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For those looking for really special accommodation for their visit to Devon, the selection has never been so good. Whether taking a few days to explore the area whilst looking at property to buy, or seeking the perfect location for a well-earned short break or longer holiday, the choice of first class properties to stay in locally is constantly increasing as the expectations of the market rise. With our hectic lifestyles and the stressful pace of modern society, holidays and short breaks are becoming even more valued, with additional relaxing short breaks slotted in between more significant holidays to counter the effects of all that rushing around!

Increasingly, the busy, discerning holidaymaker is looking for so much more from their holiday accommodation than previously, both in terms of the standards offered and also the facilities provided. The availability of Wireless Broadband Internet in the holiday property is now a pre-requisite for a growing number of visitors, who feel the need to keep in touch with work during their break away. At the same time, more visitors are increasingly demanding leisure facilities at their holiday property, with private hot tubs and pools or membership to a local luxury spa attracting more and more customers to book. Property owners are responding to these requirements, discovering that the details are important to many visitors and gaining more bookings as a result!

Using their own experiences as regular visitors to the South Hams, staying with Coast & Country Cottages, before their permanent move to the area, the owners of Broad Downs Barn , a stunning new barn conversion sleeping 14 near Salcombe, have prepared a range of additional services for those staying at their fantastic new property. Designed to take away as much of the pre-holiday hassle as possible, to allow busy people to ‘hit the ground running’ when they start their holiday, these services enable visitors to enjoy every available minute of their holiday. With advance restaurant booking, a drop off/collection service to Salcombe and local restaurants, private catering for evening meals, babysitting, later departure times and luggage facility, baby friendly equipment package and even a personal trainer, the organisational stress often involved when planning a holiday for a larger group or family party can be minimised so everyone enjoys every minute of their holiday.

In addition to offering a fabulous range of services to those staying at their property, the owners of Broad Downs Barn have worked hard to incorporate key sought after items, including a new outdoor heated swimming pool, leisure club membership, Wireless Broadband, Sky TV, Wii and log burner all in a property where the attention to detail has been carefully managed, with stylish furnishings and artwork complementing the conversion of the barn. The whole project also cleverly utilises the latest ‘Green’ technology featuring geothermal ground-source heat pumps, low energy lighting throughout and environmentally sustainable waste management. 2009 will see wind–generated electricity and a self-sufficient water supply.

Newly completed, this stunning barn conversion has already attracted huge interest and an impressive number of bookings for its first season, with very few weeks now available for the rest of the year. Indeed, this property quickly became one of the fastest to book, even when the builders were still in and only computer generated images available! Now that the photo shoot has been completed and the first visitors have enjoyed their holidays, the demand is even higher. The owners of this property have worked hard to create a fantastic holiday home which is being quickly snapped up by visitors, attracted to the whole concept of a spacious, stylish holiday home…….plus all the details for a wonderful, relaxing, stress-free Devon break.

To find out more about Broad Downs Barn and other luxury holiday homes, including renovated thatched cottages, stylish penthouse apartments and beautifully converted period properties, included within Coast & Country Cottages Luxury Properties Collection, visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk. Or call the locally based teams in Salcombe (01548) 843773 or Dartmouth (01803) 839600. Free Brochure & Owners Guide available.

Source: Coast and Country

A recent survey of accommodation providers in the South West found that the majority of local businesses were reporting a decrease in the number of visitors booking with them for the Easter period in comparison to last year. This year, many schools are taking the two week school holiday which usually falls around the Easter Bank Holiday, during April, meaning many families have been unable to book their usual week’s break in Devon. With Easter falling earlier and the weather to-date so unsettled, a break in the UK may not have appealed to many visitors this year. With potential visitor numbers apparently reduced in this way, businesses have had to work harder to attract bookings. Locally based Coast & Country Cottages are delighted that their efforts are paying off, reporting increased value of bookings of 14% for the Easter/school holiday period combined, compared with this period in 2007, which in itself was a record year. With almost 400 properties, exclusively in the South Hams, including many fabulous new luxury properties in Salcombe, Dartmouth and throughout the area, an extensive national and local advertising campaign, highly rated website and glossy brochure, contact Coast & Country Cottages at their Hannford’s Landing ‘head office’ for a free brochure or Owners Guide. 01548 843773 www.coastandcountry.co.uk

Source: Coast and Country

Working with customers from the booking of a holiday through to arrival, departure and beyond is very rewarding for the team at Coast & Country Cottages. It also produces some amusing moments and many frustrating ones as people look for their perfect Devon cottage.

With an all-year round out-of-hours emergency service provided to our holiday tenants, the telephone can ring at all times of day and night, particularly during the busiest summer months. From holidaymakers returning to their property after an evening out and discovering they have forgotten their keys or locked themselves out, to those trying to get into the wrong property, key stories abound. Most recently our Operations Manager, Jon Doyle, was woken up during the night by a Japanese visitor who simply could not get the key she had been given to operate the lock at the property she thought she was staying at. In spite of the difficulties in understanding each other (we have a fair knowledge of several languages between members of the team but not Japanese!) he was able to work out she was in the wrong building!! Jon was eventually able to point her in the right direction and ‘hey presto’ she was in! With the number of ‘lockouts’ we receive each year, you have to wonder what people do with their keys at home….?!

An April 1st call-out was initially thought to be an April Fool’s joke, when a gentleman called to say his mother-in-law was stuck in the loo! Whilst he had initially found this amusing, as time passed and they had been unable to release her, they became more concerned as she was quite elderly. Luckily we were able to secure her release quite quickly and everyone was happy!

