Posh Hotel vs Yurt in the Countryside...which won?

[PavlovtheCat]

The yurt, hands down!!!!!

Well, let me compare my two experiences this last week. To celebrate mine and DH's first anniversary, we stayed for one night in a posh hotel in lyme regis and then we spent 4 nights in a http://www.luxurydevonyurts.co.uk/about_us.htm luxury yurt in Ottery St Mary in Devon.

So, let me compare

Posh hotel - £195 for night, inc dinner, bed, breakfast. £6 for travel cot, no food supplied for DD.
large double bed
Fantastic view from the hotel room over the Seafront
Short walk from hotel to seafront.
Great grounds for DD to play in.
Able to leave car the next day for a couple of hours.
Baby listening service - free.
New bathroom.
Bottle of wine to celebrate first anniversary delivered to room - £38, minus corkscrew!
High tea for children, delivered to our room - £8.00
Coffee in the garden - £5
Breakfast included - no place set for DD, had to ask for high chair and set of cutlery.
No table with a view, despite requesting, to celebrate 1st wedding anniversary.
Not much smiling in restuarant, evening or breakfast, felt a bit uncomfortable.
widescreen television on the wall.

Yurt - £195 for 4 nights, plus £30 for luxury hamper on arrival.

Fantastic location, close to farm, but not visible, in Ottery countryside.
Lots and lots of open space to play in, free access to all land to explore
Yurt furnished to high spec, with very comfortable double bed, duvet and throw, great sofas, lovely furinishings, books provided, torches, lanterns, candle holders.
Wood burner in yurt - right in the middle for warmth
Wood provided for wood burner/camp fire - allowed to forage for own in the woods too.
Able to leave car on farm for the duration.
Visitors welcome to come and have tea with us (and camp over if they wished).
Camp kitchen - sheltered by a wooden hut, everything provided that was needed, crockery, water butt, gas for stove.
Tea/coffee/sugar - free
Tea/coffee at the farm while children played together - free
Bottle of wine to celebrate 1st Wedding anniversary - complimentary as a token touch.
Breakfast - gourmet breakfast cooked on camp fire, provided in hamper (organic).
Eggs - free from farm chickens every day.
Baby sitting offered - not taken as we wanted to stay in the yurt/by fire in the evenings.
Massage services/tennis lessons offered.
Guide to local places to visit/map of walks provided.
Peace/quiet tranquility - in abundance.
Two Collie Dogs - provided free!
Smiles and warmth from owners.
No television.

I am sure I can think of more for the yurt - can you tell which one I preferred.

We realise that we are perhaps not hotel people, we don't do it often, and this 'luxury' to us, just well, in comparison felt like a waste of money, for what we received in service, were everything additional costs, right down to one paper in the morning, compared to the yurt where we were treated like well, like us! Little touches here and there, thoughtful things such as eggs for brekky, not asked for or expected, but appreciated and made the experience all the better.

To top it off the weather was perfect all week - I did not want to leave. I could have stayed there forever. We have booked for a weekend next year already!

luxury yurt in Ottery St Mary

That link for yurt did not work!

Oh I did forget some things for yurt

Toy box for DD supplied
Travel cot supplied, with blankets
Use of hot shower and toilet provided as well as a compost toilet
Place to charge mobile phones etc for those who cannot live without modern technology!

Does anyone care? Or are you all very very jealous?

We did not do very much at the yurt apart from read books, stare at the fire, eat camp fire food, drink tea, had some friends visit for the evening and cooked chicken casserole on the fire, DD played with the farm children/dogs/chickens/ran for hours and enjoyed the glorious weather.

I am sure that does not sound that great eh

Clearly, you are all too jealous to comment. I understand .

Watsthestory - the yurt is, just amazing, and not cold at all, as I thought it might be.

It was camping, luxury style. And just heaven. It was amazing

Thank you for caring!

Its probably the only way I would be able to do camping.

