Tag: holidays in wales

Welsh holiday cottages
Welsh Holiday Cottages You Say?

Welsh Holiday Cottages You Say?

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Were Welsh holiday cottages part of a great masterplan? Not really!

If you’d asked me what I’d be doing a year from now, say 14 months ago, the answer almost certainly wouldn’t be owning and running dog friendly Welsh holiday cottages…

In fact, a year ago, I was still hanging on to a suntan gained whilst in India. Six months later, whilst sunning ourselves in The Canaries, we had the idea to relocate and to find some land ripe for creating an income.

Nothing was off the table at this point, though the consistent theme we were drawn back to was holiday accommodation. The plan initially, was to buy a home that had outbuildings to convert, or an existing annexe in place.

Having thought about it though, we became sure that we’d rather be a part of a community, rather than isolated in the middle of nowhere.

It should also be noted that at this stage we hadn’t identified Wales specifically. It was one of several ‘near the coast’ locations under consideration.

We were also considering purchasing stand alone properties that would lend themselves to being ideal holiday homes, dog friendly and close to amenities.

Fast Forward

Fast forward to January 2017 and we were acvtively looking at properties. We quickly decided on a house as our first holiday rental property in the village of Cwmllynfell, at the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

But a funny thing happened in that we decided we liked the place so much we decided to make it our home. Ironically, we changed most of the house to make it work for us. At the time of writing, we’re still a few weeks away from moving in!

During this time though, we acquired further properties in Brynbrain (Bryn Noddfa, also Cwmllynfell) and in Godre’r Graig (known as Graig Noddfa). Both needed some work to bring them up to standard, with works at Bryn Noddfa still ongoing.

Noddfa, in case you were wondering is Welsh for ‘sanctuary’ and happens to be the name of our home. Of course, a sanctuary from every day life is what we like to provide to our customers. A relaxing refuge from the world for the duration of the stay with nothing to worry about, be it human concerns of canine.

Getting ourselves set up and living out of boxes while our home has been renovated has been challenging and also rewarding. The feedback we’ve received so far has been beyond encouraging and inspires us to make our holidays cottages the best we can.

So far, so good!

Having been running for a little while now, we’re also getting repeat bookings, which also serves as validation that we’re doing something right!

So, if you’re looking for a relaxing trip, consider our lovely Welsh Holiday Cottages, where you’re welcome to stay from just a few nights to two weeks, with or without furry companions. We’d love the opportunity to welcome you to this beautiful part of Wales.

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Welsh Holiday Homes
A new adventure

A new adventure

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New Beginnings – Welsh Holiday Homes

When we set out on our journey to owning Welsh holiday homes, we’d decided that we didn’t want to do anything half-baked. What do we mean by that? Well, anyone who’s regularly stayed in holiday cottages will know that they’re not all created equal.

Keeping it Fresh

The situation and weather, you can’t do much about. What we’re talking about is the inside. How many times have you wished you’d taken your own linen? Or towels? We don’t know about you, but for us, there’s not much worse than towels that look like they’re retired dog towels, or smell musty. Musty towels and sheets are an absolute no-no in our book!

Kitchen & Bathroom – More than nice to haves!

Next on the list is the bathroom. We want it to be clean and we’d rather like it to work. You know, hot water and that type of thing? We know that things break and pipes can burst, but outside of that, it just has to be at least fit for purpose.

Then, there’s the kitchen. It doesn’t have to be all mod cons. We’re on holiday, so we’re not expecting to be chained to the kitchen sink or doing washing every other day. But it’s nice to have some basic appliances isn’t it?

Whilst on the subject on the kitchen, it’s essential to have enough crockery for the number of guests you say you cater for, along with cutlery.

The real kicker for us though, is when we want to cook something and there’s a choice between a small saucepan you could probably squeeze the contents of a can of baked beans into, and a frying pan. And nothing in between… It’s frustrating, especially if you’ve been organised and planned a grocery delivery, only to find you can’t cook your produce!

Dog friendly gardens

Lastly, the garden. If it’s advertised as having outside space, it has to be usable and safe. Dog friendly you say? Then please ensure it’s enclosed to keep pooches of all shapes and sizes on the reservation.

Anyway, you get the gist I’m sure? We’ve been on the wrong end of several stays and haven’t particularly appreciated it.

So, in starting our own journey as the owners of Welsh holiday homes, we decided that we’d do it properly.

Giving the extra touches that make it special

One of the first things we did was to go out to our network, and beyond, to request must haves and nice to haves for a happy holiday cottage stay. While there were many requests for out and out luxury, hot tubs and that sort of thing, most of the feedback was very helpful indeed. For instance, we had no idea that baking is such a popular holiday pastime! So our properties are complete with, whisks, bowls and baking trays.

Wifi was pretty obvious and it seems to be the number one requirement, but there were many smaller touches that we’ve tried to incorporate, to make our guests feel welcome and comfortable.

It’s been quite a learning curve and each stay brings its own nugget, prompt or idea as to how we can do things better or smarter.

No doubt we’ll continue to tweak and improve along the way. The comfort and safety of our guests is and always will be, our number one priorty.

So far, so good!

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