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....

No dogs for me - I have 2 (outside dogs) but I don't take them on holiday and agree re smell and hair gets everywhere.

Sorry, haven't RTFT, but bedrails please! Our toddler sleeps in our bed, so whenever we stay somewhere else it's a case of piling pillows on the floor in case she falls out. Bedrails that could be attached when needed would be very handy.

And excellent WiFi.

Big squashy sofas with squashy arms (not wood)
No dogs
Wifi that works
Don't use the cottages 4u website. I've had 2 cottages from there,both of which were shocking. I avoid that website now

OK. I'm still trying to work out how to advertise effectively with Mumsnet (HQ, where should I be spending my advertising £? Can't find the right section of the site?) but in the meantime, look what you've all done!

The keys are cut, so is the lawn, the nice linens are hired and we've done a massive trip to Ikea for potato masher etc.

The bedside lamps are mostly touch sensitive, the knives have been sharpened, the cocktail shaker is ready.

Yes we are accepting dogs, sorry to all those that excludes but I will be doing my damndest to make sure that no-one would ever know there have been dogs staying.

I've just been reading the thread on bonkers notes left in house books from owners and am off to compose some of my own

How utterly gorgeous. I'd been dying to see the finished house. I suspect your only problem will be that it's wildly popular and you have to ruthlessly carve out time for yourselves.

oh that is lovely.

Can I add a couple of last minute points?

Sleep there yourself - try every bedroom at least once. That way you find out what's lacking - eg nowhere to hang a dressing gown, where do you put wet towels, the bedside table needs to be closer , etc.

Please leave space for the food your guests will buy! I absolutely hate it when all the kitchen cupboards are full of pots and pans and we have to stack all our food out on the worktop.

Omg OP, your place is stunning!

I will definitely be looking into rental at some point : not this summer but probably next!

Drop dead gawjus

Aw, thanks everyone. It's been a bit of a labour of love and some long days but I'm very happy with the finished thing. If nothing else I hope we have secured a future for the house - it has a nasty habit of developing expensive problems and we needed to make some revenue from it to keep it on its feet.

Traviata, yes that's an excellent idea. Me (or my mum) have worked our way through nearly every bed in the house but I confess neither of us have done the single rooms yet. I'm up there for a couple of nights next week so I'll go on tour.

And we have a good size larder so hopefully guests will be able to pack their food away. Mind you 10 people on a holiday does mean a lot of food.

I must get hold of Mumsnet HQ - am I being very dumb or is there not a section for advertising holidays anywhere on here? I can find the reviews but nothing more than that?

Looks fab & great news that you are accepting dogs - wouldn't be a rural retreat without them!

Constant supply of hot water (combi boiler or electric shower). Nothing worse than staying with a big group and the hot water runs out after the first two showers in the morning

Great idea about sleeping there yourself to see if anything missing and to take dogs. I will happily pay a premium to take mine and always leave spotless so as to not make people put off having them.

Please: curtains thicker than tissue paper. I don't want to get up with the sun

It looks amazing - good luck with it

We have a Labrador so would vote for dog friendly accommodation in a cottage,

I know this is too late as you are about to get your 1st guests

The thing is that I am in a wheelchair and so please if you are going to say mobility impaired guests welcome please use a pushchair to go around the whole cottage and the outside

That way you will notice any steps or uneven floors,

If you have any steps measure them and put them in the info you send out to guests, also the heights of sofa, chairs (dining and sitting room ones) also and very important the height of the bed, also bathroom sinks, toilets, kitchen counters etc

The thing is that an able bodied person will say there are no steps inside the ground floor but there are but your brain doesn't notice them you just go up and down them, like kerbs on the roadside, your brain doesn't think "oh there is a kerb I must raise my foot to go up it" it just does it automatically

Also in the shower area get a flooring like ALTRO and also make sure there isn't a step into or out of the shower cubicle or if there is put hand rails to help getting in or out

I know your house is very old and so you can't add things to make it wheelchair friendly but even if it was going to be for a mobility impaired person, little things like small steps are massive and can change a persons holiday, so use a buggy and so you notice if there is a step down into the boot room or kitchen for example

It looks amazing so really hope it goes well

Space to put our own food away in the kitchen (not everyone eats out all the time on holiday). Somewhere to dry wet stuff, like coats and wellies, especially if you do make it dog friendly and people are likely to be walking. I would prefer that to an extra w.c. We always take ddog with us, the last cottage we stayed in left old towels by the front door for drying dogs.

RTKangaMummy, I have been desperate to get some insight like that. Thank you so much.

Very sadly I've come to the conclusion that the house might not be right for someone in a wheelchair - we do have a ground floor bedroom and bathroom but the door into the bedroom is rather narrow and I'm under the impression that you need a good width doorway if you have a wheelchair. The other problem is that the car parking area is all gravel . But for someone who has mobility problems that don't need a chair - is able to get about with walking aids - I think it will be OK. There is a completely flat route throughout the ground floor of the house.

A kingsize bed in the master bedroom is a must. People don't want to have to crowbar themselves into a smaller bed than they are used to when on holiday.

But don't over-crowd the smaller bedrooms for the sake of charging a higher rent. I've just been looking for our holiday home and have been frustrated by how many places have what are clearly single bedrooms with a double bed squeezed in and zero floor space. A nice holiday home shouldn't be uncomfortable like this.

How lovely.
Two last points.

A) proper sized mugs for a not egg cups that just hold one decent swig.
B) make sure the cleaners take a zero tolerance approach to damp sheets and towels. The worst night's sleep of my life was spent in a high spec holiday cottage where the sheets smelled of mildew. And I've had other cottages with mildew smelling towels. Just the worst.

That is beautiful!

If, like me, you're an occasional church goer, it can be useful to have details of the local churches in the welcome pack.

Also nearest out of hours centres, A&E, emergency dentists, etc. including any closing times.

I like 'free range families' :)

gizmo :)

it is ok I realise that cottages especially the really old ones can't be made wheelchair friendly, our doorways are 80cm but that is also because I am fat so have a larger chair

Regular wheelchairs have a seat width of 16" or 17" or maybe 19" wide so if you then allow some space on either side for the wheels, if you measure the doorways then you can tell the visitors, there may be someone with a child in a wheelchair that could use the downstairs room

Shingle is very hard to move over without somebody very strong to push but some people have special all terrain chairs that would be able to go all over the garden or shingle

If I have to go through a doorway that is a bit narrow, obviously not smaller than my chair then I lift my arms up and someone pushes me or a kind of pull myself through it using the doorframe to grip onto

It is really great that the floor is completely flat, if you have mobility impaired visitors then take photos of the shower cubicle and measure the step in and out. Hand rails would be great both inside and out or even something really sturdy to hold onto like a strong chair with a high back

The ARM chairs like your gold one and red one look really great to sit in so measure the height of the seat and arm rests also the chair with the arms in the kitchen are excellent.

The main point is if you have measured everything then when/if somebody asks you will have the answer ready to give them

I don't mean you need to tell them ALL the measurements to everybody just if you have photos and the numbers you will have it ready if asked

Everybody has different needs and different chairs

:) :) :)