Holiday cottage for 16 in September - help!

[UndercoverMother]

Unwisely I have found myself in charge of organising our annual get together for my uni friends. This year there are sixteen of us + four babies.

All great so far except I know I have left it rather late and am now really struggling to find a cottage that can accommodate us all - preferably for under £1800. The weekend is fixed as 19-21 September, location wise anywhere no further than 2.5 hours drive from London.

I have trawled the most obvious websites but nothing suitable is coming up, so if you do know of anything or anywhere that might be any good, I would be very grateful!

Many thanks

Wendy - It was a UK cottage with no flights. And the rift is fixing.

My background hasn't always been in travel, but being in it for a while now, I know why travel is highly regulated. Some online companies get away with many things they shouldn't and operate in the grey area of the law. You must have an ATOL to sell flight inclusive holidays. However you describe what you provide as components, so the client has no protection if the booking agent, or the airline goes bust.

Holiday Cottages Group Limited does not appear on the caa website. Are you sure they have an ATOL? I don't think so. Are they members or any travel organisation? Selling more than just accommodation they should be. Read up on the caa website.

Buying flights direct from an airline on behalf of your clients is highly norty. As an agent you should buy them from an ATOL licensed ticket agent/provider. I am slightly 'ed but it goes on all the time.

WW - if you want to discuss further please email me.
wispy wotz at yahoo dot co dot uk

Of course this is my view, I do not work in law, and I am not commenting on any one company or person.

How about ABTA then, wotz? Just found this:

"French Life is part of International Life Leisure Limited ABTA V6190"

(I knew we had one of them, just thought it was ATOL)

Oh hang on - Individual Travellers is ATOL:

"The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority
ATOL Protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom"

French & Irish Country Cottages & Welcome don't have their own codes but does one within the company cover them all?

And HCG is part of RCI, which is a massive international travel company, so I would imagine all that is covered one way or another?

Here you go - one number for the whole group

There you go......
So you do have an ATOL 5169
to sell flight holidays all protected and lovely
phhhewwww

It was me saying we act as an agent that was misleading - but I am just a minion, what do I know? We book it all under one reference, does that make it a package?

Why don't they have it on the homepage, or in T&C's? Or did I miss it? I can't see it. Why hide it? [confused and grumpy old woman emotcion]

para 20, financial security, from a tiny link at the bottom of the home page

that's just ITC though, dunno if the others have it. I will look when I'm feeling stronger.

Just to let you know our holiday is all booked up so thanks to you fabulous mumsnetters for saving me from humiliation and spending our reunion weekend camping in a public toilet:

themildmanneredjanitor for finding it

and wendyweber and snorawotzthat for other helpful info re 7% discout - WW - do you work for cottages4u (I could have got totally the wrong end of the stick?) - anyway, I booked over the phone and the chap was lovely so thanks for your inside info

The house looks SO lovely and everyone is so impressed with the cost (although I might have to admit at some stage that I didn't actually find it myself!)

Yes I do, UM (you didn't!) Of course we are all lovely there

Hope you all have a fab weekend. Make sure you bag yourself the best bedroom!