what would make the best ever holiday cottage holiday?

[Sooperswooper]

A bit of advice.. saw a brilliant 2009 thread that I've nicked all the ideas from about this, but wanted any updated ideas if you'd be so kind to oblige. A lucky, lucky relative of mine is in the process of buying a beautiful 6 bed house for holidays in wales- will be half for family use (buying in a place that we, our parents, uncles, aunts AND our grandparents & great grandparents all went to on holiday so it's very dear to us and our extended family) and then will be let out when we're not using it.

She wants to make it as wonderful and child/toddler friendly as possible. Also as appealing to adults too so really what would make going on holiday better and easier adult wise (list of local babysitters perhaps along with local recommendations?) kitchen stuff (sharp knives! A welcome pack of food bits?), toiletries (necessary?) honesty bar (are people really that honest?), sheets and bedding (or bring your own?) what do people want to see in terms of luxury/value for money, what would be useful in the utility area, little herb garden in the courtyard? Any wet weather ideas as to what might be useful (it is in the UK... )

For children- first from a parents point of view (cutlery sets, highchair, cot, bumbo, travel stair gate etc etc) and then from a child’s point of view (books, toys, kites, board games, little welcome pack?) I think it's sometimes easy to forget you're on holiday sometimes when you're self catering and so really want to make sure people actually feel as if they've had a lovely, value for money holiday. not just for when we are all there!

Any thoughts about the best (and worst) experiences you've had when self catering with babies/ toddlers and children would be fab. So excited to be helping her, but don't want to just suggest things I'd like in case, having experienced them, they just wouldn't work

As for the website listings - I would like to see enough detail of the things I would bring myself if they weren't going to be there, so hairdryer, highchair, bedguard etc. No need to list the little luxuries such as wine, nicer to have that as a surprise. I always bring soap and shampoo, but nice to have them provided.

Actually, that's a nice touch that stands out - decent bars of soap, not just a squirt bottle of Carex. I can't use liquid soaps due to eczema, but stayed at a cottage last year that had little bars of handmade, local, paper wrapped soap.

It's often not just what you have but the standard that really makes the difference. So, good quality bed linen, new bar of soap, not the same one the previous people have had or a half used bottle of Carex. New dishcloth and washing up sponge etc. Fresh supply of leaflets more than one copy of each so people can take one when they go out. Properly sharp knives.

Somewhere to dry a bit of laundry is essential too, either an outdoor line and pegs or an airer.

I think I've been exceedingly lucky with the consensus about much of the stuff here (bar the dogs). My excel spreadsheet is looking brilliant now .

It's made me want to go on a few recces, so I may take advantage of not being tied to school holidays and hop off on a few last-minute, mid-week ( cheap ) mini breaks. All in the name of helping out with market research of course!

For adults:

Wifi
Corkscrew
Nice wine glasses not cheap Morrisons ones
A dishwasher
a really luxurious bathroom
somewhere lovely to sit outside

children:

board games, books, garden toys, a swimming pool or decent sized paddling pool which is filled ready for use - and with a cover

and when the property is up and running let us know the details, sounds like it's going to be the perfect place

Ha; will issue an open invitation for MN to review!!

First thing we look for is a pool.

Children: big box of lego or duplo. We once stayed somewhere with a tub of duplo, colouring books and coloured pencils. Perfect! A ball, buckets and spades.

Ikea plastic cups and plates for littlies. Footstool in the bathroom.

Most importantly let people know what's there beforehand. Washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets etc are all nice but if you've packed them all anyway it's almost not worth them bothering!

The most important thing is a feeling of generosity not stinginess. More than one tea towel, more than one cup and glass each. A range of types of glass - wine, pint, whiskey and normal tumblers.

Don't strip the food cupboard of everything between guests, its nice to find tea and coffee, herbs and stock cubes and other things that have accumulated over time. We often end up leaving things like these but I will only do so if I have inherited some.

Good beds and non-bobbly sheets are essential, decent sized towels, hand towels in all toilets and bathrooms as well. Decent bedside laps so people can read. Mirrors in bathrooms - see below.

Good instructions for heating controls, if there is a fire at least some fuel to start off. Spare light bulbs.

And from bitter experience of a two day power cut over new year in a holiday house, torches with batteries, candles. Rechargable lamps are not easy to recharge in a power cut.

The worst holiday house we have stayed in had cheap flimsy often broken furniture, fancy kitchen appliances which were either broken or had no instructions, not enough comfy seats for everyone to sit down in the living room (24 people, seating for 10), terrible beds, terrible bed linen, one towel per room (for a room sleeping 4 in one case), a garden full of nettles and dodgy rope swings, pool table with no cues, 3 mirrors in the whole house, two of which were in the same room, etc etc.