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

Holiday homes work so much better for us - they give us space - we can go to bed after the kids rather then feeling "trapped" in a one hotel room.

Also fab for us as we always self cater due to fussy kids - we're not wasting money on hotel food!

They offer space, privacy and great value for money - usually loads cheaper for us!

My earliest memory of a holiday home was in Littlestones on the Kent coast. The thatched cottage had beautiful cottage gardens which I could see from my room under the eaves. It was a stones throw from the beach, just having to cross a gravel track to get there. We caught shrimps and my mum cooked them in an old fashioned kitchen. Lovely memories of a holiday over 45 years ago!

The best holiday homes have a Visitor's Book and I love reading about what previous visitors have enjoyed, particularly when they recommend restaurants they have enjoyed.

On a similar theme, some instructions on how to work appliances, or reset the electricity are useful.

Our worst experience was the French owner who could hardly bear to leave us in his house and drove off calling, "Be careful with my white seat covers!"

One of the best holidays we had was in Majorca, a self-catering villa, the inside was quite basic but spacious and not stuffed full of ornaments to get knocked down, there was plenty of clean bedding and a lovely big kitchen table the whole family could sit around. The villa has its own pool, which is something now that we always look for, it's brilliant to know that you can really relax and not worry about nicking anyone's sun bed or sitting at anyone's seat by accident! Or teddy-bears being purloined, believe me this has happened and it caused ructions!

I vividly remember the year my family went on holiday to a caravan park down near Haggerston Castle. it was the end of June and I had been playing in my shorts and t-shirt with my brother when it suddenly became very cold and overcast....then the first flake fell.

Then more...

There must have been about 2 inches of snow by the time it stopped and the sun came out again. I made a very small snowman next to the caravan. The next day, all the snow had gone and it was like it had never happened.

Must have been about 1978 or so but was utterly magical.

A stay in a converted barn on North Bradbury farm in North Devon. It felt like staying with friends, every little thing was thought of. We were welcomed with home made scones and clotted cream, and the kids loved mucking in with the farm work.

As children we used to stay in a rickety old house in Exmouth that had a bedroom in the attic which was ours. It was fabulously ancient, felt like we were in a story book.
We stayed there many years and it was the first place I went for a weekend break with DH so that I could show him my childhood.

We always adored staying in French gites - no regimentation, set meal times, or having to make false conversation with other holidaymakers. Just time to relax, really be with the family, no television, lots of books, and space to explore and find cheap local restaurants (although that last bit was never too easy, but so very worthwhile!).

At a holiday cottage in Northumberland we had a hare visit every evening to eat daisies on the lawn.

We went to Florida last year with the family and there was 9 of us in total. We hired 2 holiday homes one near disney for the first week and one near the coast for the second and it was an amazing holiday. It was so nice after a day out to come back to a place that not only felt like home but also was quiet and all of us could relax together. They both also had a pool and games room so we could keep the kids entertained easily. The cost when broken down between 9 of us worked out so much cheaper than a hotel.

Hi our best Holiday home experience is when we stayed with Park resorts in Holywell bay in Cornwall. It was very clean, beautiful and the staff were all helpful and fantastic, at the time my daughter was only a baby, but we had a brilliant time:)

My favourite was a beautiful lodge on the edge of Loch Tummell in Perthshire. We had our own hot tub & there were deer running around as well as lots of other wildlife

We have always taken hotel holidays with the children before but last year we rented a villa in Menorca and despite my reservations about having to do all the cooking and cleaning up etc. It was the best holiday we'd ever had it was so relaxing, preparing our own food at our own pace having our own pool so there was no rush for the sunbeds or hassle from other families and now the thought of staying in a hotel doesn't seem at all appealing, I would recommend it to anyone

Has got to be taking the kids away camping when they were little to the North of Scotland, It was just a fantastic holiday away from all modern gadget and spent real quality time together just playing and making good memories

my best was an apartment in Prague, very near the centre - it had everything we needed

We would never stay in a hotel again, ever.

The past 8 years or so we've either gone abroad and booked cheap flights plus a villa or apartment from a rental site, or stayed in the UK and booked a cottage. I couldn't imagine 5 of us being crammed into a hotel room, having to take meals at specific times, and having to fight for space round a pool with 100's of other people.
It also works out MUCH cheaper. We had 10 days in Portugal last August for five of us for £1500 - try booking that from a package holiday brochure for that price!!
Holidaying in a rental home gives us freedom to choose what we want to do, when we want to do it! Wouldn't have it any other way now.

Kitchen utensils are a must for us, who wants to go out searching for a tin-opener in a foreign country?
Easy to use appliances such as washing machines etc, or an instruction manual close-by!

We stayed in a holiday home in Cyprus for my brothers wedding. We expected the holiday to be difficult as we had a 9 month old baby girl along with our 2 year old son so we thought a villa would make things a bit easier. It was just perfect. So easy to book, no problems all along the way and it was like a home from home. All the things you could need were there, and we'd booked a travel cot which doubled as a playpen for our baby. Our own swimming pool so no worrying about the kids wandering off. We had a washing machine so didn't have to overload our cases with too many outfits. What we thought was going to be a difficult holiday with the children being so young was the most perfect holiday especially attending my brothers wedding I couldn't have asked for anything better. Our first family holiday and it was perfect. If we'd have been in a hotel having to go all the way back up to our room for everything I'm sure it would have been so much more hassle. Would definitely recommend it :)

I always remember as a child renting a holiday home with all the family, including grandparents. I think it was in Hornsea, and we used to spend the days at a nearby ride-on railway that was just fantastic for us kids.

For me its no one particular one that stands out. Its more general. I like to arrive to a clean comfy house where you don't feel you need to wash everything in the kitchen first! If its located near a supermarket thats great. A folder or noticeboard with lots of useful information is brilliant and thoughtful. Books or magazines to borrow always nice too. Its not just about the house, its where you can tell that thought and consideration has gone into the planning of providing you with a great holiday!

Mine was simply the various static caravans we had when I was a child. We had one in Northampton - Billing Aq. & Clacton on Sea. It was both amazing & memorable because it was just the fact we lived in the centre of London and this was like an escape from the drudgery and dirt of the inner city nearly every weekend and for the Summer holidays...

We stayed in a holiday home near Ashdown Forest and it was just wonderful. It was my youngest daughter's first ever holiday and she was only around seven months old. As she had just started weaning, staying in a holiday home totally suited us as we could cook and prepare things for her in the kitchen without worrying it may include something she shouldn't be having. There was also a proper dining table and a high chair so we could have lovely meals together. The house we stayed in also had a washing machine - which is fantastic when away with two small children! It really felt like a home from home and we were sad to leave!

ive only ever stayed in an appartment once, it was in blackpool and we stayed there for a week when i was around 10. My aunty and uncle stayed with their children too. it was one of the best holidays ever as we all spent lots of time together :)

I stayed in a wonderful apartment in Krakow a few years ago. It had oodles of charm and character as well as being far cheaper than hotels in the area. It's great to be able to stay up late talking and be comfortable. It's also nice to be able to prepare your own food sometimes.
We loved that the people who ran the place were super friendly and helpful.
I like my holiday house to have a dishwasher (why work when you're on holiday?)
I'd always choose a house/apartment/villa if I'm travelling with a group.

Best holiday home experience - was a big house we rented for about 20 people. Lots of space, very clean and loads of hide and seek places for the kids. Plus a big fridge for all the wine .