Choosing to take a holiday in the UK (or, as they call it these days, a staycation), has been increasing in popularity more and more in the last few years. There are quite a few advantages in going on holiday in your home country, as opposed to visiting somewhere else in Europe. Forget waiting hours at the airport – just pack up your car and go! That’s a much easier, hassle-free holiday experience.
Of course, even if you’re staying in the UK, accommodation can be a large decision. It is likely to consume a large chunk of your budget, and will significantly affect the quality of the vacation, too. There are two main options available: The first is looking for a place like a resort or a hotel, and the second is to rent a holiday cottage. In my experience, a holiday cottage is most often the best choice – and there are a few reasons for that. Here are five of them:
Room
A lot of people seem to think space isn’t that much of an important factor when you’re on vacation, but I disagree. If you’re a family of four members or more, renting a large vacation cottage can be an excellent choice. Not only it’ll be affordable, you’ll also be sure that there’s enough space for everyone. The parents will have their privacy, and the kids will have room to play indoors if they’d like. Most other types of accommodation will quickly get cramped and uncomfortable.
Kitchen
Usually, hotels don’t have a kitchen that guests can use. This means you have to buy the majority of your meals, which can be expensive. Holiday cottages, on the other hands, will usually have a great kitchen, with all utensils you might need to cook magnificent meals, including plates, crockery and cooking equipment for everybody who’s staying with you. It also allows for some family time during meals, which can be a nice thing on a holiday. You’ll likely have better quality food than if you were getting takeaways, and end up saving money, too! Of course, you can treat yourself to a meal or a few on some local pubs or restaurants, but it’s nice to have another option, right?
Amenities
Most holiday cottages have plenty of amenities – especially washers and dryers. This way, you can do your washing yourself, for free. Hotels, instead, will charge you and actually keep people from doing it there and searching for laundromat on other places, which can be a trouble.
Holiday cottages usually have a fully equipped kitchen, cosy bedrooms and comfy seating areas as well, not to mention other nice facilities like swimming pools, hot tubs, games rooms, four-poster beds and open or log fires.
Entertainment
While resorts tend to have good entertainment, they don’t tend to provide much with regard to the in-room enjoyment kids like these days. In a holiday cottage, you have access to your own TV with cable, with no need to pay additional. IF you want to watch a movie, you can simply get a DVD, so there’s no need to pay hotel rates for something as simple as a film. Some even have video games, which will keep kids entertained on days the weather is bad.
Privacy
This is probably the biggest problem with hotels: You don’t have privacy. No matter where you go, you’re going to find other people. When we’re on vacation, we’re often looking for some peace and quiet, which can be hard to get in a resort. When you rent a holiday cottage, you’ll have much more privacy, and likely not even notice you have a neighbour. This does wonders if you want to relax and get some peace and quiet on your vacation.
There’s nothing worse than being on a vacation to relax and having to deal with noisy, rude hotel room neighbours, or getting woken up by a guest banging their door. In a self-catering holiday cottage, you’ll won’t have to worry about that – you’ll enjoy the freedom and privacy that holidays are all about.