Holiday cottage - what is important

Shiztizta

Make sure you get unlimited gas and electricity and not some rip-off tariff that charges you for wathcing TV etc.

We got a lovely garden with ours in Kent which had a free BBQ in it too.

indesisiv

p00hsticks wrote: »

Which goes to show that someone letting a holiday home needs to ask widely to ensure that all tastes are catered for, as we all use different things. I'd be lost without a kitchen timer.

I wouldn't miss wine glasses, but would hope to see pint glasses for beer, but for wine drinkers it would be the opposite.

But surely things like kitchen timers are irrelevant nowadays as everyone has a mobile phone. Which has countdown timers, stopwatch etc built in.

For me, off road parking, hate trying to unpack a car and walk down the street with stuff.
Wifi is a must, especially if you are somewhere without a mobile signal! Tend to search for things to do, look up places that the owner has left leaflets for etc.
TV
Make sure bathrooms have working locks (Especially if there are likely to be several couples / families etc.
Then as long as it is clean I am happy.

penguingirl

For me important things are:
Parking
Well stocked kitchen- utensils like tongs (I'm going to want bacon butties!) and enough to cook a basic roast. Potato peeler, tin opener, decent knife etc.
A decent shower (and prefearly a bath)- a rubbish electric shower put us off a return trip to one cottage
Decent blinds/ curtains- again this put us off a return trip to a beautiful cottage as we slept so badly as it was so bright

I expect things like hairdryer, towels, washing liquid, soap etc.it's also handy to have some cleaning items accessible- in case of spillages etc.

We always take our own cafetiere as so few places provide them, but we don't mind. Things like wine, biscuits are nice but not necessary. As others have said the most useful thing is to be really clear about what you do/ don't provide.

Location is also really important- I want to be able to walk to at least one pub/restaurant

p00hsticks

indesisiv wrote: »

But surely things like kitchen timers are irrelevant nowadays as everyone has a mobile phone. Which has countdown timers, stopwatch etc built in.

the only mibile I have is an old 'Nokia cockroach' which (shock,horror) has the functionality to make and recive phone calls and texts and little else.

indesisiv

p00hsticks wrote: »

the only mibile I have is an old 'Nokia cockroach' which (shock,horror) has the functionality to make and recive phone calls and texts and little else.

Well I guess this thread is a what each person finds important in a holiday cottage. :beer:

It must be a cracking phone that you have though as I remember back as far as my nokia 3310 and that had a stopwatch and alarms etc. I did have a couple before that but can't really remember what they were.

Pennywise

For us, we like "hotel" standards in a holiday home. Decent WIFI is a must-have. Properly cleaned essential (no dust under beds, crumbs in drawers, hairs in bath, mould around the shower, etc). We stay at least twice per year in UK holiday homes - sometimes three times.

All equipment to be decent quality, modern, well maintained and instructions provided. Particularly TVs - I've lost count of the times I've had to re-tune the TV blind, because there are no instructions and others have tried and failed to tune it properly. I'm not impressed with the cheapest "own brand" toaster or kettle or fridge that cheap-skate owners have put in, nor their cast-offs when they've bought new/decent for their own home! Doesn't need to be top of the range, but cheap naff stuff can be awful.

As for crockery and cutlery - plenty of everything please. Doesn't all need to match, but we really don't want all your old family cast offs either. If the home is to accommodate 6 people, then you need to provide at least 6 of everything. We've been in places for 6 that have only had a 4 place setting crockery set! Also, double up on things used frequently during the day such as cups, side plates, utility glasses, etc.

A good, complete range of cooking utensils, particularly bottle and can opener (often missing), a few cooking trays (and more than one shelf in the oven!), a range of pots, pans and bowls, etc, cling film and cooking foil, washing up brush and cloths, washing up bowl and drainer.

I don't want to share the house with your granny's ornaments, furniture, curtains, pictures, etc! Even worse, I don't want to find myself living in the owner's own "home" whilst they've moved out for the season and left all their stuff in the drawers, their clothes in the wardrobe, etc. Urgh!!!

If you're providing toys or games for youngsters, provide new/decent stuff, not old jigsaws with pieces missing! If you're providing an Xbox, then at least provide some games to play on it! If there's a dvd player, then a good range of dvds to watch. Some decent books - both general fiction and also local interest, maps, walks, etc.

Don't forget a good range of "maintenance" items, such as a small tool kit, matches, spare light bulbs & fuses, torches, sewing kit, full range of cleaning materials for any eventuality, fly spray, etc.

Decent iron and ironing board AND a washing line! (We travel light so want to do a few washes whilst we're there!).

Where I have a choice, I'll always pick the homes with loads of pictures of every room, with a full inventory of what's in the house, with full details of what they include in the "welcome pack", full list of what consumables are provides, i.e. toilet rolls, towels, washing powder, kitchen foil, etc.

I don't like surprises! Obviously, I don't like it when something I expect isn't there, but equally "nice" surprises are also annoying when I've bothered to buy/pack and bring things with me.

Finally - provide lots and lots of local information, but please keep it organised and up to date. So many places just leave a random pile of takeaway or attraction leaflets, many of which are out of date, and often incomplete (i.e. people take the leaflets with them for directions etc). It doesn't take much to create a file with relevant leaflets organised into wallets/sections - the best we've seen was where the owner had glued each leaflet to a plastic wallet, with a few spare copies of the same leaflet in the wallet - handy for people to take the leaflet with them and also easy for the owner to restock once leaflets are taken as easy to see what's there and what isn't - by having the leaflet stuck in, the occupier can see the details and make notes etc if there's no leaflet to take with them.

Tarry

I've thought of a random one - egg cups..

Mojisola

Pennywise wrote: »

For us, we like "hotel" standards in a holiday home.

All good points - and I agree with them - but we do have two places that we have returned to several times that rather fit your description of "the house with your granny's ornaments, furniture, curtains, pictures, etc!" because the weekly rent is significantly cheaper than the smarter places.

These two places are also ideally situated near to family members - I don't know that we would go back to them if they were just for holidays.

Murphybear

Gloomendoom wrote: »

A cheese grater and some pint glasses.

Both missing from our Easter week rental. We rented a seven bedroom country house near Bude with a heated pool and a decidedly high end spec.

But no cheese grater or pint glasses.

The wifi was barely better than dial-up too. That seems the norm for rural Devon though.

Don't worry, rural Devon has moved out of the middle ages:rotfl: I live in mid Devon, very rural and lots of farming communities. As I type I have fast broadband.

Ps Bude is in Cornwall

skintpaul

space for stuff / lounging. well equipped kitchen.

Decent wifi (mainly for the kids), good sized fridge for the adults (beer!).

MUST. BE. CLEAN.