Holiday homes - tell me about your loves & hates

[gizmo]

Hello all!

So I'm in the middle of refurbishing my parent's old house for holiday lettings and I've just come across a slightly old thread (2009?) with mumsnetter's thoughts on the perfect holiday cottage. Which is incredibly helpful but I wondered if times might have moved on since then.

We're looking at an old (1760) house which should sleep 10 (6 beds, 3 baths). If you were looking for a family holiday in North Yorkshire, what would sell a house to you?

So far I've got on my list:

• good equipment for babies/toddlers (proper cot, highchair, stairgates, some toys)
• good beds! Nice linens. And enough sofas/dining room furniture for all
• a well equipped kitchen (not just the appliances but all the right glassware, cookware etc)
• Fireplaces/log burners with fuel and guards
• Wifi - as fast as we can make it given it's rural North Yorkshire
• MUST BE CLEAN. Properly clean.

Things I'm not so sure about:

• the house in the middle of a Capability Brown park. I could let visitors in there but there is a stream (about 100 meters from the house). How do people feel about open water and children?
• dogs. There is a secure garden and it would be a good place for a doggy holiday. But would it put you off if you're not a dog lover and you know there have been dogs there?
• spares. Yes, to foil, bulbs, firelighters, washing machine detergent, dishwasher etc. Anything else?
• bathrooms. Two upstairs and one (shower room) downstairs. I have the option to put an extra WC in downstairs? What do people think?

So what's your best and worst experiences in self catering? And how can I do better? I'd be so grateful for any ideas....

I'd be a bit concerned about the additional cost of guests running a tumble drier - you would have to factor that into your budget. I don't expect clothes washing facilities in a holiday cottage - I think it depends on what your competitors are providing and whether you are aiming more at luxury escapes or more budget conscious clients.

Please avoid fragranced things, I don't want bedlinen or towels that smell of fabric conditioner and I don't want air fresheners, reed diffusers etc. Yes to basic cleaning stuff, but again please avoid the highly fragranced stuff, I used some of their washing powder in the last place we stayed and ended up rewashing all the clothes when we got home.

Also yes to maps, tourist info, menus etc.

I'd rather have a washing machine than a dishwasher.

We have a holiday cottage ( on cottages for you )
We have 2 double beds
1 bathroom
Wifi
This is what we offer I would want
Box of DVD to borrow include Poldark
Access to 10 acres of land
No dogs
Lovely white Egyptian cotton bedding and massive towels
Decent kitchen equipment , to include dishwasher ( tabs included) freezer and nice white plates, lots of glasses ( 8 pieces though we only sleep 4 )
Don't worry too much about baby stuff , most people don't have babies ( we have 2 young women on a girls break this weekend )
Tin opener , bottle opener . Sharp knife , loads of brochures about where to go , what to see
Taxi phone numbers

Oh good, so pleased to hear I'm sort of on the right lines. Got a lot to learn I think. I actually agree about the fragranced products because to me it suggests someone is trying to hide a rather inadequate clean.

Re the heating: the house is really not suitable as a winter let because you might as well burn oil under the winter skies for all the insulation it offers. So our season will be restricted to March - October, during which time there will be oil fired central heating, an aga and open fires/log burners to cope with whatever a Yorkshire summer throws at you ;-)

We're probably more at the high end family break, because the house is very eyecatching and quite large, but we can't go full on Rural Retreat in the first year - I'll try to upgrade as (hopefully) cashflow allows.

I love the idea of a small toy box and extra books/magazines. Maybe a kids corner with a small supply of art stuff?

And yes, yes to the idea of a proper house book with maps and our own thoughts on what's good locally. That's actually the bit I'm going to enjoy!

I'd expect a dishwasher and washer/dryer as a minimum in any place I'd book.

Is English country cottages part of cottages4you? I only ask as I was looking for a cottage for a holiday with my dm who has mobility issues and they were very helpful on the phone, ok the website isn't good but the call centre staff were very good.

Coquet cottages website which covers Northumberland is excellent but I'm guessing you're not in their area.

Good luck in your cottage, it sounds good for large parties.

Hah - doilooklikeatourist - that's the voice of experience.

Enough kitchenware is definitely going on the list. Especially glassware!

February half term is usually booked up with us

I'm actually not sure, Janethegirl. I know they're big and advertise on a lot of 3rd party sites and cottages4you might be one.

I'd be wary of art stuff as I envisage mess and crayoned walls.
Winter is difficult as rental price is less and a lot of profit will be eaten up with heating and lighting but I wouldn't rule it out completely it depends who's looking after the place in the meantime and how difficult it would be to clean and strip beds etc when people are staying more sporadic.

