Tell HouseTrip about your best holiday home experiences and you could be in with the chance of winning a £200 Boots voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

HouseTrip have asked us to find out about Mumsnetters' best holiday home experiences, either from childhood or more recently.

Here's what HouseTrip have to say:

"We're on a mission to make it easy for people to holiday wherever they want in the world but in beautiful whole homes rather than cramped hotels. Holidaying in a home allows families to spend crucial quality time together that they don’t always get in normal life in order to make memories that will last a lifetime”


So, what has been your best holiday home experience? Maybe it was staying in a cottage as a child? Perhaps you have fond memories of visiting a city apartment? Or maybe your best experiences have been in a villa you go to each year with your kids? What made your experience so special?

Whatever your best holiday home experience has been, HouseTrip would love to hear about it.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 Boots voucher.

Please note your comments may be included on HouseTrip's social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

[UseHerName]

best memories are of us in a 28 year old caravan tourer spending the days going between the beach and the park

[unquietmind]

We used a website to stay in someone's apartment in Paris. It was fabulous. It is hard to get a quality hotel in Paris for a reasonable price unless you don't want to be in the centre; so we decided to be more adventurous and see what alternative properties were around. We have done it twice; first time in a student bedsit which was free in the summer and after a big walk around Jardine Luxembourg and looking to find the door for ages we found ourselves on the top floor of the block with a balcony just big enough for 2 bum's where we could see the tour eiffel sparkle. We went to the franprix bought some cheap wine and plastic glasses and head some magical moments for a lot less than at a boutique hotel with a view. The second time was at a psychoanalysts flat near the Sorbonne; they trusted us so much and we felt really comfortable as it was real and they left their stuff there and it's as if we were borrowing a real home. Her adult son brought us fresh bread each morning coffee and snacks without charge. Both these experiences absolutely made our holiday and added to our tails over boring hotels. Well recommended (use safe protected and official websites people)

[Kathderoet]

We stayed in a Villa in Florida and it really made the holiday. The 4 children had the room to relax and move about from room to room unlike in a cramped hotel or apartment. We had a pool to ourselves. It was so relaxing having the place to ourselves, privacy was such a luxury.

[prakattack]

I have great childhood memories of self-catering cottage holidays in the UK. We used to camp most of the time so staying in a whole house felt like such a luxury!
The best was one in South Wales that opened right onto a secluded beach and had a rope tyre swing on a tree next to it. I have no memory whatsoever of what it looked like inside but that was enough....

These days, with two kids, we have done a couple of self-cateirng holidays but with friends rather than on our own, to reduce the cost. They've both been brilliant!

[TenMinutesEarly]

We stayed in a villa in the middle of the rice fields near Ubud in Bali. We have acres of room, no need to worry about the neighbours if my little girl woke early or played noisily. We had BBQs in the evening with the family who lived down the lane, made friends for life and have never been so relaxed. Every holiday should feel like that.

[AngelieMumsnet]

Thanks for all your comments The winner of the prize draw is haggisaggis - congratulations! I'll PM you shortly :)

[ktmd]

I love having the luxury of a hot tub....makes the holiday really special.

[IzzieA]

Had a great experience recently staying in a cottage. A real home-from-home with huge fluffy towels, super-comfy bed, great outdoor space and a kitchen that was kitted out with all mod cons. The weather was also perfect, which is always a bonus!

[Rigbyroo]

Me and dp met at university in cardiff, a few years in we lived in a gorgeous apartment in the city centre, we loved it and didn't want to move but landlord was selling. It was our first real adult experience and seems like a lifetime away. We finished uni and moved to the south east and for one of his birthdays I booked for us to stay in one of the apartments in this building. It was a really fun but emotional experience, made us remember what we loved about each other and felt 18 again. We went to our favourite restaurant, the steak has never been beaten! Also made us long for uni days again but we explored areas of the city that we had overlooked before an our base was really central. We now have two dcs and plan to take them to stay there too which I'm so excited about. To be honest, the apartment could have been awful but it was the memories that made it! Saying that, it was immaculate, all mod cons and booking staff were extremely helpful.

[mipmop]

I forgot to mention- this was in the Scottish highlands.

[mipmop]

The best holiday home experience I had was one that was surprisingly well-equipped in the kitchen. As well as having a huge selection of kitchen tools, there was a wide selection of things like herbs and spices that made it feel like home. Even though I didn't use these things, it felt welcoming that they'd been provided. The house was in the country, and the owners provided umbrellas and waterproofs. Again unused but appreciated. Also there was a guest book with very detailed info from previous guests, suggesting days out for future guests.

[HoneyDragon]

In terms of children, one let we use always leave a home made cake and two bottles of wine on the table.

There's books, board comes and toys for all ages hidden in cupboards. They also let local supermarkets deliver your shopping.

They manage the right mix of non invasive and friendly as they live on the site. A nice touch is their pond, they drop a box of fish food off for older children and give you (the adult) the gate code (safety for small children) and ask if said older child would mind helping them out by looking after the fish.

It's a lovely set up to just chill and reconnect as a family.

