What makes the perfect cottage holiday rental for you?

[SunshineChatter]

I am new in the holiday rental market, with this summer being my first proper season letting my cottage in Somerset.

I am trying to make it as well appointed as possible. Soft cotton sheets, fluffy white towels, complimentary mini toiletries, champagne flutes, kitchen scales, baking stuff, wi-fi, Netflix, beautiful garden furniture, BBQ, welcome hamper, dog treats, etc.

But I'm sure we all look for different things when we rent a luxury holiday cottage. Could you please share what you feel would make a cottage stand out were you to rent it for a week's away with your OH, family, friends, etc? It sleeps four in two bedrooms. TIA.

[Knittedfairies]

Instructions to operate the hob; we stayed in a cottage where I had to google it. I mentioned it to the owner who said that buying that particular hob was a 'mistake' and nobody knew how it worked; I still don't know why they hadn't left the manual. I always appreciate finding a folder with all the manuals in it.
What I don't like to find is bowls of pot pourri, dead or alive.

[LittleBearPad]

[quote FindMeInTheSunshine]@LittleBearPad, interesting, I nearly put ice cubes, but wondered if other people wouldn't trust them and just throw them out and make their own. I guess if they're there then you have the choice![/quote]
It’s probably another thing not allowed at the moment but I never remember to check they are done until I want one for my G&T. At that point an empty ice cube tray is a very gloomy prospect. 😂

[LimaFoxtrotCharlie]

No “welcome pack” wanted - I bring my own tea & coffee and wouldn’t use sachets. A bottle of wine is always welcome though.
And at least 2 sets of keys so guests can go out for the day separately.
Dogs are off putting, there’s either a lingering smell of wet dog or hairs somewhere.
And just add a note to the details if the WiFi is slower than city WiFi, so guests know in advance to download box sets if they want to watch tv.

[Flyingarcher]

Small lights in the living room. Amazing how many places have one horrible central light. Lighting is really important to me - I physically fine it painful to deal with one harsh light - makes me jittery. Likewise bedside lights.
Hoover, dustpan and brush. I really hate having to leave a place clean with no cleaning equipment present.
A cool bag with freezer packs so people can take it on picnics. However, it might disappear....

[Happydaysforever123]

A comfortable bed, dishwasher and sharp knives.

And please please check your vacuum cleaner doesn't need the filter changing and it works well. Don't leave an ancient Henry which hardly picks up.

[nutellatoast]

You sounds like you've covered most things. I have stayed in many holiday cottages and the things I've appreciated most are:

• a powerful shower ideally separate to a bath (it's nice to have both options)
• at least a king size bed (but I can understand in your situation why you have a double in one room)
• extra blankets available in winter and fans for the summer
• dishwasher and tablets
• washer dryer or separate washer and dryer with some washing tablets
• basic condiments (salt, pepper, sugar, a few tea bags etc)
• up to date info about things to do in the local area
• up to date takeaway menus and recommendations about restaurants/pubs
• ordinance survey maps of local area to borrow
• info about how to deal with recycling, when the bins go out etc
• spare lightbulbs
• working hoover
• freezer blocks and ice cube trays
• sufficient space for clothes and enough hangers in the wardrobe (there never seem to be enough - though maybe I pack too much!)
• if near a beach - beach mats and umbrella

One place I stayed in even had a free bar which was very popular! They supplied a considerable amount of alcoholic and mixers!

[SimonJT]

I went to a lovely cottage at the start of August, I’ll list the pros and cons

Pros
-Decent knives that actually chopped without using brute force
-Decent clean chopping boards with no stains
-Enough good quality cookware to cook decent meals for the number of guests
-Enough seating for the number of guests
-Idiots guide to use all appliances etc
-Supply of cleaning things for kitchen, including laundry liquid and dishwasher tabs
-Comfy sofa
-TV in a good position
-Stairgates available on request
-Pegs for washing line and a clothes horse
-Fully fenced pool
-Decent white bath sheets
-Decent white bedding
-Kingsize bed
Good lighting throughout as there were lamps as well as big lights
Well placed sockets for chargers etc

Cons
-Mirror in bedroom didn’t have its own light
-No blackouts in bedrooms
-Creakiest bed in the world
-One key, okay for us, but some people would pop out at different times

[Ellmau]

I stayed in a cottage once which had a washing machine - but nowhere to dry anything. No airing cupboard, no airer, nothing.

[HumphreyCobblers]

A summer duvet in summer. It is awful to be sweltering under a winter duvet in a heat wave. We have had lots of excellent rentals which fall down on this one point.

[ANutAsBigAsABoulder]

As well as everything others have said - decent pillows. I’m away at the moment and forgot to bring my own. The ones here are awful and make me cross every bedtime.

A good radio in the kitchen is always welcome. If you have a washer drier, please leave idiot-proof instructions. A clothes airer is also a Godsend.

I won’t book a cottage that allows dogs. But I know there’s a large number of people who look for precisely that.

[BustPipes]

Am agog at the amount of laundry other people seem to do on holiday. Each to their own though!

Talking of which - we always take pizza trays when we go away.

[BustPipes]

But really, it's the basics that matter. Good beds, good showers, dishwasher, oven that isn't wierd, WiFi, decent curtains, clean and reasonably new bed linen.

