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
it's ponies, proximity to the coast and beaches. The Lake
District will offer a more rugged view of England's 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 which accepts or is made
up entirely of adverts from cottage owners, they may not have
full, extensive details, pictures, pricing and local information
within their advert.
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 it's Christmas, the New Year
or some other highly important date you're 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.
For more information regarding booking family holidays in New
Forest holiday cottages, paste this link in your browser
http://www.halcyonholidaycottages.co.uk/holiday-cottage-booking-t
ips.htm
Publishing Guidelines: You have permission to publish this
article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as a
live link to http://www.halcyonholidaycottages.co.uk is
provided.
A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated, but is
not required - send to Darren Roberts at
darren@halcyonholidaycottages.co.uk
|