Pets or animals in general generate some tales every year. One customer was understandably very upset when she called us to inform us that her dog had died before the holiday and that she therefore wanted to cancel as she couldn’t face the holiday without him. Unfortunately she could not understand that the holiday insurance she had taken out for her party did not include the dog as a named member of the party and his sad demise would not constitute grounds for an insurance claim. Another customer called our Dartmouth office in a panic having discovered a ‘snake’ on the carpet. A quick visit to the property determined that it was actually a harmless slow worm, which had come in from the garden when the doors were left open!

An enormous number of items are left by behind in our properties every year when holidaymakers pack up to leave after their holiday in Devon. Mobile telephone chargers are regularly discovered by cleaners, still plugged in at properties, whilst bedroom drawers often contain complete sets of underwear, overlooked in the rush to pack up. Food is often discovered by our cleaners, abandoned in fridges and cupboards and one recent tenant contacted us after leaving his wallet on top of a high kitchen cupboard. Often we have to go to great lengths to find a missing item for a customer such as recently when a departing child had mislaid a favourite game for his Nintendo DS! This small item was not to be found in the location indicated, but a vigilant member of the team cleaning and checking the property found it down the back of a chair and returned it to its owner.

Some of our experiences with customers are frustrating and require careful handling, such as the gentleman who simply could not understand how to operate the shower in his property and had to be shown by the team and a local plumber, in spite of claiming he had a degree in engineering! One family booked a ground floor apartment, then called the office upon arrival at the property to ask where the second floor to the property was! Very recently one couple arrived for their holiday in Salcombe a day early! After some initial reluctance to do so, their mistake was admitted, but luckily as it was earlier in the season we were able to find them accommodation for the night and everyone was happy.

Whilst every business will experience a small number of customer complaints (particularly in the current ‘litigation age’) the vast majority of our customers are delighted with their property, have a fabulous holiday and want to return to us and the area again and again. Most people look forward to their holiday all year and so when expectations are not met and things go wrong, they are understandably disappointed. Our out-of-hours service means that ‘emergencies’ are picked up with quickly and as much is done as possible to quickly enable the holidaymaker to carry on and enjoy their well earned break. It can be frustrating on occasion, however, when a customer has called this emergency number out of office hours to request a brochure! Indeed just this weekend a member of the team received a call at 7.30am on Sunday morning, on the Emergency number, from a customer just wishing to pay the balance due for her forthcoming holiday! On a previous occasion another lady was quite indignant when told that her call to check availability was not actually an emergency, claiming, ‘It is an emergency, I need a holiday…!’

For a free Brochure or Owners Guide call 01548 843773 or visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk. The new 2008 brochure featuring over 350 properties throughout the South Hams will be available from October 2007 – pre-order your free copy today.

Source: Coast and Country

Set in acres of beautiful gardens and nestling on a South-facing hillside with stunning views across the soft rolling hills of this rural, unspoilt area of South Devon, the 28 luxury apartments and individually designed cottages at Hillfield Cottages & Country House provide the perfect destination for a relaxing family holiday in Devon, throughout the year.

Exclusively available to book through South Devon based Coast & Country Cottages, each property at Hillfield is different but furnished to the highest standards. Families can enjoy the facilities including outdoor pool, all-weather tennis court and children’s play area, with several properties also boasting private outdoor hot tubs – perfect for grown up ‘me-time’! Cots and highchairs are available, plus specially created kids bedrooms in some properties, ideal for older children, with bunks, games and their own TV, DVD and CD!

Situated just 3 miles from historic Dartmouth with it’s castle, waterfront, restaurants and art galleries, the properties are only 10 minutes drive from stunning Blackpool Sands, recently named ‘Best Beach for Family Fun’ in Conde Nast Traveller Magazine. The team at Coast & Country Cottages Dartmouth office know the properties and area well and would be delighted to help you choose the property that best suits your holiday requirements and the needs of your family.

Call now for a free brochure on 01803 839600 or visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk.

Source: Coast and Country

South Hams based ‘Coast & Country Cottages’, has offices in the picturesque towns of Dartmouth, Salcombe and Kingsbridge, over 350 properties, exclusively in the South Hams, and a team of 17 locally based staff, providing the high standard of friendly service for which the company is known and truly local knowledge of their regularly visited properties. In the past 5 years, the business has more than doubled in size, with more people now choosing to let their properties through the agency and a continued increase in the number of holidaymakers attracted to the area. An extensive marketing campaign, including a highly regarded website, plus a high percentage of repeat bookings and recommendations has ensured an even greater number of bookings than ever before for 2007.

The family owned and managed agency not only provide advice and help to potential new owners thinking of letting their Devon holiday homes or those planning to renovate a property in readiness for holiday letting, but also ongoing support and practical assistance, particularly vital to the many owners who do not live locally.

When inspecting properties offered for holiday letting, a number of factors are evaluated – views, parking, sleeping capacity and number of bathrooms are all important but assessing the correct price to be charged per week, the location and the standard of the accommodation are the key considerations.

If you are considering using an agency Coast & Country Cottages suggest seeking the opinion of several different letting companies and choosing the one with which you feel most comfortable – a good relationship between owner and agent really contributes to success, so it is important that a rapport is established. Be wary, though, of unrealistically high promises – a higher rental might sound attractive to you but may well deter visitors or impact on potential repeat business, whilst promising a very high number of weeks in the first year of letting may not be truly realistic and can lead to disappointment all round.

For a free Brochure or Owners Guide call 0870 4050530 or visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk. For helpful advice about buying a home for holiday letting or to arrange a free property visit, without obligation , call Andrew Jones via the local offices: Salcombe (01548 ) 843773, Kingsbridge (01548) 852572 or Dartmouth (01803) 839499.

Source: Coast and Country