Holiday home - what are your top 5 must haves - in order?

Sorry six.

Beds definitely one Kingsize or SuperKing bed and one twin bedded room or three bedrooms overall.

If it looks tastefully and comfortably furnished decent sized sofa and well photographed new or recent looking bedding not too cluttered, too chintzy, too minimal or worn/dated.

Easy walking distance to a nice/good reviewed pub or restaurant.

Nice area with owners not living on site i.e. not a farm cottage with owner living very close by as don’t want to be bothered or feel spied on.

Two toilets in the property.

Excellent reviews.

Another one with a tall husband, so a king sized bed without a footboard is a must.

Power outlet by the bed for DH's CPAP machine

Off road free parking

Good WiFi

Walkable amenities

Quiet

Outdoor space

Lots to see and do in the area

I don't go on holiday to do washing, but will use the washing machine if I need to and can get clothes dry.

I CBA with barbecuing. It's too much of a faff.

Washing machine!
Everything else is negotiable for me. I haven’t been on holiday without a washing machine in over 10 years and I can’t imagine having to pack for 2-3 weeks without the option of washing clothes.

2 good beds, bedroom can be closed with a door for DS sleeping
Public transport nearby
Washing machine if more than 5 days
Individual host not a business, decent reviews and looks clean
Not doing the extra payment of deposits scam

no pets allowed
Enough beds
Dishwasher
Parking
Privacy

Big comfy beds
Reliable WiFi
Heated towel rails
Outdoor area with decent seating
Fully equipped kitchen with proper wine glasses

Enclosed garden with grass - we stayed in one place where it was just a terraced patio and the dog just would not use it...meant a lot of very early morning/late night trips to the local graveyard.

Comfortable garden furniture, not bistro style.

To be honest, with both the above, if I can't actually see these things in the photos I just swipe on

Wifi - although I would take that as a given these days

Comfortable looking sofa, not leather

No low beams or doorways - DH is very tall

Location that is accurately described
facilities accurately described
parking
wi fi
clean.

could write a whole other thread about what I want inside. Have stayed in many holiday lets with varying levels of comfort.

No dogs allowed - no matter how well someone cleans there always seems to be 'wet dog' smell.
King size bed for us and twin or separate bedrooms for our girls
Quiet but walking distance to small shop/pub etc
Good blackout curtains/blinds
Washing machine and dishwasher

I agree! Going home with cases of clean washing is a game changer. Suitcases unpacked and put away in 30 minutes of getting through the door and then relax in a tidy home.

NO PETS ALLOWED. Period (unless a service dog)

black out blinds and curtains. I want pitch black

ac and if not, a fan

bath (4 kids here)

Washing machine and clothes horse

No of bedrooms
Enclosed Garden
Parking Space/Drive
Prefer a shop within walking distance
Whole property to ourselves

and WiFi

1. Dog friendly…..this means that they actually allow dogs in the house and not provide a kennel for them outside!!
2. Enclosed garden for dogs. Must be suitable fencing ie not a 1 foot wall round that my dogs can get over
3. Must have king size bed
4. Garden must be accessible from house and not the other side of a road
5. parking on site or easy parking on road nearby

I also prefer- shower cubicle rather than shower over bath
TV on cabinet rather than on wall over fireplace
good wi-fi

Out of 200 plus cottages for fire in the area we wanted in May this year, I narrowed then down to a dozen just based on the top five requirements listed above.

location
Pool
air con
washing machine
parking

3 proper bedrooms
2 full bathrooms
Washing machine and dishwasher in kitchen
Good wifi
Private parking

Can cope with anything else, but those are absolute must haves.

We once stayed in a place where the washing machine and dishwasher were in a garden shed outside - stupidly inconvenient, and stupid because the kitchen was easily big enough with lots of space- I can only think they forgot when they planned the kitchen and didn’t want to pay to replace/move the kitchen cupboards - nothing else made sense!

A door lock with a code instead of keys.

Really, I want to stay somewhere that is as nice or nicer than my own home, otherwise I would rather stay home.
And, above all, it has to be really, truly CLEAN.
Then add a sea view and either on the beach or a short walk to the beach.

Err, clothes for a family of 4? Means you can pack lighter. If you're away for a week and do a wash on the penultimate day then almost all your clothes will be clean when you get home, so easier to pack and unpack and one less job to do at home. Even more important if you're away 2 weeks! Each to their own but it's not that hard to understand. I'd prioritize a washing machine over a dishwasher because we don't have a dishwasher at home 🤷‍♀️

Comfortable bed.
Blackout blinds/Curtains, I need darkness to sleep!
Dishwasher.
Decent WiFi.
Decent shower.

I'm amazed at the number of people saying hot tub! For some reason, a hot tub turns me off somewhere. I think I feel it's likely to be a bit tacky? For me: enough bedrooms. Outside space. Near sea. Restaurants and cafes near by. Not a touristey area, or as low key as possible.

The most important thing is clearly state things like "the owner lives on site" or next door. Or "the garden is shared" or "other cottages on site". I don't have a dog but I'd like to know if the garden is safe for dogs if I did. Or that the dishwasher is half size. And filters in search function for whether the hot tub is shared or similar.
Whether bathroom has a bath.

Descriptions seem to be better at letting you know about WiFi speeds and telephone signal. Which is essential now because you often need to be able to check opening times and prices for places.

So don't leave stuff out in your description!

Oh yeah tea cosy and big tea pot!

Dog friendly - not just accepted,
i.e. not 10 pages of rules re dogs and def not stating the dog is not to be left in the property.
I do not wish to take my dogs out and about all day every day nor in the evening. My dogs do not want to visit places i.e. little villages / gift shops / cafes and they most def are not coming to a restaurant with me !

A garden with grass, the dogs are grass / sand trained. No gravel, it hurts their paws and you always end up picking up gravel along with their ' business '

The garden actually being attached to the property, I once stayed in a cottage where the main garden was across the road ! Turned out to be a busy road !!! and it also turned out the owner allowed neighbours to hang their washing in it ! Why ?!!!
The neighbours saw a lot of us, and I saw them far too often. As they seemed to be hanging / removing washing each and every single time I entered the garden !

Heating ! throughout the property not just a log burner or whatever in the living room.

WiFi

TV - for the evenings I may be in.

A fridge and a cooker - I expected a ' fully fitted ' kitchen to have both ! so didn't check every single item on the listing as it's usually all about coffee machines etc. Now I do. Lesson learnt when I was provided with a cool box !

Actual beds - not a mattress on the floor. Yes I made a lengthy complaint .

Not the property's responsibility, but I always check maps for a decent dog friendly park, or beach for their walks.

Fully agree with this. Plus sticky or oily cupboards/handles. Gross!

I do like a welcome hamper. Nothing worse than driving for hours and then having to go out for tea/milk etc.

Right number of proper bedrooms
Enough bathrooms
Parking
Washing machine/dishwasher
Hot tub/walking distance to the pub - often one of these has to give to come in on budget depending on location so a nice to have.

Mine would depend on where it was to an extent. These are all essential so not really in order.

• Completely independent of owners.
• supermarket within 10 mins on foot or in car if I will have one with me. However, could be more flexible about the car one.
• Near public transport links if I won't have a car - 10-15 min walk max.
• Aircon if hot place.
• Attractive decor with somewhere to eat and pleasant seating area.