Choosing where to stay in South Wales can leave the potential holidaymaker in greater need of a holiday than before they starting looking. There are so many options. Here’s some tips:
- Accommodation Type. Firstly, decide what sort of holiday accommodation you require. In a nutshell, if you want an alarm call, a mini-bar and room service choose a hotel. If you want your bed made daily and black pudding for breakfast choose a B&B. If you want independence, a home from home and great value for money, choose a holiday cottage. If you want to holiday in a group, choose a cluster of cottages or you may even wish to rent a holiday mansion with a pool.
- Location. There’s a lot to see in South Wales – from the cities of Swansea and Cardiff to the Brecon Beacons mountains to the Gower beaches to the Vale of Neath waterfalls to the Pembrokeshire Coast …you get the idea. If you are interested in seeing the area’s highlights we recommend you choose a central location with good transport links. By staying at the heart of South Wales, you’ll give yourself more options in terms of holiday activities.
- Eating. One of the joys of a self-catering holiday is exploring the local pubs and restaurants after a day’s sightseeing. We recommend choosing a cottage with good eating places nearby and if you do decide to do your own cooking – a local supermarket is a real bonus. You could even order a delivery online to coincide with your arrival at your chosen holiday property.
- Connectivity. Most quality cottages will offer free wireless internet but beware – high speed fibre broadband has not reached all corners of Wales yet so that is something worth checking up on with the accommodation owner. You could also ask what mobile reception is like at the property.
- Tourist Information. Choose a cottage that supplies good tourist information. You don’t want to spend half your holiday rooting through a stack of out-of-date leaflets for attractions that are miles away from your accommodation.
- Pretty as a Picture. When choosing a holiday cottage it can sometimes be difficult to get a feeling for what surrounds the property. This is partly due to the obligation of the advertiser not so include somebody else’s property in the picture. However, it is worth bearing in mind – a cottage may look great in the advert, but if the camera were to zoom out, it may tell a different story.
- Word on the Street. Check out the reviews of the accommodation. The most popular review site is Trip Advisor but many other sites now show reviews.
- Worried about the weather? It has been known to rain from time to time in Wales but every cloud has a silver lining – the Vale of Neath waterfalls are best viewed with a dose of liquid sunshine and there are some other great rainy day attractions such as the National Showcaves for Wales or the National Waterfront Museum. When choosing where to stay, it’s always a good idea to check out the nearby attractions so that you can have a fantastic holiday whatever the weather.
- Pet Friendly. They say that laughter is an instant holiday. So we hope that you haven’t laughed reading this page else you may feel like you’ve already been. Save your laughter for when you are relaxing outside your pet friendly holiday cottage, playing frisbee with your dog. Assuming that your dog is flat enough ofcourse.
- Business Credentials. We recommend that you choose a cottage that is graded by the national tourist board, Visit Wales and whether you are eco-minded or not, strong green credentials suggests a level of quality and care across all aspects of a business.
- The Bottom Line. There was a time when the price of a self catering holiday was pretty much the same across all websites. These days however, different sites employ different pricing rules and formulas meaning different prices are available on different sites. We recommend that you always check the price on the owner’s own website before purchasing through one of the ‘big name’ holiday cottage websites who may be adding a commission. Holiday cottages offer superb value for money. A party of four can typically rent a five star holiday cottage in South Wales for between £400 and £700 per week depending on the season. This works out at between £14 and £25 per person per night which is exceptional value when compared to other accommodation types.
- Afterthought. The American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson defined hospitality as “a little fire, a little food, and an immense quiet”. At this moment in time, I am having trouble bettering that so my final tip is to find a cottage with a log fire, near to some great gastro pubs, in a place where the peacefulness is legendary.