Five different niche versions of Triv (I swear we once had 'people famous between 1958 and 1962') are a wonderful bonus.

[CeeceeBloomingdale]

Wifi, off road parking and good location are essential when I'm looking for a cottage. Nice to have is a second pillow per person and plenty of coat hangers.

[anon5000]

@BustPipes

Am agog at the amount of laundry other people seem to do on holiday. Each to their own though!

Talking of which - we always take pizza trays when we go away.

Me too. I don't think I've ever done any washing on holiday.

[shiningstar2]

Definitely king size beds. Also avoid beds with a rail of some kind at the bottom. Decorative maybe but dh very tall and we have had to reject cottages we loved because the bedroom photo shows that dh would be uncomfortable in the bed. Also think about a twin room. Every family doesn't have a 2 year old and a 4 year old you can pop in the same double. DD's children, boy and girl aged 15 and 11 can share a room on holiday but not a bed. We are sharing a 3 bed cottage with them this summer. When looking to book up it was quite surprising how many 3 bedroom properties just had 3 double or king beds rather than a twin included. Bathrooms/toilets. Aim for more than one. Make sure they are immaculate with decent power showers.

[shiningstar2]

Oh and if there are a shower room ensuite and a separate family bathroom make sure there is a shower over the bath in the family bathroom as well as the shower in the ensuite. Nothing worse than getting the ensuite room but having every one else coming in and out to use the shower, or getting the family bathroom and finding out its either a bath every day or bothering the other couple.
Whatever you do or don't have please ensure you are clear in the description.

[banano]

Don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet but proper bath sheets (the large size towels) that you can wrap all the way around you, not just regular towels which don’t close properly! Although a regular one for my hair is always a good addition. Especially if sharing a bathroom! And a heated towel rail so you have somewhere to dry them.

Your house looks lovely OP!

[starlight36]

Both our kids suffered from car sickness when younger so unfortunately finding out how the washing machine worked was always one of my first missions when we arrived at a holiday cottage. Thankfully they have both grown out of that stage!

[minipie]

I’m staying somewhere at the moment and whilst it’s been done up very nicely, what stands out is the lack of recent maintenance.

So for example there is a dishwasher, but it didn’t wash anything properly as had stuff gunking up the spray arms. Spent part of my holiday unclogging the arms. The shower looks fab but the pole holding it has broken so it has to be balanced. One of the bedroom doors is very difficult to keep closed, has to be slammed several times, very annoying.

These are not the kind of things cleaners would notice or check for necessarily so perhaps it’s a question of having a maintenance check as well?

Basically lots of properties start of looking beautiful and shiny but what’s more tricky is to keep them at that standard over time. I wouldn’t care about endless kitchen utensils or other luxuries, but I do care if things are there but don’t work.

[BiarritzCrackers]

Empty cupboard space, for food. Not much is needed, but three of the last four places I've stayed in have had nowhere to put food shopping, so we have had groceries stacked on the worktops or piled up on the table. One of the cottages, which was lovely in all other ways, but for some reason the owner had loads of cut glass crystal, assorted toast racks, jam holders (even if you decant your jam at home, who would do that on holiday?!) etc etc blocking up the cupboards. I don't want to look at a celery vase in a cupboard; I want space for a packet of pasta.

And good cotton bedding, appropriate to the season. Not 8 inch thick duvets in high summer.

I wouldn't book anywhere without a dishwasher, unless I was desperate.

[Lonelykettleshed]

I don't know if it's practical for you but if so, I would suggest packing a bag (as if you were going on holiday) and moving in for a few days. You will soon get an idea of whether anything is missing.

[JumpJockey]

As people have already said, enough plates and cutlery! We’re currently in quite a high-end rental - all the pans are Le Creuset, there’s a griddle pan and wok and 4 different spatulas and just about every kitchen gadget you can think of, but only 5 of each size of plate and 6 knives, forks, spoons. It means we have to wash up after breakfast in order to make lunch or dinner - doesn’t feel right putting on a half empty dishwasher. And when they’ve provided so many sharp kitchen knives, why so little regular cutlery?

Things which are good about current place, that haven’t always been in other places:
Family shower room as well as en suite bathroom
Massive towels for everyone
Comfy sofas that seat everyone in both living spaces - no point having someone on a lumpy old armchair
Radios in each bedroom, kitchen and living space
(Usually we love a supply of trashy holiday reading and games, but at the moment that’s not possible)
Bath mats - have been in places where you slide to your doom getting out of the shower

Less good:
Aforementioned weird lack of cutlery
Only venetian blinds - they never keep the sunrise out properly
Not enough tea towels.

[ifoundafoxcaughtbydogs]

No.1 good wine glasses and some
Champagne flutes.
Dishwasher tablets
More than one key
As PP said - info on what's there beforehand
Log burner with wood and kindling

[ifoundafoxcaughtbydogs]

Really fancy would be a choice of pillows.

I stayed somewhere that only had 'premium' pillows and they were far too thick and uncomfortable. Ended up getting a cushion from the sofa and wrapping it in a tea towel to make it soft enough.

(I usually spend my holidays camping - I'm definitely not a fuss pot!)