Plus there's a pool too, and a sauna

[VickyRsuperstar]

We always booked into an "Apart-Hotel" when we holidayed in Turkey. There were many of these across the country while we travelled and they were all like small flats/apartments. Just basic accommodation with a small kitchen/dining area / living room, a couple of bedrooms and bathroom. We found them fabulous as we are a larger than average sized family and even a couple of adjoining hotel rooms wasn't really a suitable option for us. I liked the freedom of having a fridge/freezer and being able to make our own drinks and meals (which reduced the food costs) and we could keep our water cold and store baby food. It also made it very relaxed and we had our own space in the evenings and didn't feel like we were just cooped up in a hotel room while waiting for the younger children to fall asleep. The cleaning was all done for us too so it was fabulous to get a proper break from the housework as well as the convenience of a home away from home.

[lindsey3uk]

We had a lovely villa in Orlando. It was home from home and so lovely to go back to a house rather than one small hotel room. It was so plush and luxurious with its own swimming pool and I would never do anything other than a villa holiday in Orlando.

[maxpower]

We've had some great holidays both in the UK and France where we rented private homes. With small children it gives great flexibility - you don't have to fit in with timetables and you're not disturbing anyone else if one of the dcs has a meltdown. Outside school holidays they are great value and even in school holidays they can work out ok. We've been lucky in that the places we've stayed have been well thought out - all the mod cons (dishwasher washing machine sky tv etc)and the owners have made them comfortable whilst recognising things might get broken - they've not left their ming vases out - which creates a nice relaxed environment. In one place we stayed the owner lived next door and did cooked breakfasts to order.

[sararoseholland]

I am a great grandmother. Last summer we took the family to Hill Lodge in the hamlet of Overton, near Port Eynon on The Gower in Wales. The youngest member of the family was just one year old, his aunt was thirteen, his parents in their early twenties and their parents mid forties. The house was wonderful, fully fitted with an essential dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer and ice dispenser in the large fridge freezer. There was a toy room for the toddler, a TV and DVD player for the young adults and a free welcoming bottle of wine for us oldies! The beach was not too far away and there were lovely coastal walks. The dog was welcometoo!
It was not cheap but a marvelous house to spend a week in. It is let by the Gower based "Home to Home" and it is necessary to book early in the winter, if not the previous year!
Of course, we had superb weather last summer and enjoyed a spectacular thunder and lightening display while we were there! Who need fireworks?

[rjsmum11]

We love family holidays but a recent week end away in a Paris holiday flat was amazing. The flat was compact & bijou (i.e. tiny!) but it had everything we needed & more. It was almost next door to Notre Dame and bang in the centre of Paris. It was all about the location and we had a fantastic stay experiencing all the delights of Paris in Autumn.

[columbine75]

I love cottage stays - great to get away from home and clutter and have a wonderful family time together without any of the home worries that seem to arrive if you "staycation". You don't really need a pool or anything too fancy - a garden is great, but equally an apartment is fab (an amazing stay in down town New York had us feeling like locals). We're off to a gite in Belgium this August - really excited to explore a new country, shop locally, explore markets and swim in lakes!

[Lemoncakeuk]

My son & I were lucky enough to be taken on holiday last year with friends and we stayed in a lodge type holiday home.

It was lovely, the little touches were definitely the added 'bonus' such as LOTS of towels provided.
A grocery hamper
Shampoo & Conditioner
DVD player (for wet weather & exhausted evenings!)
Toilet roll

It was SO clean too! The last thing you want to be doing is picking other peoples hair out of the plug hole!

Great signage on park would have been better!

[Gill81uk]

We have just returned from an amazing holiday to Spain with my parents, in a fabulous holiday house. It had 3 bedrooms, but one of the bedrooms was only accessed from outside. This was great for us as it gave my parents some peace and a bit of a break from the children when they needed it! It had a lovely outdoor terrace where we spent most of our time, but also 2 balconies so you had plenty of choice for where to sit. Another bonus was that it was fitted with safety gates. This gave us real peace of mind that the children coudln't just go wandering up and down stairs when they felt like it, especially at night time.

[manfalou]

My great grandma always use to rent a cottage by the sea side for 6 weeks in the summer and I use to go stay with her for 3-4 days when I was a child... A 5 minute walk to the seaside makes for great holiday memories

[crickmel]

A recent rental in Tenby was fab. It had lots of space inside and out. It was really well equipped including lots of kids plates and cutlery. Even with three families sharing we still didn't want for anything. Comfy beds were a welcome bonus too! Our kids loved the holiday so in turn we had a terrific time!

[Gloriaheathcote1]

it was a long time ago , il never forget it though , we were on a family holiday in wales, it was pouring down , we were all looking out the windows when the guy next door came out with flippers goggles snorkle and his water tub , it was so funny , im sure he did it for our benifit lol

[EmNix]

Staying in a holiday home (caravan) in Langdale, Cumbria. Great fun as a child and still enjoy going back now. A lovely family run site up in the mountains. Lovely walk, waterfalls, a couple of pubs nearby. Getting milk from the local farms. Back to nature and so enjoyable. Relaxing.

[smit23]

I've never stayed in a holiday home.. so looking forward to reading some tips on here!