conclusion, I think cottages4you will suit a lot of different types of holiday, as the site shows the properties available are not only ‘cosy’ type cottages, but they also have accommodation for a larger number of people, such as the property that my friend and her friends shared.
Thanks for the read.
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Really great review. Me and 5 of my friends stayed in a really nice place in North Wales a few years back and we really enjoyed the freedom. The owner was a bit scared though when 6 goth/metlars turned up! Donna x
docpov 26.11.2004 21:14
we tend to go self catering (easier with the kids) and this sounds like a good way of doing it.
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Feb 11th, 2004
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