What Would Make You Feel Welcome in a Holiday Cottage?

Fen1

I wouldn't really want a bottle of wine, unless you were going to spend money on really good wine. The rubbish that is left out in some places is abominable. I would much rather do without.

Spare loo rolls. The ONE thing you really need in life is plenty of loo roll.

Spare towels. We went to one place that left us one small bath towel and a hand towel each. Hopeless if you have nowehere to dry things properly.

Ditto a couple of dishwasher tablets, small bottle of washing-up liquid and a scrubby brush.

A bottle of milk in the fridge is always handy. If the guests are vegan, then giving it back to the owners would be polite.

Don't bother with fresh fruit.

A few decent cooking knives in a block.

Soap on the bathroom and kitchen sinks. Doesn't have to be fancy - a pump dispenser will do which you can refill with inexpensive stuff. No sad half-used bars.

A torch.

Somewhere to hang wet coats and leave wellies to dry.

Clear instructions and accessible bins for recycling.

A shelf of books; a bit of everything, to suit everyone. Oxfam is a good place to source paperbacks.

Decent mattresses. I don't go on holiday to get backache.

angelicmary85

I stayed in a holiday cottage in Windemere and they'd left us things like toilet cleaner, washing powder, washing up liquid, toliet roll etc. There were lots of dvd's, books and a huge mountain of leaflets for things to see and do!

FatVonD

I definitely wouldn't want wine, especially if the cost was going to be passed on to me, and I could live without the flowers too. For me I'd be happy with:

Tea
Coffee
Sugar
Milk
Salt
Pepper
(For all of the above I'd prefer them to be small unopened packs or sachets rather than a big one that someone else had used.)

Washing up liquid
Toilet paper
Local takeaway menus (that deliver)

Torry_Quine

[QUOTE=p00hsticks;33610727)

So if you are offering use of a dishwasher or washing machine, leave half a dozen dishwasher tablets and soap powder tablets.
Kitchen foil, clingfilm, paper towels, washing up liquid, dusters, disinfectant & general cleaning items.
Salt, sugar, vinegar, pepper, mustard, ketchup etc.
A bit of milk and teabags & coffee for when you first arrive, and a toilet roll. ( make sure you leave enough for the whole stay as it's not good to have to go and ask for more.)


Also:-
Directions to the nearest supermarket, newsagent, & petrol station plus opening hours
Takeaway menus
Details of local doctors, dentists, vet (if you allow pets) & A&E
Leaflets for local attractions[/QUOTE]


Surely these items are standard and should be included anyway!

vikingaero

It really depends on the market your cottage is aimed at - basic? luxurious? But in all price brackets you can't go wrong with the basic tea/coffee/milk welcome pack. As soon as we arrive we put the kettle on whilst we're unloading the car.

For instance if you are a farm with poultry then half a dozen eggs would be a nice touch.

hardpressed

The things I would appreciate are milk, a few tea bags and coffee, for that very necessary first cuppa. If you provide towels then good quality and a decent size, I've lost count of the number of cottages we've stayed in where the 'bath' towels is little more that a very thin hand towel. Oh, and more than one pillow per person and with a reasonable amount of filling. One cottage that we stayed in the owner left us some of their home grown tomatoes and plums, didn't cost them much but very welcome.

pollywiggle

Torry_Quine wrote: »

Surely these items are standard and should be included anyway!

You would think these items should be included but having stayed in more than our fair share of holiday cottages we are always amazed at how little is included.

On arrival I like to see a tea/coffee tray with fresh milk & something homemade & preferably local.

As already mentioned, dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid, J-cloths, tea towels, loo rolls, lightbulbs etc

I love a bookshelf full of books!

I HATE a drawer full of leaflets that are out of date or in multiples - it means I have to spend a couple of hours tidying it up & sorting it out!

Decent furniture: good mattresses on beds, no conservatory style settees/chairs, a reasonable size tv (assuming weather will be bad for at least part of the holiday). A table that everyone can sit around.

Repairing things that are broken.

A good supply of china, cutlery etc. Just because a place only sleeps 4 doesn't mean you only want 4 of everything!

Decent towels - size & quality.

toozie_2

We have holidayed in loads of cottages through the years, and hardly ever had towels there, I've always taken my own as a matter of course!

Another thing not mentioned is that it's nice if the owner or representative is there to meet you on arrival, shows you how everything works-if needed, and has the answers to any questions.

I think customer service and friendlyness of the owner comes high up on the list after the tea, coffee milk etc.

Not outstaying their welcome at the begining of your holiday, but great to ask questions about the locality, previous and to be expected weather. If the owner builds a relationship with the holidaymaker, and leaves contact numbers, at least if something happens such as you need a local garage for the broken down car, you have no quarms about contacting the friendly owner, and if something happens, it's nice if the owner goes the extra mile to help out, maybe not in monatry terms, but more in their time and friendlyness.

If you have little kids it's always nice to have a swing or slide or soemthing for them to play on supervised.

We once stayed in a cottgae in Settle with a pool table in the basement, my girls and OH were down there most evenings, whilst I was reading int he lounge.

A warm, secluded, private patio with comfy chairs and a table is great for outdoor eating, and maybe BBQ's allowed if not near the properties.

Board games, books, pack of cards, maybe some DVD's for winter/rainy days, colouring pads and crayons, maybe some outdoor toys like a ball, swing ball, boules

Enough loo roll for a day or so, salt pepper, a handfull of dishwasher/ washing machine tablets, disinfectant.

Oh, now I want to go away again.........................

cats_whiskers

Hi

I agree with most of the other posters about tea and coffee (decent quality) being left out together with a small packet of biscuits or local produce, last time we went to a cottage in Wales they left out a packet of welsh cakes. In Scotland it was a packet of shortbread.

a supply of Tea towels is also good, even if there is a dishwasher we still sometimes wash a few items by hand (the old fashioned way). It is also nice to have a clothes airer for drying clothes indoors. We have been places that have had an outside airer/dryer but no pegs, so if you have an outside line or whirlithing then pegs are a must.

Although I must say my biggest gripe about self catering places (and some hotels) is the awful assortment of clothes hangers, or lack of them, in the wardrobes. A nice set of several matching wooden clothes hangers in each wardrobe would be a big hit in my book.

poet123

I would like the wine, a shelf of books, tea, coffee, maybe if there are any vouchers for special offers at local attractions, local papers, maps of walks in the area, a good light for reading, a tray of local goodies and flowers in the living area.