UK & Ireland

Some of my most disappointing breaks have been taken in 5 star holiday cottages that ticked all the bureaucrats’ boxes but simply failed to live up to expectations. Some cottages have incredible views, great bedrooms but, because some ‘must-have tick box item’ is missing, it’s three stars and no more.

Others get 5 stars but there’s no view and there’s decoration cunningly left out of photos which you could do without.

The sense of anti-climax having paid handsomely and arriving at a place you wished you had not booked can be palpable. Of course, it's brave faces all round and make the best of it. But, somehow, if the cottage fails to inspire or simply makes you feel your could have rented something so much better, the chance of an excellent holiday can quickly recede into the distance.

Bad weather is the real test of a cottage

If you return home rested, despite the weather, the cottage has done its job. If you are as tense as when you arrived, it has failed. The difference is between ‘the weather was bad, but the cottage was lovely’ and ‘we stayed at a rotten cottage’. There is a natural and unfair tendency to heap all the blame, including the weather, onto the cottage when it fails to meet the grade. This is the real test of quality. Sadly, it is a test that tick box assessing systems struggle to match.

Sometimes it is a pleasant surprise

However, the chance of stumbling on a 3 star that should be a 4 of 5 star, but for those boxes, can even up the odds of getting a good deal. There’s a rather pleasant bonus to be had when you stay at a really good cottage which you feel was worth more than you paid for it. Bigger is not always better.

You can't beat local knowledge

The national ratings can be useful but there’s nothing to replace local knowledge and local involvement, whether it is the booking agent or the assessing organisation. Country Holiday Lets is a local cottage booking service with our own assessments and Shropshire Tourism is an example of a local organisation with its own star system.

Service is the key

Local people have a personal interest in the success of your holiday. Guests often stop off to see us when they staying at our members’ cottages. This ensures quality and a positive attitude towards service. Because we are local we know all our homeowners personally. Communication is better and it ensures a more effective service from booking enquiries to sorting out deposits and sending information about local events.

Local booking agencies and local organisations assessing the quality of holiday cottages are a better bet than huge national services. You can talk to someone who knows the homeowners, who has even taken the photographs and can even tell you how to recognise the entrance to the lane or drive to where you are thinking of staying.

Scheumacher’s ‘Small is beautiful’ could be the right way to go. And an extra bonus for us is the real pleasure of meeting guests first hand. “

For More Information:

www.countryholidaylets.co.uk

New Address: 6 The Buttercross, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 8BN
or Telephone: 01568 612467 / 612900