I have stored it in my favourites. Thanks for sharing

How far is the toilet though?

posh - the compost toilet is about oh I don't know distances... there are two yurts across a huge huge field from each other and the compost toilet is in the middle of the two, along with an outside tap with drinking water. About 20 seconds walk?

The flusing toilet and the shower is on the farm - there is a seperate old cottage which is not used (the cat lives there!) and there is a bathroom with a modern shower etc to use, that is about 2 mins walk.

We spent the evening around the fire, with DD asleep inside, and then as the night drew in, we snuggled on the sofa with candles and tealights, in front of the woodburner, drinking hot chocolate or with a glass of wine!

Dd went to bed when she asked to go, and once she fell asleep on the sofa in front of the woodburner and stayed there until we went to bed. Bliss.

Oh Pavlov, thank you for posting this! We were booked to go to the same Yurt in September but had to postpone as DH injured himself. We're going next year now! I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!!!!

Littlefish - it is great. And to be honest it will probably be even better next year, as the owner started it this year and can see lots more things she wants to do to make it even more fun, like a tripod for hanging pots over the fire, a spit to cook meat on, she has lots of ideas!

Look at the website in a couple of months, you might see some of our pictures on, if she thinks they are good enough!

You will have a great time.

Little - when are you going? We might be there the same time?!!! hehe!

watsthestory - it is just a normal toilet! Seriously, it is not scary, you don't have to squat or anything, and it does not smell a jot

The only difference is there is no flush, you chuck a bowlful of sawdust in the toilet and close the lid! There is a sink to wash hands, soap and towel, it is just better for the environment thats all!

We haven't booked a date yet - we will be going for 3 nights over a weekend, probably some time in May or June I think.

We are going weekend beginning of May!!! Might see ya there! You can come over for some toasted marshmallows

Sounds gorgeous. Do you think having the good weather helped though. Might it have been less fun if it had been tipping down with rain all day?

JackieNo - I don't think it would have been less fun, just different fun. We went out and did a few things, Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, however we were planning for it to be tipping down and booked it knowing it may be very wet indeed. That is in part why we booked 4 nights not a full week.

We had welly boots, waterproofs and warm clothes, and plenty of clean clothes/socks to change into and access to hot showers. We had backgammon and books and we had toys/paper/pens for DD, we also took the laptop for emergency entertainment for DD (dvds). There was shelter to cook under, a wood burner inside so it would not be cold and wet in the Yurt even if it was outside, there were rails to hang wet clothes on, a gazebo to eat under if we still wanted to eat outside (if just a bit drizzly) there were woods to stomp about in, and we all enjoy being outdoors whatever the weather. There were places to visit, pubs and restuarants to eat in locally, fish and chips if we did not want to cook outside in the rain (even if under a shelter).

It would have been more fun than staying in a hotel all week if it was tipping it down!

It does sound lovely (and you sound very well prepared for all eventualities). I suspect I have no hope of persuading DH to try it though.

Jackie - you could just go for the weekend, Friday and Saturday, it would be great! Tell him it is romantic! (which it is!)

I was anticipating a bit of outside nooky by the camp fire but DH had a stinking throat infection so nought of the sort !

JackieNo, we had booked to do a 3 night stay over a weekend and it costs £185.00.

As you know, I am the person least likely to go camping, ever, but this just looked lovely, and the owners couldn't have been more helpful when we asked to postpone until next year.

Pavlov - maybe see you there!

It looks fantastic.

I went to a reiki weekend and on the campsite there we had compost toilets. I took my own camping toilet as I thought I wouldn't want to use it - but like Pavlov says, it was just like a normal loo, except you threw straw down the hole. No smells or anything. I was pleasantly surprised.

oh yes much better than a camping toilet I bet too!

Littlefish - you will find the owners just as hospitable in person .

Oh, I wish I was there now, sitting by the fire, toasting Mellows, instead of listening to DD screaming and kicking her bedroom door as her 'ollidaaaaaay!' has ended and she does not want to go to bed, in a front room that looks like we have been burgled!