Deciding On Your Location

Finding the perfect holiday cottage can seem like a bit of a daunting task to begin with. To begin with, narrow your efforts to a particular location. A few options are the New Forest with its ponies, proximity to the coast and beaches. The Lake District will offer a more rugged view of Englands countryside and lakes, while Wales can offer wonderful rolling valleys and west coast salty air. Each location will offer a different flavour of Britains heritage and history.

Choosing The Type Of Cottage

Once you have decided upon a specific region or location, you can think about the accommodation itself. The number of people in your party is obviously a crucial factor for deciding on the right sized cottage. Things like ground floor bedrooms may be an important requirement if you have anyone in the group who has difficulty climbing stairs. Some cottages may be newly built, converted or restored, while others may not have as many modern conveniences or appliances. Bedrooms will generally come in double or twin/bunk rooms, so finding out who will be able to sleep in what room before you arrive can be helpful.

What Level Of Quality Do You Need?

The quality of the cottage you will be staying in is a crucial factor in your holiday. There are national gradings carried out by reputable organisations such as the AA/RAC, English Tourism Council and so on. A cottage, which has some sort of recognised grading by one of the above will provide some reassurance before you arrive that it is regularly and independently checked and audited to try and ensure your expectations are met. These gradings usually come in the form of star ratings, for example 1 star to 5 stars. Obviously the higher the star rating generally the higher the cost. So think carefully about the quality of accommodation you expect to find when you arrive. Most cottages with a grading will have a good standard of items such as kitchen equipment etc to ensure you can live as close to normal as possible.

Where To Look For Your Cottage Accommodation

When searching for your holiday cottage there are a variety of resources at your disposal. The internet is growing fast as a medium through which to find holiday accommodation and is great for researching a lot of cottages from different areas without having a lorry load of brochures delivered! Brochures will give details of individual cottages in an area. Due to the way the costs are calculated in a publication such as

When to book your holiday cottage

It is a good idea to start your search for the holiday cottage about a year ahead. Especially if its Christmas, the New Year or some other highly important date youre after. The peak weeks of summer, half terms and Christmas/New Year go very early sometimes. You may get a last minute booking for those periods occasionally, but the stress of trying to organise 8 people and juggle around weeks and scarce availability makes booking early the best option. It is not unheard of for bookings to be received well over a year in advance.