Decent veg peeler, bottle opener and frying pans also help a lot. We've had to buy a new frying pan on holiday twice so we can have pancakes (that don't stick) for breakfast.

If you market a log fire, provide a starter basket of logs, kindling & firelighters - a tips about where to buy more locally.

Clear instructions about bin days and what goes in each box/bag if your council separates waste.

Definitely yes to handwash in the bathrooms & kitchen. Enough loo roll to get you started.

Cling film and foil to line oven shelves will cut down on microwave & oven cleaning.

A sensible number of pegs for the washing line & an airer for indoor drying.

Removable baby gates if you are marketing to family groups who may be travelling with yound kids - also if you do decide to allow dogs & want to keep them out of certain rooms.

A drawer with bits of string, mending kits, spare lightbulbs, sellotape, scissors, a radiator key etc can be surprisingly useful for guests.

One of those plug in rechargeable torches that sits in socket-base & comes on in a power cut is handy. On a landing it can double as a nightlight.

A blanket/throw or two in the living room for when its nippy - some people prefer that to running the heating, so it may save you money in the long run.

Um, that's it for now.

Oh.

Yes, Atsea, you're probably right. I know I won't book a place if it has lots of delicate looking china in it - far too stressful with my 3 kids. But I hadn't extended that thought to arts stuff although it's obviously the same problem.

Good quality pillows and more than one each. Mirrors!! So annoying when there is no mirror in the bedrooms!

Decent kitchen utensils

I would definately not book a cottage that allowed dogs

My must haves before I book are

Wifi
Dishwasher
Good bed - not a saggy mattress
Comfortable sofa, not cane or wooden framed
A stove/open fire
No pets - DH allergic
Freezer
A secure storage place for bikes - doesn't matter if you are "in the middle of nowhere and really, don't to worry about it, they'll be fine". My bikes are £3k each and must be locked away as per the insurance.

Things I like to see when I get there but are not crucial...

At least 2x everything crockery/cutlery per person, so I'm not putting the dishwasher on after every meal
Extra pillows and blankets
Lots and lots of coat hooks - and beside the door!
A shoe rack
Garden furniture

I am not that bothered about...

A welcome pack of home baking (this summer we got left lavender shortbread, lovely gesture but yuck, went in the bin)
Books or DVDS
Board games
Hundreds of leaflets about local areas

A decent number of coat hangers in the wardrobes

I was going to give the art stuff a thumbs up but at sea is probably right. Will you know the kids' ages on booking? If so, maybe only supply them for older kids.

Basic baking stuff like kitchen scales can be really useful.

Oh, interesting! You bring your bikes on holiday? We could certainly store them but it hadn't even occurred to me that people would. Bit naive really when I think of all the cyclists I see round our way on a weekend.

Meanwhile I am starting a spreadsheet on all other items. It is lengthening most satisfactorily

Agree about some freezer space even if it's just enough space to freeze ice packs for cool bags and picnics. Plenty of tea towels, 1 tea towel is not enough for a week!

Dog-friendly would be fine by me as would imply less likely to freak out if children left marks somewhere. Though the stream would be a dealbreaker - being able to unlock a gate and go to the gardens would be great, though.

Washing machine and dryer vital for a group holiday house, as likely to include a bedwetting child.

Is there mobile reception? If not, WiFi is more important - couple years ago we ended up using Facebook messages to contact each other when some were in the house.

Some garden games and some toys, plus stash of books. And two bath towels each of generous size.

Otherwise just make clear what is and isn't provided - if there's no downstairs loo, that needs to be spelt out.

I'm guessing it depends totally on the market you want to cater for.
I know I'm high end and don't tend to look at anything less than 4*, but I just want a simple life but with at least what I have at home. I don't want to be compromising on any aspect.
One of my best self catering holidays featured a kota which was really fantastic and I'd definitely go there again even if the WiFi was crap.

Ah, OK, Notcitrus. Just to clarify - if the stream was outside the garden and the other side of a secure gate would that set your mind at rest?

Good point about bed wetting would should suggest good quality waterproof mattress protectors.

Decent curtains that actually keep the room nice and dark.

I personally don't like a holiday cottage cluttered up with books and toys, makes it feel a bit too like staying in someone else's house and stuff gets broken. It also encourages people to leave things behind that they don't want anymore. Not everyone is going to be going on a child orientated holiday so probably won't want games and toys in the garden

Oh - am obviously very ignorant - but what's a Kota?

(wonders if she should put it in the spreadsheet)

A kota is a Scandinavian bbc hut ( google it). They are absolutely fantastic and given the British weather can be a serious essential.

Use stuff that's easily replaceable , all our glasses and crockery was bought in Wilkinsons ( in the nearest town about 5 miles away ) so easily and cheaply replaceable if something gets broken , and not the 100 mile round trip to Ikea